European Film Awards Shocker: Which Star Took Home the Crown Under Retrograde Chaos?
Added on January 17, 2026 inMovie News Cards
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Well, isn’t this a twist worthy of Neptune in retrograde? The European Film Awards (EFA) have taken a bold leap from their cozy December nook into the bustling mid-January spotlight—right smack in the heart of awards season frenzy. Clever move or cosmic coincidence? Either way, it’s got me wondering: will this celestial scheduling shuffle cast a brighter glow on Europe’s finest as they vie for international acclaim (hello, Oscars!)? All the Best Film nominees this year are not just nipping at the Oscars’ heels; they’re practically arm wrestling for the spotlight. From Joachim Trier’s soul-touching Norwegian tale Sentimental Value to Jafar Panahi’s gripping Iranian/French moral thriller It Was Just an Accident, and Olivier Laxe’s post-apocalyptic road saga Sirāt—each film is a constellation of compelling stories that demand your attention. Yet, don’t expect the usual Hollywood glitz without grit—politics took center stage as Panahi delivered a searing tribute to struggle and silence-breaking, reminding us that when freedom suffocates in one corner, no place is truly safe. So, as stars align both in the sky and on the silver screen, I find myself asking: can art be the cosmic force that shifts not just narratives, but nations? Dive into the drama, the triumphs, and the hard truths shining through this year’s EFA celebration. LEARN MORE
The European Film Awards (EFA), this year moved from December to mid-January, hopping putting the event in peak awards territory will help boost buzz around European contenders for international honors, including the Oscars.
All of this year’s EFA Best Film nominees are Oscar contenders: Joachim Trier‘s Norwegian melodrama Sentimental Value, Jafar Panahi‘s Palme d’Or winning Iranian/French moral thriller It Was Just an Accident, Olivier Laxe’s post-apocalyptic road movie Sirāt, Mascha Schilinski’s multi-generational German period film Sound of Falling, and Kaouther Ben Hania’s harrowing Gaza drama The Voice of Hind Rajab.
But anyone expecting an Oscar-style awards ceremony on Saturday, or a “no politics please” event akin to the Golden Globes, were in for a surprise. Politics were front-and-center at the EFAs from the get-go.
Iranian director Panahi took the stage, to a standing ovation, ahead of the ceremony to read a statement about the dire situation in his home country. Decrying the violence of the regime in Tehran, and the massacre of anti-government protestors, he called on the world to speak out and take action.
“This is not just the pain of one country if the world does not respond to this blatant violence today. Not only Iran but the entire world is at risk,” he said. “Violence left unanswered becomes normalized and when it become normalized, it’s spread become contagious. When the truth is crushed in one place, freedom suffocates everywhere. Then no-one is safe. Anywhere in the world, not in Iran, not in Europe, not in America… that is precisely why today as filmmakers and artists more than ever, if we are disappointed with politicians, we must at least must refuse to remain silent because silence in a time of crime is not neutrality silence, silence is a participation in darkness.”
Panahi was speaking ten days into a brutal crackdown of nationwide protests by Iran’s hardline government. At least 3,000 protestors are believed to have been killed and another 18,000 arrested. In his speech, Panahi spoke of a reported 12,000 deaths.
In the EFA’s director’s race, Panahi, Laxe, Trier and Schilinski will be going up against Yorgos Lanthimos, nominated for the Emma Stone/Jessie Plemons starrer Bugonia.
Trier’s Sentimental Value has a slight edge in the overall nominations, with 5 noms across the top 5 categories. Laxe’s Sirāt is right behind it with 4 noms, for best feature, director, actor and screenplay, followed by It Was Just an Accident and Sound of Falling, with 3 noms each.
Sirāt and Sound of Falling picked up a couple of crafts wins early on, with Laia Ateca taking European Production Design for Sirāt, and Sabrina Krämer winning European Costume Designer for Sound of Falling.
