Who’s nominated for what at the European Film Awards
The nominees for the 24th European Film Awards, which take place in Berlin on December 3rd 2011, have been announced. The European Film Awards celebrate excellence in cinematic achievements and are restricted to European cinema, producers, directors and actors.
Controversial director Lars Von Trier leads the nominations with seven nods in nine categories, including European Director, for his most recent film Melancholia. Melancholia focuses on Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) as they navigate the pitfalls of the planet Melancholia’s proximity to Earth as well as Justine’s doomed wedding reception, her marriage and her depression. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kirsten Dunst – who won Best Actress at Cannes – have been nominated in the European Actress category for their performances and will go head to head with Tilda Swinton for her outstanding performance in We Need To Talk About Kevin.
The other nominees for European Film include Tom Hooper’s Oscar winner The King’s Speech, The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin Au Velo), Melancholia, Le Havre and another Oscar winner, Haevnen (In A Better World), for European Film of the Year.
The Artist was a surprise hit at the Cannes Film Festival this year, having been moved into Competition at the last minute. Jean Dujardin, who is nominated for European Actor, won the Best Actor accolade at Cannes at the festival for his performance as George Valentin, a silent movie star in the 1920s who must evolve or fade as talking pictures sound the death knell for his career. The Artist is charming and sweet; a film lover’s film that is as clever as it is funny.
The Kid With a Bike (Le Gamin Au Velo) is nominated in four categories; European Director for Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, European Film, European Screenwriter, European Actress for Cecile de France. The film follows Cyril, a young boy who is taken into a state run youth centre. After he befriends a local hairdresser, she offers to foster him at the weekends, and Cyril is faced with a choice between his past and his future. The Kid With a Bike won the Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Robert Bresson Award in Venice.
Le Havre follows the relationship between a young African boy who arrives by cargo ship at the port of Le Havre and an elderly man who takes him into his home. Le Havre won the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes and the Arri-Zeiss Award at the Munich Film Festival. Suzanne Bier’s Haevnen (In A Better World), the story of two families who unexpectedly cross paths, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this year.
Over 2,500 members of the European Film Academy are now voting for the winners, which will be presented at an awards ceremony in Berlin on December 3rd. past winners include Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others and two Lars Von Trier films; Dancer in the Dark and Breaking the Waves.
Words – Brogen Hayes