LIVE: The European Film Awards are taking place in Berlin. Three Cannes-premiering, and winning, films - Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value,' Óliver Laxe's 'Sirāt' and Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' - are among the nominees for Europe's top film prize.
The 38th European Film Awards will be decided tonight in Berlin at the biggest celebration of Europe's film industry.
Traditionally held in December, the European Film Academy has decided to stage this year's edition now to better position the prize-giving ceremony in the international awards season.
Often dubbed 'Europe's equivalent of the Oscars' both Joachim Trier’s family drama Sentimental Value and Óliver Laxe’s post-apocalyptic odyssey Sirāt have emerged as the frontrunners, with four nominations apiece.
Follow the awards live here on Euronews Culture.
Sentimental Value, which won last year’s Grand Prix in Cannes, is nominated in the Best European Film category, as well as Best Director for Joachim Trier, Best Actress for Renate Reinsve, Best Actor for Stellan Skarsgård, and Best Screenwriter for Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier.
All richly deserved, as the family drama features top-notch performances from both Reinsve and Skarsgård, as well as a script which explores dysfunctional family dynamics in a heartwrenching way.
In our review, we wrote: “Despite a predictable denouement you’ll have guessed by the end of the first act, Sentimental Value does come together as mature ode to trying one’s best and how, in some cases, life and art can converge to create something bigger." Read the full review here.
Neck and neck with Sentimental Value is Sirāt, one of our favourite films of 2025 and the winner of Cannes’ Jury Prize. Óliver Laxe’s strange and spiritual odyssey is nominated for Best European Film, Best Director, Best Actor for Sergi López, and Best Screenwriter for Santiago Fillol and Laxe.
In our review, we wrote: “Whether you’re completely on board with the trip to oblivion or the ambitious swings Sirāt takes, Laxe conjures such a dizzying and invigorating trance that you’re sure to take this film home with you. Its impact will reverberate in your mind and bones.” Read the full review here.
Elsewhere, Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner It Was Just An Accident has three nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenwriter for Panahi. The Sound of Falling also has three nods: Best Film, Best Director for Mascha Schilinski and Best Screenwriter for Schilinski and Louise Peter.
Fifteen features will compete for the Best European Film prize, following a rule change meaning that films shortlisted for the Best Documentary and Best Animation categories can also compete for the top prize.
Oscar-nominated Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann (Persona, Scenes From A Marriage) will receive a lifetime achievement honour at next year’s EFAs, while Italian director Alice Rohrwacher (La Chimera, Happy as Lazzaro) will be honoured with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award.
Here are the EFA 2026 nominations in full:
Best European Film
- AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE (Spain, France) - Directed by Albert Serra
- ARCO (France) - Directed by Ugo Bienvenu
- DOG OF GOD (Latvia, US) - Directed by Raitis Ābele & Lauris Ābele
- FIUME O MORTE! (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy) - Directed by Igor Bezinović
- IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (France, Iran, Luxembourg) - Directed by Jafar Panahi
- LITTLE AMELIE (France) - Directed by Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han
- OLIVIA AND THE INVISIBLE EARTHQUAKE (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile) - Directed by Irene Iborra Rizo
- RIEFENSTAHL (Germany) - Directed by Andres Veiel
- SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden) -Directed by Joachim Trier
- SIRÂT (Spain, France) - Directed by Oliver Laxe
- SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH (Ukraine, France, Denmark, Sweden) - Directed by Olha Zhurba
- SOUND OF FALLING (Germany) - Directed by Mascha Schilinski
- TALES FROM THE MAGIC GARDEN (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France) - Directed by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec,
- THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (France, Tunisia) - Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
- WITH HASAN IN GAZA (Germany) - Directed by Kamal Aljafari
Best European Documentary
- AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE
- FIUME O MORTE!
- RIEFENSTAHL
- SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH
- WITH HASAN IN GAZA
Best European Animated Feature Film
- ARCO
- DOG OF GOD
- LITTLE AMELIE
- OLIVIA AND THE INVISIBLE EARTHQUAKE
- TALES FROM THE MAGIC GARDEN
Best European Director
- Yorgos Lanthimos for BUGONIA
- Oliver Laxe for SIRĀT
- Jafar Panahi for IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
- Mascha Schilinski for SOUND OF FALLING
- Joachim Trier for SENTIMENTAL VALUE
European Actress
- Leonie Benesch in LATE SHIFT
- Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in DUSE
- Léa Drucker in CASE 137
- Vicky Krieps in LOVE ME TENDER
- Renate Reinsve in SENTIMENTAL VALUE
European Actor
- Sergi López in SIRĀT
- Mads Mikkelsen in THE LAST VIKING
- Toni Servillo in LA GRAZIA
- Stellan Skarsgård in SENTIMENTAL VALUE
- Idan Weiss in FRANZ
European Screenwriter
- Santiago Fillol & Oliver Laxe for SIRĀT
- Jafar Panahi for IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
- Mascha Schilinski & Louise Peter for SOUND OF FALLING
- Paolo Sorrentino for LA GRAZIA
- Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier for SENTIMENTAL VALUE
European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
- LITTLE TROUBLE GIRLS (KAJ TI JE DEKLICA) (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia) - Directed by Urška Djukić
- MY FATHER’S SHADOW (United Kingdom, Nigeria) - Directed by Akinola Davies Jr
- ON FALLING (United Kingdom, Portugal) - Directed by Laura Carreira
- ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHEN HEMME DİES (Turkey, Germany) - Directed by Murat Fıratoğlu
- SAUNA (Denmark) - Directed by Mathias Broe
- UNDER THE GREY SKY (Poland) - Directed by Mara Tamkovich
European Young Audience Award
- ARCO
- I ACCIDENTALLY WROTE A BOOK (Hungary, Netherlands) - Directed by Nóra Lakos
- SIBLINGS (Italy) - Directed Greta Scarano
