The European Film Academy has announced the nominees in key categories of the 37th European Film Awards ahead of the ceremony in the Swiss lakeside city of Lucerne on December 7.

French Oscar entry Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard and The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodovar lead the nominations making it into four categories each. Both films were nominated for best European film, director and screenplay as well as actress, for Karla Sofia Gascón in Emilia Pérez and Tilda Swinton in The Room Next Door.

Other frontrunners included Germany’s Oscar entry The Seed of the Sacred Fig by exiled Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, which was nominated for best film, director and screenplay.

A slew of films clinched two nominations including Maura Delpero’s Italian Oscar entry Vermiglio, Halfdan Ullmann Tondel’s Norwegian Oscar entry Armand as well as Andrea Arnold’s Bird and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance.

For the first time this year, under new rules announced last summer, films nominated for Best European Documentary and Best Animated Feature Film are also eligible in the Best European Film category.

This has led to an expanded Best European Film nominations list this year with Bye Bye Tiberias by Lina Soualem, Mati Diop’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner Dahomey and Johan Grimonprez’s Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat picking up noms for best doc and film.

Animated films in the running in both categories include Latvian Gints Zilbalodis’s Flow and Spanish director Isabel Herguera’s Sultan’s Dream.

The awards, which are voted on by the Berlin-based European Film Academy’s some 5,000 members based across Europe, are also seen as a bellwether for which European films are likely to pick up steam in the U.S. awards season.

Last year’s Best European Film winner Anatomy of a Fall garnered five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Sandra Hüller), with director Justine Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari winning the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

This year’s ceremony in Lucerne will mark the last time it takes place in December with the dates shifting to mid-January, starting with the 38th edition in 2026, as part of a strategy to position the prizes within the wider awards season conversation on both sides of the Atlantic.

Awards for the craft categories of Best European Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Make-up and Hair, Original Score, Sound and Visual Effects are decided by a specialized a jury and selected from the films in core Academy selection.

The EFA previously announced the nominations for European Animated Film category in October.

The 2024 Nominations in full

Best European Film

Best European Documentary

European Director

Best Actress

Best Actor

Best Screenplay

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI

European Young Audience Award

Previously Announced Nominations

Best European Animated Film (announced October 9)

Best European Short Film (announced Oct 16)