One of the frontrunners for the foreign film Oscar is Belgian entry “Broken Circle Breakdown,” which was a breakout hit in Belgium before it won the audience award at Berlin last February. The improbable bluegrass musical romance went on to delight global festival audiences, winning best screenplay at Tribeca. Now the Felix van Groeningen film leads the field with five nominations for the 26th European Film Awards, which were announced Saturday morning. It’s currently playing in limited release stateside (Tomatometer ranking: 80%).
This crowdpleaser is a four-hankie love story between a sexy tattoo shop owner (Belgian star Veerle Batens) and a freewheeling banjo player (Johan Heldenbergh) who start a family and must confront their different ideologies when their daughter (Nell Cattrysse) gets sick. The film is also nominated for the European Film Awards’ People’s Choice prize. It is the only film to sweep all major categories.
Also nominated is another well-received Oscar entry, Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Great Beauty,” which played well in Cannes and scored nominations for picture, director, screenplay and actor for Toni Servillo. European award nominee “Blue is the Warmest Color” was not submitted for the Oscar by France because it was released after the eligibility cut-off, and “Snow White” was Spain’s Oscar entry last year. Spain also scored a nomination in the comedy category for Pedro Almodovar’s raucous “I’m So Excited,” and Danish auteur Susanne Bier’s adult romance “Love is All You Need” also landed in the comedy category. Germany submitted another film, “Two Lives,” for the Oscar, which is playing well with Academy members.
In the acting categories, Keira Knightley landed a nomination for Working Title’s “Anna Karenina,” which vied for stateside awards last year, as did Naomi Watts for “The Impossible.”
The more than 2,900 EFA Members will now vote for the winners who will be presented during the awards ceremony on December 7 in Berlin.
Nominated are:
EUROPEAN FILM 2013
THE BEST OFFER
Italy, 130 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Giuseppe Tornatore
PRODUCED BY: Isabella Cocuzza & Arturo Paglia
BLANCANIEVES
Spain/France, 104 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Pablo Berger
PRODUCED BY: Ibon Cormenzana, Jérôme Vidal & Pablo Berger
THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Belgium, 100 min
DIRECTED BY: Felix van Groeningen
WRITTEN BY: Carl Joos & Felix van Groeningen
PRODUCED BY: Dirk Impens
LA GRANDE BELLEZZA
THE GREAT BEAUTY
Italy/France, 140 min
DIRECTED BY: Paolo Sorrentino
WRITTEN BY: Paolo Sorrentino & Umberto Contarello
PRODUCED BY: Nicola Giuliano & Francesca Cima
OH BOY!
Germany, 83 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Jan Ole Gerster
PRODUCED BY: Marcos Kantis & Alexander Wadouh
LA VIE D’ADELE: CHAPITRES 1 & 2
ADELE: CHAPTERS 1 & 2
France, 179 min
DIRECTED BY: Adellatif Kechiche
WRITTEN BY: Abdellatif Kechiche & Ghalya Lacroix
PRODUCED BY: Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval & Abdellatif Kechiche
EUROPEAN COMEDY 2013
LOS AMANTES PASAJEROS
I’M SO EXCITED!
Spain, 90 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Pedro Almodóvar
PRODUCED BY: Agustín Almodóvar & Esther García
BENVENUTO PRESIDENTE!
WELCOME MR PRESIDENT!
Italy, 100 min
DIRECTED BY: Riccardo Milani
WRITTEN BY: Fabio Bonifacci
PRODUCED BY: Nicola Giuliano & Francesca Cima
DEN SKALDEDE FRISØR
LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED
Denmark, 111 min
DIRECTED BY: Susanne Bier
WRITTEN BY: Anders Thomas Jensen & Susanne Bier
PRODUCED BY: Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Vibeke Windeløv
SVECENIKOVA DJECA
THE PRIEST’S CHILDREN
Croatia/Serbia, 93 min
DIRECTED BY: Vinko Brešan
WRITTEN BY: Mate Matišić & Vinko Brešan
PRODUCED BY: Ivan Maloča
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2013
Pablo Berger for BLANCANIEVES
Felix van Groeningen for THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Abdellatif Kechiche for LA VIE D’ADELE (Adele)
François Ozon for DANS LA MAISON (In the House)
Paolo Sorrentino for LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (The Great Beauty)
Giuseppe Tornatore for THE BEST OFFER
EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2013
Keira Knightley in ANNA KARENINA
Veerle Baetens in THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Barbara Sukowa in HANNAH ARENDT
Naomi Watts in LO IMPOSIBLE (The Impossible)
Luminita Gheorghiu in POZITIA COPILULUI (Child’s Pose)
EUROPEAN ACTOR 2013
Jude Law in ANNA KARENINA
Johan Heldenbergh in THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Fabrice Luchini in DANS LA MAISON (In the House)
Toni Servillo in LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (The Great Beauty)
Tom Schilling in OH BOY
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2013
Tom Stoppard for ANNA KARENINA
Giuseppe Tornatore for THE BEST OFFER
Carl Joos & Felix van Groeningen for THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
François Ozon for DANS LA MAISON (In the House)
Paolo Sorrentino & Umberto Contarello for LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (The Great Beauty)
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