Hold on tight, film buffs! Some of the most talked-about movies of the year are already making waves in the award season race, and the European Film Awards (EFA) are playing a major role. We're talking about potential Oscar contenders like Yorgos Lanthimos's Bugonia (starring the incredible Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons), Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value (with Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard, and Elle Fanning), and the internationally acclaimed It Was Just an Accident and The Voice of Hind Rajab. These films, among others, have landed on the prestigious EFA shortlist for 2026, signaling that they're definitely ones to watch.
But what does this shortlist really mean for these movies and the broader awards landscape? Let's dive in.
The European Film Academy recently released its extensive list of films vying for recognition at the 2026 awards ceremony. This shortlist encompasses a wide array of cinematic creations – feature films, compelling documentaries, and imaginative animated films – all hoping to snag an award at the event scheduled for January 17th in Berlin. This date is strategically important because, as we'll see later, the EFA is trying to position itself as a key influencer in the awards season.
Beyond It Was Just an Accident, which clinched the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the shortlist is brimming with other festival darlings. We're talking about films like Dag Johan Haugerud’s Dreams (a winner at Berlin), Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia (which opened the Venice festival), and Tereza Nvotová’s Father (a Zurich festival triumph). Many of these films are also in the running for the coveted International Feature Oscar, representing countries like Norway (Sentimental Value), France (It Was Just an Accident), Germany (Sound of Falling), Switzerland (Late Shift), and Belgium (Young Mothers). It's essentially a who's who of European cinema’s best, battling for recognition.
And this is the part most people miss... The European Film Academy made a calculated decision to move its awards ceremony to early January. Why? To get ahead of the BAFTAs and, more importantly, the Oscars. Their goal is clear: to amplify their influence on the awards conversation and ensure that the EFAs are the first major event to celebrate the finest European films of the preceding year. It's a bold move, essentially staking a claim as a key tastemaker in the international film community. This change allows for the EFA winners to potentially influence the voting in other awards shows, giving European cinema a louder voice on the global stage. Think of it as a strategic play for visibility and prestige.
Here’s a complete listing of the nominated films. Explore this list and see if you recognize any titles or filmmakers!
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)
But here's where it gets controversial... Some might argue that the EFA's attempt to front-run the Oscars is a bit presumptuous. Does an earlier ceremony really guarantee more influence, or does it simply add another layer of complexity to an already crowded awards season? Are the EFAs genuinely representative of the 'best' in European cinema, or are there inherent biases related to funding, distribution, or even political considerations?
What do you think? Does the European Film Academy's strategy to move its awards ceremony earlier in the year give it more influence, or is it just wishful thinking? And which film on this list are you most excited about? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
