FIPRESCI & EFA’s Discovery Award: Twilight Portrait, Broken and Teddy Bear Among Nominees

The European Film Academy and FIPRESCI have announced the five nominations for this year’s Discovery Award / Prix FIPRESCI and making the cut we find Angelina Nikonova’s outstanding Twilight Portrait (Venice and TIFF in 2011 – pic above) which will measure itself against Mads Matthiesen’s Teddy Bear (Sundance 2012 – read review), Boudewijn Koole’s Kauwboy and Jan Speckenbach’s Reported Missing (2012’s Berlin Film Fest) and Rufus Norris’ Broken (Critics’ Week opener in Cannes this year – see our coverage). The 25th European Film Awards will take place in Malta on 1 December 2012. Since this specific award has existed, previous winners include some worthy winners in 1997’s Bruno Dumont (La vie de Jésus), 2003’s Andrei Zvyagintsev (The Return), 2008’s Steve McQueen (Hunger), 2009’s Peter Strickland (Katalin Varga), 2010’s Samuel Maoz (Lebanon) and last year, 2011’s Hans Van Nuffel (Oxygen).

10 Timer Til Paradis (Teddy Bear)
Denmark, 92 min
Directed by: Mads Matthiesen
Written by: Mads Matthiesen & Martin Pieter Zandvliet
Produced by: Morten Kjems Juhl

Broken
UK, 90 min
Directed by: Rufus Norris
Written by: Mark O’Rowe
Produced by: Dixie Linder, Tally Garner, Nick Marston & Bill Kenwright

Kauwboy
The Netherlands, 81 min
Directed by: Boudewijn Koole
Written by: Boudewijn Koole & Jolein Laarman
Produced by: Jan van der Zanden & Wilant Boekelman

Portret V Sumerkhak
(Twilight Portrait)
Russia, 105 min
Directed by: Angelina Nikonova
Written by: Angelina Nikonova & Olga Dihovichnaya
Produced by: Leonid Ogaryov, Angelina Nikonova & Olga Dihovichnaya

Die Vermissten (Reported Missing)
Germany, 86 min
Directed by: Jan Speckenbach
Written by: Jan Speckenbach & Melanie Rohde
Produced by: Anke Hartwig