Get ready for some thrilling cinematic battles as we dive into the world of European cinema and its prestigious awards! The 2026 European Film Awards shortlist has been unveiled, and it's a star-studded affair!
Among the contenders, we find Yorgos Lanthimos' highly anticipated film, “Bugonia”, featuring the talented duo of Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. But here's where it gets controversial… “Bugonia” is not the only film making waves; Joachim Trier's “Sentimental Value”, starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard, and Elle Fanning, is also in the running. And let's not forget the international features, like “It Was Just an Accident” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, which have also made the cut.
The European Film Academy has released an extensive shortlist, covering feature films, documentaries, and animated films. These selections will compete for the prestigious awards at the 2026 ceremony, set to take place in Berlin on January 17th. And this is the part most people miss… the European Film Academy has strategically moved its awards ceremony to early January, positioning itself as the first major event to celebrate the best of European cinema each year. A bold move, indeed!
In addition to the aforementioned films, the shortlist includes a diverse range of festival favorites. From Dag Johan Haugerud's Berlin winner, “Dreams”, to Paolo Sorrentino's Venice opener, “La Grazia”, and Tereza Nvotová's Zurich triumph, “Father”, the list is a true celebration of European talent. Many of these films have already made their mark on the international stage, with countries like Norway, France, Germany, and Belgium represented in the EFA running.
Now, let's take a closer look at the full shortlist, divided into categories for your convenience:
Feature Films
- “Bearcave” (Arkoudotrypa) - Directed by Krysianna B. Papadakis & Stergios Dinopoulos (Greece, United Kingdom)
- “Bugonia” - Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (United Kingdom, United States, South Korea)
- “Case 137” (Dossier 137) - Directed by Dominik Moll (France)
- “Christy” - Directed by Brendan Canty (Ireland, United Kingdom)
- “Deaf” (Sorda) - Directed by Eva Libertad (Spain)
- “Die My Love” - Directed by Lynne Ramsay (United Kingdom, United States, Canada)
- “Dreams” (Drømmer) - Directed by Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway)
- “Duse” - Directed by Pietro Marcello (Italy, France)
- “Father” (Otec) - Directed by Tereza Nvotová (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland)
- “Franz” - Directed by Agnieszka Holland (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland)
- “Fuori” - Directed by Mario Martone (Italy, France)
- “I Only Rest in the Storm” (O Riso e a Faca) - Directed by Pedro Pinho (Portugal, France, Brazil, Romania)
- “It Was Just an Accident” (Un simple accident) - Directed by Jafar Panahi (France, Iran, Luxembourg)
- “La Grazia” - Directed by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
- “Late Shift” (Heldin) - Directed by Petra Volpe (Switzerland, Germany)
- “Little Trouble Girls” (Kaj ti je deklica) - Directed by Urška Djukić (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia)
- “Love Me Tender” - Directed by Anna Cazenave Cambet (France)
- “Loveable” (Elskling) - Directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir (Norway)
- “Maspalomas” - Directed by Jose Mari Goenaga & Aitor Arregi (Spain)
- “Milk Teeth” (Dinti de lapte) - Directed by Mihai Mincan (Romania, France, Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria)
- “Mirrors No. 3” (Miroirs No. 3) - Directed by Christian Petzold (Germany)
- “Mother” - Directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia, Belgium)
- “On Falling” - Directed by Laura Carreira (United Kingdom, Portugal)
- “Once Upon a Time in Gaza” - Directed by Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser (France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal, Qatar, Jordan)
- “One of Those Days When Hemme Dies” (Hemme’nin öldüğü günlerden biri) - Directed by Murat Fıratoğlu (Turkey, Germany)
- “Palestine 36” - Directed by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Norway)
