EFA's Long List and Cannes/Oscar Crossover History

We already shared the EFA's People Choice nominees but it's important to remember that that's a special award, quite apart from their actual nominations. In their slightly tortured roll-out we get part two, the long list. These are the titles that form the "selection list"... they have to do it this way before nominations from a sheer numbers perspective. Add up the annual releases from dozens and dozens of countries and you have hundreds of films, you know? Here are the 52 films their nominators will be considering. We've divvied it up by country for you and if they're already a part of the Oscar race or on TIFF's schedule, we'll say so. The titles will be a mix of familiar to you and "what is that?" to anyone reading because who can keep up with every country's cinema?

Because there are so many films, though, it's all after the jump...

Titles from Finland, Iceland, and Czech Republic

Austria

• Goodnight Mommy (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala) CURRENT OSCAR SUBMISSION 

Belgium 

• The Brand New Testament (Jaco Van Dormael)

Bulgaria

• The Lesson (Kristina Grozeva & Peta Valchanov). This is up for the Lux prize at Venice. If it wins it gets extra help towards international distribution. 

Croatia 

The High Sun tells three different love stories across decades in neighboring villages plagued with inter-ethnic hatred

• The High Sun (Dalibor Matanic) CURRENT OSCAR SUBMISSION 

Czech Republic

• The Snake Brothers (Jan Prusinovsky)

Denmark

• Men & Chickens (Anders Thomas Jensen) Playing @ TIFF

Finland

• They Have Escaped (Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää)

France
They have not selected their Oscar entry yet 

• In the Shadow of Women (Philippe Garrel) Playing @ TIFF
• My Golden Days (Arnaud Desplechin)
• The Measure of a Man (Stéphane Brizé)

Georgia

• Corn Island (George Ovashvili) This film was the biggest surprise among finalists for Oscar's shortlist last season but in the end it was not nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. (Capsule Review)

Germany

• 13 Minutes / Elser (Oliver Hirschbiegel)
• Everything Will Be Fine (Wim Wenders) English language - Reviewed
• Labyrinth of Lies (Giulio Ricciarelli) CURRENT OSCAR SUBMISSION / Reviewed
• Victoria (Sebastian Schipper) This one shot movie is winning lots of buzz and German Oscars but it's mostly in English so it wasn't truly in the running for their Oscar submission this year. Playing @ TIFF / Nominated for EFA's People's Choice

Greece

I'm skipping "The Lobster" at TIFF because it'll be playing at NYFF but it will hurt. So eager!

• Wednesday 04:45 (Alexis Alexiou)
• The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Playing @ TIFF

Iceland

• Virgin Mountain (Dagur Kári)
• Rams (Grímur Hákonarson) Playing @ TIFF / CURRENT OSCAR SUBMISSION

Israel

• Afterthought (Elad Keidan) Nominated for the Ophir Award (Israel's Oscar)
• The Farewell Party (Tal Granit & Sharon Maymon)  This popular euthanasia dramedy was considered for Oscar submission last season when it was up for the Ophir but wasn't chosen. (Capsule Review)

Italy

• Black Souls (Francesco Munzi)
• Mia Madre (Nanni Moretti)
• Tale of Tales (Matteo Garrone)
• Youth (Paolo Sorrentino) Sorrentino's English Language follow up to The Great Beauty, opening in December in the US and hoping for big ticket Oscar nominations like Best Picture. Playing @ TIFF

Lithuania 

Summer of Sangaile is a teenage LGBT drama about girls who meet at an aeronautical show near a lakeside villa

• Peace To Us In Our Dreams (Sharunas Bartas)
• The Summer of Sangaile (Alanté Kavaïté)

Kosovo

• Father/Babai (Visar Morina)
• Three Windows and a Hanging (Isa Qosja)

The Netherlands
Neither of these are the Dutch Oscar submission - they went with a film called Paradise Suite which is also at TIFF 

• Eisenstein in Guanajuato (Peter Greenaway)
• Schneider vs. Bax (Alex Van Warmerdam) Playing @ TIFF 

Norway
Both of their titles are in English - so none of the films they considered sending to Oscar this season are represented

• Louder Than Bombs (Joachim Trier)
• Miss Julie (Liv Ullmann) Reviewed

Poland

• Body (Malgorzata Szumowska) Playing @ TIFF

Portugal

• Arabian Nights, Vols 1-3 (Miguel Gomes) Playing @ TIFF

Romania

Most of us thought Romania would select "Treasure" for Oscar consideration but they went with "Aferim!" a black and white adventure about the search for a missing Gypsy slave

• Aferim! (Radu Jude) CURRENT OSCAR SUBMISSION 
• The Treasure (Corneliu Porumboiu) Playing @ TIFF

Russia

• Corrections Class (Ivan Tverdovsky)
• The Postman's White Nights (Andrei Konchalovsky)
• Under Electric Clouds (Aleksey German)

Serbia

"No One's Child" is about a feral boy raised by wolves returning to civilization... of a kind.

