The German drama "Systemsprenger" is nominated for Best Film for the European Film Award. The organizers gave that on Saturday.
The feature film debut of Nora Fingscheidt about an extremely difficult child challenges "Intrige" (original title: "J'accuse") by Roman Polanski, "Les Misérables" by debutant Ladj Ly, "The Favorite" by Yorgos Lanthimos, "Il traditore" by Marco Bellocchio and "Sorrow and Glory" by PedroAlmodóvar.
The nine-year-old actress of "Systemsprenger", Helena Zengel, is also nominated for Best European Actress. She will play against Oscar winner Olivia Colman ("The Favorite"), Trine Dyrholm ("Queen of Hearts"), Viktoria Miroshnichenko ("Beanstalk"), and Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel ("Portrait of a young woman in flames").
As the best European actor Alexander Scheer ("Gundermann") received a nomination. He competes against Antonio Banderas ("Grief and Glory"), Jean Dujardin ("Intrigue"), Pierfrancesco Favino ("Il traditore"), Levan Gelbakhiani ("And then we danced") and Ingvar E. Sigurðsson ("A white, white day ").
The best directors nominated are Almodóvar for "Sorrow and Glory", Bellocchio for "Il traditore", Lanthimos for "The Favorite", Polanski for "Intrigue" and Céline Sciamma for "Portrait of a Young Woman in Flames". Except for Lanthimos, all directors are also nominated for the best screenplay.
New allegations against Polanski
The gala is scheduled for December 7 in Berlin. Already in the run-up to the announcement, it had been decided that the European Film Academy (EFA) would award German director Werner Herzog for his life's work, French actress Juliette Binoche for her commitment to the cinema and the creators of the TV series "Babylon Berlin" in the new prize category for successful series wants to excel.
The fact that Roman Polanski's film "Intrigue" received four nominations could still cause some debate. Even the invitation and subsequent award of "Intrigue" at the Venice Film Festival had been seen in the film industry partly critical, as Polanski has been repeatedly accused of rape and sexual harassment.
Shortly before the French theatrical release, another allegation of rape has become known: The Frenchwoman Valentine Monnier accuses Polanski of having raped her in 1975 as an 18-year-old during a skiing holiday in Gstaad, Switzerland. Polanski has had the charges rejected by a lawyer.