Another Oscar hopeful, Ugo Bienvenu’s hopeful animated fantasy Arco, won the top prize for European Animation Feature Film.
Liv Ullmann, the two-time Oscar-nominated Norwegian actress and director, best known for such 1970s classics as Cries and Whispers, and Scenes From a Marriage, received the EFA’s lifetime achievement honor. She used the opportunity to take a sly jab at Trump, noting that Norway has a rule “that if you misuse the Nobel Prize, we take it away from you,” a reference to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s decision, widely criticized, to give her Nobel peace prize medal to Trump.
Alice Rohrwacher, the Italian director of La Chimera, Futura, and Happy as Lazzaro will be honored with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award.
Check out the full list of winners below.
Afternoons of Solitude
Arco
Dog of God
Fiume o Morte!, dir. Igor Bezinović
It Was Just an Accident, dir. Jafar Panahi
Little Amelie, dir. Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han
Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, dir. Irene Iborra Rizo
Riefenstahl, dir. Andres Veiel
Sentimental Value, dir. Joachim Trier
Sirāt, dir. Oliver Laxe
Songs of Slow Burning Earth, dir. Olha Zhurba
Sound of Falling, dir. Mascha Schilinski
Tales From the Magic Garden, dir. David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec
The Voice of Hind Rajab, dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
With Hasan in Gaza, dir. Kamal Aljafari
Afternoons of Solitude, dir. Albert Serra
Fiume o Morte!, dir. Igor Bezinović
Riefenstahl, dir. Andres Veiel
Songs of Slow Burning Earth, dir. Olha Zhurba
With Hasan in Gaza, dir. Kamal Aljafari
Arco (WINNER)
Dog of God
Little Amelie
Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake
Tales From the Magic Garden
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
Leonie Benesch for Late Shift
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi for Duse
Léa Drucker for Case 137
Vicky Krieps for Love Me Tender
Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value
Sergi López for Sirāt
Mads Mikkelsen for The Last Viking
Toni Servillo for La Grazia
Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value
Idan Weiss for Franz
Santiago Fillol and Oliver Laxe for Sirāt
Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident
Mascha Schilinski and Louise Peter for Sound of Falling
Paolo Sorrentino for La Grazia
Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value
Little Trouble Girls, dir. Urška Djukić
My Father’s Shadow, dir. Akinola Davies Jr
On Falling, dir. Laura Carreira (WINNER)
One of Those Days When Hemme Dies, dir. Murat Fıratoğlu
Sauna, dir. Mathias Broe
Under the Grey Sky, dir. Mara Tamkovich
Arco
I Accidentally Wrote a Book
Siblings (WINNER)
Mauro Herce for Sirāt
Fabian Gamper for Sound of Falling
Manu Dacosse for The Stranger
Yorgos Mavropsaridis for Bugonia
Toni Froschhammer for Die My Love
Cristóbal Fernández for Sirāt
James Price for Bugonia
Jørgen Stangebye Larsen for Sentimental Value
Laia Ateca for Sirāt (WINNER)
Ursula Patzak for Duse
Michaela Horáčková Hořejší for Franz
Sabrina Krämer for Sound of Falling (WINNER)
Yngvill Kolset Haga and Avy Kaufman for Sentimental Value
Nadia Acimi, Luís Bértolo and María Rodrigo for Sirāt
Karimah El-Giamal and Jacqueline Rietz for Sound of Falling
Torsten Witte for Bugonia
Gabriela Poláková for Franz
Irina Schwarz and Anne-Marie Walther for Sound of Falling
Johnnie Burn for Bugonia
Laia Casanovas, Amanda Villavieja and Yasmina Praderas for Sirāt
Gwennolé Le Borgne, Marion Papinot, Lars Ginzel, Elias Boughedir and Amal Attia for The Voice of Hind Rajab
Christy
Deaf
It Was Just an Accident
Love Me Tender
Sentimental Value
Being John Smith
City of Poets (WINNER)
L’Avance
Man Number 4
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
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