Paweł Pawlikowski's Thomas Mann drama earned 11 nominations and Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi's Spanish epic 10, ahead of Palme d'Or winner 'Fjord', with winners to be named in Athens on 16 January 2027.
Paweł Pawlikowski's "Fatherland", a black-and-white period drama about the writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika, leads the race for the 39th European Film Awards with 11 nominations, the European Film Academy announced on Saturday, 14 November 2026. Close behind is "La Bola Negra", the Spanish epic directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, with 10 nominations. Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord", which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, follows with five, and Markus Schleinzer's "Rose" has four. According to Variety, the nominations reflect the votes of the academy's roughly 5,700 members, and the winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Athens on 16 January 2027.
"Fatherland", "La Bola Negra" and "Fjord" are competing for best European film alongside May el-Toukhy's "Woman Unknown", winner of the Golden Lion in Venice, and "La Gradiva", a French coming-of-age drama from first-time director Marine Atlan. In the director category, Pawlikowski, the Calvo and Ambrossi duo and Mungiu face Sandra Wollner for "Everytime" and Andrey Zvyagintsev for "Minotaur", winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes. The documentary nominees are "NAZA", "Letters From the Silenced Country", "Rehearsals for a Revolution", "To Hold a Mountain" and "Whispers in the Woods", while "Viva Carmen", "Lucy Lost", "Jim Queen", "Iron Boy" and "In Waves" are shortlisted for best animated film.
The acting races feature several major names. Sandra Hüller earned two best actress nominations, for playing Erika Mann in "Fatherland" and for her starring role in "Rose", and she competes with Penélope Cruz ("Bunker"), Léa Seydoux ("Gentle Monster"), Renate Reinsve ("Fjord") and Mathilde Arcel ("Woman Unknown"). The best actor nominees are Javier Bardem for "The Beloved", Andrew Scott for "Elsinore", Sebastian Stan for "Fjord", Swann Arlaud for "A Man of His Time" and Hanns Zischler, who plays Thomas Mann in "Fatherland". Nominations for the European Young Audience Award and the European Short Film Award had already been announced, completing a field that brings together many of the year's most acclaimed European films ahead of the January ceremony.
