A year of ‘Love’ for European cinema

Amour

European films are doing well in the international awards race at the start of the year but, as MEDIA Desk UK reports, there already seems to be one clear winner in sight. Michael Haneke’s Amour has accumulated a number of awards including the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and prizes for writing, directing and acting at the European Film Awards.

The Austrian filmmaker could make 2013 the ‘Year of Love’ if he walks away with awards from either his three BAFTA nominations (Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay) or four Oscar nominations (Best Achievement in Directing, Best Screenplay, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture) next month. Leading French actress Emmanuelle Riva hasn’t gone unnoticed either, with nominations from both the Academy and BAFTA for her role as Anne.

Currently on release in the UK by Artificial Eye with support from the MEDIA Programme, Amour is not the only European film to gain recognition this awards season. At the Golden Globes the film shared the foreign language category with A Royal Affair (Denmark), Untouchable (France), Kon-Tiki (Norway) and Rust and Bone (France), all of which received MEDIA funding for either their distribution or development. Kon Tiki, which will be released by the Weinstein Company in the US, is produced by Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company with a development grant from MEDIA.

BAFTA was also keen to commend Untouchable and Rust and Bone, both of which received nominations in its Best Foreign Language category alongside two Scandinavian MEDIA-supported entries: The Hunt (Denmark) and Headhunters (Norway), while Marion Cotillard picked up a Best Leading Actress nomination for her role in Rust and Bone. Denmark and Norway also appeared in the Academy’s Foreign Language category, with nominations for A Royal Affair and Kon-Tiki respectively.