European Film Awards narrow field to 68 films for Athens ceremony
The race for the 39th European Film Awards is down to 68 films.
The European Film Academy unveiled the shortlist on 14 October 2026, according to Deadline. The list covers feature films in contention for possible nomination. Winners will be chosen by a vote of Academy members.
The bulk of the selection sits in fiction. Forty-five titles made that strand. Fifteen more were picked for documentary. The rest complete the animation line-up.
The field is wide. Films come from 40 European countries. Twenty-five of the 68 are directed or co-directed by women.
Two festival winners lead the fiction group. Fjord arrives with the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026. Woman Unknown arrives with the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Documentaries bring international names. Naza, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, made the cut of 15. So did Whispers in the Woods, directed by Vincent Munier.
Animation has its own contest. The shortlisted titles include In Waves, Iron Boy and Jim Queen, according to Deadline.
What makes this stand out for viewers is the mix. Festival winners sit alongside new discoveries. Shortlists are only the first filter before nominations.
The end point is set. The 39th European Film Awards ceremony will take place on 16 January 2027 in Athens, according to Deadline. Academy members will vote to decide the winners from these shortlisted titles.
