If there’s one movie you might hear The Playlist prattling on about in the next few weeks, it’s Felix van Groeningen‘s “Broken Circle Breakdown.” Having already won the heart of Jessica Kiang when it hit Karlovy Vary earlier this year, I saw it this past week and was equally taken with the moving, messy, ambitious and beautiful film that has already received awards at both the Berlin Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. And the film’s list of honors may continue at the Oscars, where it’s Belgium’s entry, but first it’s stopping at European Film Awards, where it’s leading the pack of nominees.
This morning, organizers unveiled the full lineup of nominees, with Felix van Groeningen’s “Broken Circle Breakdown” came out on top with five nominations, one in each major category. The drama, told in a fractured narrative, tells the heartbreaking story of a young couple who fall in love and find their bond tested when their child is diagnosed with cancer. Perhaps falling somewhere between “Blue Is The Warmest Color” and “Blue Valentine,” the film is a pretty powerful look at the dizzying highs of falling for someone, and the painful lows when two people can no longer function together and find that whatever once drew them into each other’s orbit is forever stained. But, oh—I haven’t mentioned the music….
Groeningen’s film is powered by an excellent bluegrass soundtrack (the two lovers play together in a band), and it easily gives “Inside Llewyn Davis” a run for its money as the best movie music this year (“If I Needed You” is this movie’s “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)”—stirring stuff). So yes, we’re big fans of this movie and we hope these nominations help give it a bit of shine—it’s now playing in limited release.
The other big nominee is Paolo Sorrentino‘s odyssey “La Grande Bellezza” (“The Great Beauty“) which snagged four nominations. In terms of snubs, it’s a bit surprising to see “Blue Is The Warmest Color” nominated for Best Film and Best Director, but nothing for the actresses.
Full list of nominees below along with winners in the technical categories, who have already received their statues. The rest major prizes will be handed out on December 7th.
EUROPEAN FILM 2013
• THE BEST OFFER (Italy), Written and Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
• BLANCANIEVES (Spain/France), Written and Directed by Pablo Berger
• THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Belgium), Directed by Felix van Groeningen, Written by Carl Joos & Felix van Groeningen
• LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (THE GREAT BEAUTY) (Italy/France), Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, written by Paolo Sorrentino & Umberto Contarello
• OH BOY! (Germany), Written and Directed by Jan Ole Gerster
• LA VIE D’ADELE: CHAPITRES 1 & 2 (ADELE: CHAPTERS 1 & 2) (France), Directed by Adellatif Kechiche, Written by Abdellatif Kechiche & Ghalya Lacroix
EUROPEAN COMEDY 2013
• LOS AMANTES PASAJEROS (I’M SO EXCITED!) (Spain), Written and Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
• BENVENUTO PRESIDENTE! (WELCOME MR PRESIDENT!) (Italy), Directed by Riccardo Milani, Written by Fabio Bonifacci
• DEN SKALDEDE FRISØR (LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED) (Denmark), Directed By Susanne Bier, Written by Anders Thomas Jensen & Susanne Bier
• SVECENIKOVA DJECA (THE PRIEST’S CHILDREN) (Croatia/Serbia), Directed by Vinko Brešan, Written by Mate Matišić & Vinko Brešan
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)
European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
Äta sova dö (Eat Sleep Die), Gabriela Pichler, Sweden
Call Girl, Mikael Marcimain, Sweden, Norway, Ireland and Finland
Miele (Honey), valeria Golino, Italy and France
Oh Boy!, Jan Ole Gerster, Germany
La Plaga (The Plague), Neus Ballús, Spain
European Animated Feature Film
The Congress, Ari Folman, Israel, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg, France and Belgium
Jasmine, Alain Ughetto, France
Pinocchio, Enzo d’AIò, Italy, Luxembourg, France and Belgium
European Documentary
The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark, Norway and UK
L’Escale (Stop-Over), Kaveh Bakhtiari, Switzerland and France
L’Image Manquante (The Missing Picture), Rithy Panh, France and Cambodia
European Short Film
Cut, Christoph Girardet & Matthias Müller, Germany, 12′ (Vila do Conde nominee)
Dood Van Een Schaduw (Death of a Shadow), Tom Van Avermaet, Belgium and France, 20′ (Valladolid nominee)
Houses with Small Windows, Bülent Öztürk, Belgium, 15′ (Venice nominee)
La Lampe au Beurre de Yak (Butter Lamp), Hu Wei, France and China, 15′ (Drama nominee)
Letter, Sergei Loznitsa, Russia, 20′ (documentary) (Krakow nominee)
Misterio (Mystery), Chema García Ibarra, Spain, 12′ (Berlin nominee)
Morning, Cathy Brady, UK and Ireland, 21′ (Cork nominee)
As Ondas (The Waves), Miguel Fonseca, Portugal, 22′ (Ghent nominee)
Orbit Ever After, Jamie Stone, UK, 20′ (Bristol nominee)
Skok (Jump), Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva, Bulgaria, 30′ (Clermont-Ferrand nominee)
Sonntag 3 (Sunday 3), Jochen Kuhn, Germany, 14′ (Tampere nominee)
A Story for the Modlins, Sergio Oksman, Spain, 26′ (documentary) (Sarajevo nominee)
Though I Know The River Is Dry, Omar Robert Hamilton, Egypt, Palestine and UK, 20′ (Rotterdam nominee)
Yaderni Wydhody (Nuclear Waste), Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, Ukraine, 25′ (Grimstad nominee)
Zima, Christina Picchi, Russia, 12′ (documentary) (Locarno nominee)
Winners already announced
Carlo di Palma European Cinematographer Award: Asaf Sudry for Lemale et Ha’Halal (Fill The Void), Israel
European Editor: Cristiano Travaglioli for La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty), Italy and France
European Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood for Anna Karenina, UK
European Composer: Ennio Morricone for The Best Offer, Italy
European Costume Designer: Paco Delgado for Blancanieves, Spain and France
European Sound Designer: Matz Müller and Erik Mischijew for Paradies: Glaube (Paradise: Faith), Austria, Germany and France
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