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Fatherland Leads European Film Awards Nominations, La Bola Negra Follows

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In Short: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s 'La Bola Negra' follows closely with ten nominations, having already garnered significant attention and accolades since its premiere at Cannes.

The European Film Academy has announced the nominations for the 39th European Film Awards, with Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War drama 'Fatherland' leading the pack with 11 nominations.

Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s 'La Bola Negra' follows closely with ten nominations, having already garnered significant attention and accolades since its premiere at Cannes.

Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner 'Fjord' also received five nominations, joining 'Fatherland' and 'La Bola Negra' in the Best Film category.

The European Film Awards ceremony, set to take place in Greece in January 2027, will be the second time the event is held in January, a strategic move to align with the wider awards season.

In addition to 'Fatherland' and 'La Bola Negra,' other notable nominees include documentaries like 'NAZA,' 'Whispers in the Woods,' and 'Letters from A Silenced Country,' as well as animated films 'In Waves,' 'Iron Boy,' and 'Jim Queen.'

The European Film Academy, with 5,700 members, has been voting on the nominations based on the annual European Film Awards Shortlist.

La Bola Negra' is also being considered for Spain’s submission for the 2027 Best International Feature Film Academy Award, with Penélope Cruz potentially earning nominations for both 'The Invite' and 'La Bola Negra.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• The European Film Academy has announced the nominations for the 39th European Film Awards, with Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War drama 'Fatherland' leading the pack with 11 nominations.
• Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s 'La Bola Negra' follows closely with ten nominations, having already garnered significant attention and accolades since its premiere at Cannes.
• Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner 'Fjord' also received five nominations, joining 'Fatherland' and 'La Bola Negra' in the Best Film category.
• The European Film Awards ceremony, set to take place in Greece in January 2027, will be the second time the event is held in January, a strategic move to align with the wider awards season.
• The European Film Academy, with 5,700 members, has been voting on the nominations based on the annual European Film Awards Shortlist.
• La Bola Negra' is also being considered for Spain’s submission for the 2027 Best International Feature Film Academy Award, with Penélope Cruz potentially earning nominations for both 'The Invite' and 'La Bola Negra.

What's still developing

• Previous recent winners in the category have included Best International Feature Film Oscar winners Another Round and Sentimental Value as well as Quo Vadis, Aida?, Triangle of Sadness and Anatomy of a Fall, which won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award.
• It could land 9 or ten nods. (Now that Oscar rules allow two nominations for a single performer in a category, Penélope Cruz could land nominations for both “The Invite” and “La Bola Negra.”) The movie will play for the international Oscar bloc.
• The 2018 black-and-white Mexican autofiction was Best Picture-bound with nine nominations, eventually winning three, including Best International Feature and two for its director and cinematographer Alfonso Cuarón.
• The final Oscar nominations will be revealed on 15 December.
• Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, collectively known as “Los Javis,” the film stars Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close and Miguel Bernardeau and had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where Calvo and Ambrossi shared the Best Director prize with Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland.
• Previous winners that ultimately took home the Best Picture Oscar include Nomadland, Green Book, 12 Years a Slave, The King’s Speech and Slumdog Millionaire, while other recent winners including Hamnet, American Fiction, The Fabelmans, Belfast, Jojo Rabbit and La La Land went on to earn Best Picture nominations.
• An Oscar nomination is hardly guaranteed, but the road is looking unusually smooth, with Best Picture and even a Best Supporting Actress nod for Penélope Cruz suddenly within reach. 'La Bola Negra' AKA 'The Black Ball' Cast: Meet Who’s Who in Netflix’s Latest Cannes Hit Even with its festival triumphs and Netflix’s longest theatrical run, La Bola Negra faces a crowded Oscar field.
• Most winners in recent years have gone on to secure Best Picture nominations, making La Bola Negra ’s victory particularly intriguing.
• After all, 18 of the last 20 People’s winners have gone on to earn Best Picture nominations for the Oscars, and five have won: “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008), “The King’s Speech” (2010), “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “Green Book” (2018), and “Nomadland” (2020).
• Since 2012, all but one winner of the People’s Choice Award has gone on to score a best-picture nomination at the Oscars.
• Last year, “Hamnet” won it and later landed eight Oscar nominations.
• Nominated for best European film, alongside Fatherland and La Bola Negra, are Fjord, Woman Unknown and La Gradiva, a French coming-of-age drama from first-time director Marine Atlan.

Sources

• Deadlinelink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• Varietylink
• IndieWirelink
• Euronewslink
• Complexlink
• Varietylink
• Netflixjunkielink
• News-Heraldlink
• Sentinelcoloradolink
• Thewraplink
• WarpBeat — background on Spanish Drama 'La Bola Negra' Wins TIFF People's Choice Award link
• WarpBeat — background on La Bola Negra Wins TIFF People's Choice Award link
• Wikipedia — background on La bola negra link
• Midnight Showing — video link