‘Bugonia,’ ‘Sentimental Value,’ and ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Lead the 2026 European Film Awards Shortlist

Yorgos Lanthimos, Joachim Trier, and Jafar Panahi headline a star-powered EFA lineup that blurs the line between European and global cinema.

The European Film Academy has unveiled its shortlist for the 2026 European Film Awards, and it’s one of the most globally visible lineups in years. Featuring Bugonia from Yorgos Lanthimos, Sentimental Value from Joachim Trier, and Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident — alongside a slate of festival favorites and Oscar hopefuls — the list signals a strikingly international moment for European cinema.

Announced Tuesday, the shortlist spans feature films, documentaries, and animated works that will compete for nominations ahead of the EFA ceremony on January 17, 2026, in Berlin. In a strategic move, the Academy shifted its awards calendar earlier in the season to precede the BAFTAs and Oscars, positioning the EFAs as the first major celebration of the year’s best European filmmaking.

Lanthimos’ Bugonia, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, leads the conversation after its awards run across Venice and Telluride. The film — a surreal, high-concept exploration of human behavior and class anxiety — continues the Greek auteur’s streak of critically acclaimed collaborations with Stone. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning, joins the shortlist following its Cannes breakout and selection as Norway’s official Oscar submission.

Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, a harrowing French-Iranian co-production that won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, also made the cut, marking a historic year in which the EFA lineup doubles as an international Oscar preview. Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, Dag Johan Haugerud’s Berlin winner Dreams, and Paolo Sorrentino’s La Graziafurther round out a field dominated by Europe’s most acclaimed festival titles.

The Academy also included Tereza Nvotová’s Father, Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, and Christian Petzold’s Mirrors No. 3, ensuring representation from across the continent’s cinematic powerhouses — from Germany and France to Slovakia, Spain, and Norway. Several of these films, including Sentimental Value and It Was Just an Accident, are also representing their respective countries in the 2026 Oscar race for Best International Feature.

The documentary field mirrors the same creative ambition. Highlights include Albert Serra’s meditative Afternoons of Solitude, Andres Veiel’s Riefenstahl, and Songs of Slow Burning Earth from Ukrainian director Olha Zhurba — a project that merges art, memory, and political trauma. On the animation side, Arco (France), Checkered Ninja 3 (Denmark), and Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake (Spain/France/Belgium) lead a visually eclectic category that captures the diversity of Europe’s storytelling voices.

With Bugonia and Sentimental Value both generating significant awards momentum — and It Was Just an Accidentemerging as a critical favorite — this year’s shortlist positions the EFAs as an early barometer for the upcoming Oscar season. The selection also underscores Europe’s growing role in global prestige filmmaking, with studios like A24, MUBI, and Neon handling U.S. distribution for several of the shortlisted titles.

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For cinephiles, the lineup is both a map and a mood board: an overview of where European cinema has been, and a preview of where it’s going.

Check out the full EFA shortlist below:

