"Amour," Michael Haneke's wrenching story of old age, was the most nominated film for the European Film Awards, which were announced on Saturday in Seville, Spain, by the European Film Academy.
"Amour," the Cannes winner that will be released in the U.S. in December by Sony Pictures Classics, picked up six nominations, including European Film 2012, writing and directing nods for Haneke, and acting kudos for Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva.
Thomas Vinterberg's "Jagten" ("The Hunt"), about a small-town schoolteacher accused of child molestation, and Steve McQueen's sexually explicit "Shame" (which qualified despite its 2011 U.S. release) won five nominations.
"Amour," "Jagten" and "Shame" were joined in the European Film 2012 category by the German film "Barbara," the Italian "Caesar Must Die" and the French hit "Intouchables."
Seven of the nominees – "Amour," "Intouchables," "Barbara," "Caesar Must Die," "Our Children," "Beyond the Hills" and "A Royal Affair" – are entries in this year's Best Foreign-Language Film competition at the Academy Awards.
Also read: Oscar Foreign-Language Roundup: 'Amour,' 'The Intouchables' Are on Top; Iran Boycotts
The European Film Awards will take place in Malta on Dec. 1.
The nominations:
EUROPEAN FILM 2012:
AMOUR (Love)
Austria/France/Germany, 127 min
Written & directed by Michael Haneke
Produced by Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz
BARBARA
Germany, 105 min
Written & directed by Christian Petzold
Produced by Florian Koerner von Gustorf & Michael Weber
INTOUCHABLES (Untouchable)
France, 108 min
Written & directed by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano
Produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou & Laurent Zeitoun
JAGTEN (The Hunt)
Denmark, 111 min
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
Written by Thomas Vinterberg & Tobias Lindholm
Produced by Morten Kaufmann & Sisse Graum Jørgensen
SHAME
UK, 96 min
Directed by Steve McQueen
Written by Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan
Produced by Iain Canning & Emile Sherman
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2012:
Nuri Bilge Ceylan for BİR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU'DA (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)
Michael Haneke for AMOUR (Love)
Steve McQueen for SHAME
Paolo & Vittorio Taviani for CESARE DEVE MORIRE (Caesar Must Die)
Thomas Vinterberg for JAGTEN (The Hunt)
EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2012:
Emilie Dequenne in A PERDRE LA RAISON (Our Children)
Nina Hoss in BARBARA
Emmanuelle Riva in AMOUR (Love)
Margarethe Tiesel in PARADIES: LIEBE (Paradise: Love)
Kate Winslet in CARNAGE
EUROPEAN ACTOR 2012:
François Cluzet & Omar Sy in INTOUCHABLES (Untouchable)
Michael Fassbender in SHAME
Mads Mikkelsen in JAGTEN (The Hunt)
Gary Oldman in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Jean-Louis Trintignant in AMOUR (Love)
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2012:
Michael Haneke for AMOUR (Love)
Tobias Lindholm & Thomas Vinterberg for JAGTEN (The Hunt)
Cristian Mungiu for DUPĂ DEALURI (Beyond the Hills)
Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano for INTOUCHABLES (Untouchable)
Roman Polanski & Yasmina Reza for CARNAGE
CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2012:
Sean Bobbitt for SHAME
Bruno Delbonnel for FAUST
Darius Khondji for AMOUR (Love)
Gökhan Tiryaki for BİR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU'DA (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)
Hoyte Van Hoytema for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
EUROPEAN EDITOR 2012:
Janus Billeskov Jansen & Anne Østerud for JAGTEN (The Hunt)
Roberto Perpignani for CESARE DEVE MORIRE (Caesar Must Die)
Joe Walker for SHAME
EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2012:
Maria Djurkovic for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Niels Sejer for EN KONGELIG AFFÆRE (A Royal Affair)
Elena Zhukova for FAUST
EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2012:
Cyrille Aufort & Gabriel Yared for EN KONGELIG AFFÆRE (A Royal Affair)
François Couturier for IO SONO LI (Shun Li and the Poet)
George Fenton for THE ANGELS' SHARE
Alberto Iglesias for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY