European Film Award Nominees

The nominees for the 2009 European Film Awards are in! Culling from 48 films released within a window of 1 July 2008 to 15 July 2009 (the specifics are really murky, as a country can decide whether to submit a film based on their festival premiere or their national release), the official nominees have been announced, some of them expected, some surprising and others downright foolish. Apparently, if the European Film Academy is to believe The Reader is European enough to be included, I guess they're silly enough to think it's a good film. I hope I'm not the only person bothered by films set in foreign countries where all the actors speak English (or worse, with accents!). I suppose a nod for Winslet is always acceptable, but David Kross as well!? Anywho, the nominations for Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank are all well-deserved, especially the less likely choice of Katie Jarvis in the Actress category. The nominees are listed below, and the award ceremony will take place in Germany on 12 December.

Film

Fish Tank - d. Andrea Arnold, UK
Let the Right One In [Låt den rätte komma in] - d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden
A Prophet [Un prophète] - d. Jacques Audiard, France
The Reader - d. Stephen Daldry, Germany/UK
Slumdog Millionaire - d. Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan, UK
The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band] - d. Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany/France/Italy

Director

Pedro Almodóvar - Broken Embraces [Los abrazos rotos]
Andrea Arnold - Fish Tank
Jacques Audiard - Un prophète
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Michael Haneke - Das weiße Band
Lars von Trier - Antichrist

Actor

Moritz Bleibtreu - The Baader Meinhof Complex [Der Baader Meinhof Komplex]
Steve Evets - Looking for Eric
David Kross - The Reader
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire
Tahar Rahim - Un prophète
Filippo Timi - Vincere

Actress

Penélope Cruz - Los abrazos rotos
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Antichrist
Katie Jarvis - Fish Tank
Yolande Moreau - Séraphine
Noomi Rapace - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [Män som hatar kvinnor]
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Screenwriter

Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain - Un prophète
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
Gianni di Gregorio - Mid-August Lunch [Pranzo di ferragosto]
Michael Haneke - Das weiße Band

Cinematographer

Christian Berger - Das weiße Band
Anthony Dod Mantle - Antichrist; Slumdog Millionaire
Maxim Drozdov, Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev - Paper Soldier
Stéphane Fontaine - Un prophète

Composer

Alexandre Desplat - Coco Before Chanel [Coco avant Chanel]
Jakob Groth - Män som hatar kvinnor
Alberto Iglesias - Los abrazos rotos
Johan Söderqvist - Låt den rätte komma in

Prix d'excellence

Francesca Calvelli, editor - Vincere
Catherine Leterrier, costume desginer - Coco avant Chanel
Waldemar Pokromski, make-up and hair - Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Brigitte Taillandier, Francis Wargnier, Jean-Paul Hurier, Marc Doisne, sound design - Un prophète

Discovery

Ajami - d. Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani, Israel/Germany
The Other Bank - d. George Ovashvili, Georgia/Kazakhstan
Katalin Varga - d. Peter Strickland, Romania/UK/Hungary
Be Good [Sois sage] - d. Juliette Garcias, France/Denmark
Autumn [Sonbahar] - d. Özcan Alper, Turkey/Germany

Animated Feature Film

Mia and the Migoo [Mia et le Migou] - d. Jacques-Rémy Girerd, France
Niko & the Way to the Stars [Niko - Lentäjän poika] - d. Michael Henger, Kari Juusonen, Finland/Germany/Denmark/Iceland
The Secret of Kells - d. Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey, France/Ireland/Belgium

Documentary

The Beaches of Agnès [Les plages d'Agnès] - d. Agnès Varda, France
Below Sea Level - d. Gianfranco Rosi, Italy/USA
Burma VJ [Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land] - d. Anders Østergaard, Denmark
Cooking History [Ako sa varia dejiny] - d. Péter Kerekes, Slovakia/Austria/Czech Republic
The Damned of the Sea [Les damnés de la mer] - d. Jawad Rhalib, Belgium
Defamation - d. Yoav Shamir, Denmark/Austria/Israel/USA
The Heart of Jenin [Das Herz von Jenin] - d. Leon Geller, Marcus Vetter, Germany
Pianomania - d. Robert Cibis, Lilian Franck, Germany/Austria
The Sound of Insects: Record of a Mummy - d. Peter Liechti, Switzerland
The Woman with the 5 Elephants [Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten] - d. Vadim Jendreyko, Switzerland/Germany

People's Choice Award

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex - d. Uli Edel, Germany
Los abrazos rotos - d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
Coco avant Chanel - d. Anne Fontaine, France
The Duchess - d. Saul Dibb, UK/Italy/France
Fly Me to the Moon - d. Ben Stassen, Belgium
Män som hatar kvinnor - d. Niels Arden Oplev, Sweden/Denmark/Germany
Låt den rätte komma in - d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden
Pranzo di ferragosto - d. Gianni di Gregorio, Italy
Slumdog Millionaire - d. Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Transporter 3 - d. Olivier Megaton, France/UK