European Film Awards Documentary Shortlist
You may discuss whether this is the right way to do it: to have 10 documentary film festivals recommend to the European Film Academy one film each to be nominated for the European Film Awards, followed by a decision taken by a small documentary committee. A look at the list reveals that the committee has done its best to get as many countries represented as possible, and yet there are no films from the Baltic countries, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Georgia… why?
Anyway, I am not complaining when on the list of 15 I see Piotr Stasik’s impressive ”21 x New York City” (photo), Pietro Marcello’s hybrid ”Lost and Beautiful”, ”Mallory” by master Helena Trestikova and Loznitsa’s wonderful archive work ”The Event”. And makes me happy to see Marianna Economou being there with her refugee story ”The Longest Run”, and ”Becoming Zlatan” by Gertten brothers as well. Surprised to see Jon Bang Carlsen with ”Déjà Vu”, love that director and love that film, but was he not already listed last year? Gianfranco Rosi is there, of course, with ”Fire at Sea” – an obvious favourite for the award?
The whole list to be found on
http://www.europeanfilmawards.eu
And for the selection procedure:
EFA Members will now vote for five documentary nominations. Based on these nominations, the EFA Members will then elect the ‘European Documentary 2016’ which will be announced during the awards ceremony on 10 December in Wroclaw, European Capital of Culture 2016.