The Irish titles are among fifty announced for this year’s EFA Feature Film Selection.
The list of feature fiction films is recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2016. With 33 European countries represented, the list once again illustrates the great diversity in European cinema.
Irish co-production ‘The Land of the Enlighted’ directed by Pieter-Jan De Pue has also been named in the Documentary Selection for this year.
The 29th European Film Awards take place on December 10th 2016 in Poland. The EFAs have recently entered into a partnership with Curzon to stream the awards live on VOD platform Curzon Home Cinema.
‘Room’ is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and produced by Ed Guiney and David Gross. Brie Larson was awarded the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role. The project was also nominated for a further three Oscars, including Best Motion Picture of the Year.
At home, the acclaimed project enjoyed seven wins at the Irish Film & Drama Awards, including Best Director and Best Original Music.
Rebecca Daly’s feature ‘Mammal’ is produced by Fastnet Films and received the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema at the 2016 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Lead Actor Barry Keoghan was nominated for the IFTA for Best Actor in a Lead Role, while Daly was nominated in the Rising Star Category.
UK title ‘I, Daniel Blake’ directed by Ken Loach also made the selection. Loach’s feature earned the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, one of two award wins at the festival crediting Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan.
2015 award winners included Irish titles ‘The Lobster’ which received awards for Best European Screenwriter and Best Costume Design, while ‘Song of the Sea’ was named Best European Animated Feature.
The Selection Process
In the 20 countries with the most EFA Members, these members have voted one national film directly into the selection list. To complete the list, a Selection Committee consisting of the EFA Board and invited experts Péter Bognár (Hungary), Dave Calhoun (UK), Paz Lazaro Barquilla (Spain), Christophe Leparc (France) and Alik Shpilyuk (Ukraine) has included further films.
For more information on the films and a complete list of the award categories: www.europeanfilmawards.eu
