The European Film Academy has revealed the 13 feature-length documentary films, as chosen by a committee comprising a diverse range of European experts, that have been recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2022. The European Film Awards will be presented on 10 December in Reykjavík.
The selected documentaries are:
A House Made of Splinters
Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine (88 mins)
Directed by: Simon Lereng Wilmont
A Thousand Fires
France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Palestine (90 mins)
Directed by: Saeed Taji Farouky
Written by: Saeed Taji Farouky
Angels of Sinjar
Poland, Germany (106 mins)
Directed by: Hanna Polak
Written by: Hanna Polak
Girl Gang
Switzerland (98 mins)
Directed by: Susanne Regina Meures
Written by: Susanne Regina Meures
How to Save a Dead Friend
Sweden, Norway, France, Germany (103 mins)
Directed by: Marusya Syroechkovskaya
Written by: Marusya Syroechkovskaya
Karaoke Paradise
Finland (75 mins)
Directed by: Einari Paakkanen
Written by: Einari Paakkanen
Mariupolis 2
Lithuania, France, Germany (112 mins)
Directed by: Mantas Kvedaravicius
Mr Landsbergis
(248 mins)
Directed by: Sergei Loznitsa
Written by: Vytautas V. Landsbergis (junior), Sergei Loznitsa
Nelly & Nadine
Sweden, Belgium, Norway (93 mins)
Directed by: Magnus Gertten
Written by: Magnus Gertten, Jesper Osmund
Republic of Silence
Germany, France, Syria, Qatar, Italy (183 mins)
Directed by: Diana El Jeiroudi
Written by: Diana El Jeiroudi
The Balcony Movie
Poland (100 mins)
Directed by: Pawel Lozinski
Written by: Pawel Lozinski
The Eclipse
Norway (110 mins)
Directed by: Nataša Urban
Written by: Nataša Urban
Three Minutes – A Lengthening
The Netherlands, UK (72 mins)
Directed by: Bianca Stigter
Written by: Bianca Stigter
“This new EFA selection is living proof that European documentary film is going from strength to strength,” says Mike Downey, European Film Academy Chairman and film producer.
“Our documentaries have become more sophisticated and more entertaining and more authentic over the last years – and new audiences are opening up. There is a genuine sense that audiences are looking to serious documentaries for truths that they no longer find in the mainstream. In a word: authenticity. The fact is people are genuinely seeking out stories that they feel have they have been cut off from. The panoply of talent represented in the latest batch of EFA documentaries is living proof that the form is alive and kicking and its heartland is the continent of Europe.”
Eligible for the European Film Awards are European documentaries which, among other criteria, had their first official screening between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022 and have a European* director.
Over the coming weeks, the 4,400 members of the European Film Academy will start watching the selected films, and after the final announcement of all films will vote on the nominations in the European Documentary category. Based on the votes of all members, the nominations will be made public on 8 November 2022. The members of the European Film Academy will then vote for the winners who will be announced at the European Film Awards ceremony in Reykjavík on 10 December 2022.
*Exceptions can be made by the Board should a film director not be European “provided they have a European refugee or similar status or have lived in Europe and worked in the European film industry for at least five consecutive years.”