- “Pillion” - Directed by Harry Lighton (United Kingdom)
- “Romeria” (Romería) - Directed by Carla Simón (Spain, Germany)
- “Sentimental Value” (Affeksjonsverdi) - Directed by Joachim Trier (Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden)
- “Silent Friend” - Directed by Ildikó Enyedi (Germany, France, Hungary)
- “Sirat” (Sirât) - Directed by Oliver Laxe (Spain, France)
- “Sleepless City” (Ciudad sin sueño) - Directed by Guillermo Galoe (Spain, France)
- “Sound of Falling” (In die Sonne schauen) - Directed by Mascha Schilinski (Germany)
- “Sundays” (Los domingos) - Directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain)
- “The Last Viking” (Den sidste viking) - Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark, Sweden)
- “The Little Sister” (La petite dernière) - Directed by Hafsia Herzi (France, Germany)
- “The Love That Remains” (Ástin sem eftir er) - Directed by Hlynur Pálmason (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, France)
- “The North” - Directed by Bart Schrijver (Netherlands)
- “The Stranger” (L’Étranger) - Directed by François Ozon (France)
- “The Voice of Hind Rajab” - Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania (France, Tunisia)
- “Two Prosecutors” - Directed by Sergei Loznitsa (France, Germany, Netherlands, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania)
- “What Marielle Knows” (Was Marielle Weiss) - Directed by Frédéric Hambalek (Germany)
- “Yes” (Ken) - Directed by Nadav Lapid (France, Israel, Cyprus, Germany)
- “Young Mothers” (Jeunes mères) - Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne (Belgium, France)
Documentary Films
- “Afternoons of Solitude” (Tardes de soledad) - Directed by Albert Serra (Spain, France)
- “An American Pastoral” (Une pastorale americaine) - Directed by Auberi Edler (France)
- “Ancestral Visions of the Future” - Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (France, Lesotho, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
- “Fiume o morte!” - Directed by Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy)
- “Flophouse America” - Directed by Monica Strømdahl (Norway, Netherlands, United States)
- “Good Valley Stories” (Historias del buen valle) - Directed by José Luis Guerin (Spain, France)
- “Hair, Paper, Water…” (Tóc, giấy và nước…) - Directed by Nicolas Graux & Minh Quý Trương (Belgium, France, Vietnam)
- “Listen to the Voices” (Kouté vwa) - Directed by Maxime Jean-Baptiste (Belgium, France)
- “Memory” - Directed by Vladlena Sandu (France, Netherlands)
- “Militantropos” - Directed by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova & Simon Mozgovyi (Ukraine, Austria, France)
- “Riefenstahl” - Directed by Andres Veiel (Germany)
- “Songs of Slow Burning Earth” (Pisni zemli shscho povolno horyt) - Directed by Olha Zhurba (Ukraine, France, Denmark, Sweden)
- “The Shards” (Oskolky) - Directed by Masha Chernaya (Georgia, Germany)
- “Twst / Things We Said Today” - Directed by Andrei Ujică (France, Romania)
- “With Hasan in Gaza” - Directed by Kamal Aljafari (Germany)
Animated Feature Films
- “Arco” - Directed by Ugo Bienvenu (France)
- “Balentes” - Directed by Giovanni Columbu (Italy, Germany)
- “Checkered Ninja 3” (Ternet Ninja 3) - Directed by Anders Matthesen & Thorbjørn Christoffersen (Denmark)
- “Dandelion’s Odyssey” (Planetes) - Directed by Momoko Seto (France)
- “Dog of God” (Dieva Suns) - Directed by Raitis Abele & Lauris Abele (Latvia, United States)
- “Little Amelie” (Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes) - Directed by Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han (France)
- “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake” (L’Olívia i el terratrèmol invisible) - Directed by Irene Iborra Rizo (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile)
- “Tales from the Magic Garden” (Pohádky po babičce) - Directed by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France)
So, which film do you think will take home the top prize? Will it be the critically acclaimed “Bugonia” or perhaps the heartwarming “Sentimental Value”? Or maybe an underdog will surprise us all! Share your predictions and thoughts in the comments. Let's discuss and celebrate the magic of European cinema together!
