"The Lobster" and "Youth" top the nominations of the European Film Awards (5 each). Three thousand members of the European Film Academy's (EFA), presided by film director Wim Wenders, have cast their votes for awards in 21 categories (full list in the Background). Nominees include the best European films, actors, directors and screenwriters, from 36 European countries. The winners will be announced on December 12 at a dedicated ceremony in Berlin (watch the event live here on the day, starting at 20.00 local time). The European Commission has invested €6.2 million through the Creative Europe MEDIA programme to support the development and distribution of these films. The MEDIA Programme will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016, with a series of events to be held across the year.

The candidates and the awards

Technical awards have already been announced, and three EU-supported films were rewarded: Jaco Van Dormael's "The Brand New Testament" won the Best European Production Designer award, British Independent Film Awards 7-time nominee and Cannes Jury Prize winner “The Lobster” was the prizewinner in the Best European Costume Designer category, while "Arabian Nights Vol.1-3" won the European Sound Designer award.

The Honorary Award of the EFA President and Board will be presented to Sir Michael Caine, who is also nominated for his performance in Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth".

Best European Film

Contenders include “The Lobster”, Paolo Sorrentino's bittersweet "Youth", alongside the single-take tour de force "Victoria", Lux prize winner "Mustang", Iceland’s "Hrútar" (winner of the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes this year), and the Swedish-Norwegian-French-German coproduction "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence".

The distribution of these six films was awarded over €2.5m in financial support by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme, with "The Lobster" being granted support both development and for distribution.

Comedy

The EFA shortlisted three comedies, all supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme. Besides Belgian “The Brand New Testament” and “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence” features "The Bélier Family", directed by Eric Lartigau, which attracted over 7 million cinemagoers in France over the past year.

Documentary

Three of the five films nominated as European Documentary were supported by the audiovisual programme of the EU at the development or distribution stage: "Dancing with Maria", "Amy" and "The Look of Silence".

Background

The European Film Awards are a Europe-wide and international promotional platform annually highlighting 80 to 90 European film productions.

The European Commission's Digital Single Market Strategy aims to improve access to digital and audio-visual content. The EU has invested more than €100 million in European films and other audio-visual industries in 2015 through the Creative Europe MEDIA programme; an additional €100m will be available in 2016.

The categories

European Film

European Comedy

European Discovery– Prix FIPRESCI

European Documentary

European Animated Feature Film

European Short Film

European Director

European Actress

European Actor

European Screenwriter

European Cinematographer - Prix CARLO DI PALMA

European Editor

European Production Designer

European Costume Designer

European Composer

European Sound Designer

European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award

European Achievement in World Cinema

European Co-Production Award – Prix EURIMAGES

People's Choice Award for Best European Film

European Film Academy Young Audience Award

Since its creation in 1991, the MEDIA programme has invested in the training of more than 20,000 producers, film distributors, directors, and screenwriters to help them adapt to new technologies. Each year, MEDIA supports around 2,000 European projects in film, television, including series and other audio-visual works, which are distributed digitally in cinema, on television and through video on demand.

How is the MEDIA programme budget distributed:

- 55% goes to the development of films, TV, web platforms, video games, animation (+/-160 films, 80 TV series, 20 game projects)

- 15% goes to market actions: 50-60 events or online tools are supported annually

- 10% goes to training for audio-visual professionals (+/-80 initiatives for the training of more than 1500 professionals per year)

- 20% goes to support for distributors and sales agents

Useful links

Creative Europe Media Programme

Content and Media in the Digital Agenda

The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

The European Film Awards

The European Film Academy