• No One's Child (Vuk Rsumovic)

Slovakia

• Koza (Ivan Ostrochovsky) Playing @ TIFF

Spain

• Magical Girl (Carlos Vermut)
• Marshland / La Isla Mínima (Alberto Rodriguez) Nominated for EFA's People's Choice

Sweden

• The Here After (Magnus von Horn) Playing @ TIFF
• A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Roy Andersson) CURRENT OSCAR SUBMISSION / Reviewed / Nominated for EFA's People's Choice

Switzerland

• Dora or the Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents (Stina Werenfels)

Turkey

Turkey's "Mustang" bears some similarities to "The Virgin Suicides" as their home becomes a prison

• Mustang (Denis Gamze Ergüven) - this is up for the Lux prize at Venice. If it wins it gets extra help towards international distribution.

UK 

• 45 Years (Andrew Haigh) Playing @ TIFF
• The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland)
• Ex Machina (Alex Garland) Articles
• Paddington (Paul King) Articles

Which do you think will win the EFA nominations?

As a reminder their Best Picture winners this century have been: Ida (2014), The Great Beauty (2013), Amour (2012), Melancholia (2011), The Ghost Writer (2010), The White Ribbon (2009), Gomorra (2008), 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), The Lives of Others (2006), Caché (2005), Head-On (2004), Good-bye Lenin! (2003), Talk To Her (2002), Amelie (2001), Dancer in the Dark (2000)... which you have to admit is a mighty stellar roster with a ton of Cannes and/or Oscar Foreign Language Film history crossover. So they're always worth keeping an eye on. It's tough to say what might win their nominations this year though Sweden's A Pigeon Sat on a Branch is likely given the People's Choice citation and Italy's Youth is another high profile possibility given its Cannes reception. A nomination here is no guarantee that Oscar will nominate you for in the Foreign Language Film category (though Oscar historically prefers European cinema to Asian, Middle Eastern or South American cinema) as there are as many high profile snubs as high profile correlations) but it doesn't hurt.

P.S. Don't forget to vote on their people's choice award to be entered to win a trip to the awards show in Berlin.

Comments

[Amir]

Mustang is also playing at TIFF.

[Evan]

Rams was just named Iceland's Oscar submission. Spain also named their Oscar shortlist today, which includes Magical Girl but not Marshland.

[cca]

The other two films shortlisted by Spain are "Felices 140" (Happy 140) and Loreak (Flowers). Loreak was the first Basque language movie to be a Best Picture nominee at the Goya awards. Both Loreak and Magical Girl are great films, but the less Oscar friendly films you can imagine. But well, if the Academy nominated "Dogtooth" anything can happen.

[GeorgeT]

"Sorrentino's first English Language film" - Second, unless we're all ignoring "This Must Be The Place" for some reason.

[goran]

This isn't a surprise really but looking at that list of winners you wanna wonder why anyone cares about Ampass's annual best picture choices, considering this group of European award winners here is just soooooooooooooo much stronger/made up of films that are much more important to film history

[NATHANIEL R]

George T -- i'm definitely ignoring it but i shall correct ;)

[Squasher88]

Hmm....where's Son of Saul and Dheepan. I'm shocked they aren't on the list. Not sure about the eligibility criteria, but both have been released in their home countries already.

[Charlie]

Thanks a lot for this comprehensive list.
You could add that 'Arabian Nights: vol.2' has been announced as Portugal's Oscar submission.

[Glenn Dunks]

Couple of thoughts:

1) RAMS is so good and I'd be predicting it for a nomination. It's sly comedy could feel very necessary next to SON OF SAUL, which I'm sure will figure prominently (that one is smartly doing the 2015 release and not waiting for 2016 - I think I read that somewhere, right?)

2) CORN ISLAND is so good and I wish it'd been nominated instead of the somewhat similar TANGERINES.

3) Is ARABIAN NIGHTS PART 2 really Portugal's selection? That'd be odd.

4) I think I'm seeing Czech Republic's SNAKE BROTHERS next week. I shall anticipate it.

5) I'm kinda thinking PIGEON might make to the Oscar five. That category has been very good lately at nominating those auteur-driven projects and making the category feel if not definitive of global cinema at least a better representation of it.

[Charlie]

@Glenn : yes, odd indeed, but not much competition in Portuguese film industry this year.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/portugal-selects-arabian-nights-vol-2-the-desolate-one-as-oscar-submission-20150907