FEATURE FILMS
Bearcave (Arkoudotrypa) directed by Krysianna B. Papadakis & Stergios Dinopoulos (Greece, United Kingdom)
Bugonia directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (United Kingdom, United States, South Korea)
Case 137 (Dossier 137) directed by Dominik Moll (France)
Christy directed by Brendan Canty (Ireland, United Kingdom)
Deaf (Sorda) directed by Eva Libertad (Spain)
Die My Love directed by Lynne Ramsay (United Kingdom, United States, Canada)
Dreams (Drømmer) directed by Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway)
Duse directed by Pietro Marcello (Italy, France)
Father (Otec) directed by Tereza Nvotová (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland)
Franz directed by Agnieszka Holland (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland)
Fuori directed by Mario Martone (Italy, France)
I Only Rest in the Storm (O Riso e a Faca) directed by Pedro Pinho (Portugal, France, Brazil, Romania)
It Was Just an Accident (Un simple accident) directed by Jafar Panahi (France, Iran, Luxembourg)
La Grazia directed by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
Late Shift (Heldin) directed by Petra Volpe (Switzerland, Germany)
Little Trouble Girls (Kaj ti je deklica) directed by Urška Djukić (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia)
Love Me Tender directed by Anna Cazenave Cambet (France)
Loveable (Elskling) directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir (Norway)
Maspalomas directed by Jose Mari Goenaga & Aitor Arregi (Spain)
Milk Teeth (Dinti de lapte) directed by Mihai Mincan (Romania, France, Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria)
Mirrors No. 3 (Miroirs No. 3) directed by Christian Petzold (Germany)
Mother directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia, Belgium)
On Falling directed by Laura Carreira (United Kingdom, Portugal)
Once Upon a Time in Gaza directed by Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser (France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal, Qatar, Jordan)
One of Those Days When Hemme Dies (Hemme’nin öldüğü günlerden biri) directed by Murat Fıratoğlu (Turkey, Germany)
Palestine 36 directed by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Norway)
Pillion directed by Harry Lighton (United Kingdom)
Romeria (Romería) directed by Carla Simón (Spain, Germany)
Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi) directed by Joachim Trier (Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden)
Silent Friend directed by Ildikó Enyedi (Germany, France, Hungary)
Sirat (Sirât) directed by Oliver Laxe (Spain, France)
Sleepless City (Ciudad sin sueño) directed by Guillermo Galoe (Spain, France)
Sound of Falling (In die Sonne schauen) directed by Mascha Schilinski (Germany)
Sundays (Los domingos) directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain)
The Last Viking (Den sidste viking) directed by Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark, Sweden)
The Little Sister (La petite dernière) directed by Hafsia Herzi (France, Germany)
The Love That Remains (Ástin sem eftir er) directed by Hlynur Pálmason (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, France)
The North directed by Bart Schrijver (Netherlands)
The Stranger (L’Étranger) directed by François Ozon (France)
The Voice of Hind Rajab directed by Kaouther Ben Hania (France, Tunisia)
Two Prosecutors directed by Sergei Loznitsa (France, Germany, Netherlands, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania)
What Marielle Knows (Was Marielle Weiss) directed by Frédéric Hambalek (Germany)
Yes (Ken) directed by Nadav Lapid (France, Israel, Cyprus, Germany)
Young Mothers (Jeunes mères) directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne (Belgium, France)

DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Afternoons of Solitude (Tardes de soledad) directed by Albert Serra (Spain, France)
An American Pastoral (Une pastorale americaine) directed by Auberi Edler (France)
Ancestral Visions of the Future directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (France, Lesotho, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
Fiume o morte! directed by Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy)
Flophouse America directed by Monica Strømdahl (Norway, Netherlands, United States)
Good Valley Stories (Historias del buen valle) directed by José Luis Guerin (Spain, France)
Hair, Paper, Water… (Tóc, giấy và nước…) directed by Nicolas Graux & Minh Quý Trương (Belgium, France, Vietnam)
Listen to the Voices (Kouté vwa) directed by Maxime Jean-Baptiste (Belgium, France)
Memory directed by Vladlena Sandu (France, Netherlands)
Militantropos directed by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova & Simon Mozgovyi (Ukraine, Austria, France)
Riefenstahl directed by Andres Veiel (Germany)
Songs of Slow Burning Earth (Pisni zemli shscho povolno horyt) directed by Olha Zhurba (Ukraine, France, Denmark, Sweden)
The Shards (Oskolky) directed by Masha Chernaya (Georgia, Germany)
Twst / Things We Said Today directed by Andrei Ujică (France, Romania)
With Hasan in Gaza directed by Kamal Aljafari (Germany)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILMS
Arco directed by Ugo Bienvenu (France)
Balentes directed by Giovanni Columbu (Italy, Germany)
Checkered Ninja 3 (Ternet Ninja 3) directed by Anders Matthesen & Thorbjørn Christoffersen (Denmark)
Dandelion’s Odyssey (Planetes) directed by Momoko Seto (France)
Dog of God (Dieva Suns) directed by Raitis Abele & Lauris Abele (Latvia, United States)
Little Amelie (Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes) directed by Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han (France)
Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake (L’Olívia i el terratrèmol invisible) directed by Irene Iborra Rizo (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile)
Tales from the Magic Garden (Pohádky po babičce) directed by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France)