Palestinian film "Dialogue with the Sea" enters the race for European Film Awards

The European Film Academy has selected the Palestinian feature film "Dialogue with the Sea" by director Muayad Alayan for the preliminary list of films competing for the 2027 European Film Awards. The film is one of 45 feature films nominated to advance to the final stage of nominations, after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last September. The Academy announced on Wednesday a list of 68 feature films, divided into 45 fiction films, 15 documentaries, and eight animated films, representing cinematic productions from 40 European countries, including works co-produced with countries outside Europe. According to the official announcement, the fiction and documentary films were selected by members of the Academy's board and invited European film experts, while a specialized committee selected the animated films. The Academy's approximately 5,700 members are scheduled to watch the films on the list over the coming weeks before voting to determine which works will move to the official nominations stage. The Academy set November 14, 2026, as the date for announcing the main nominations at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece, with the 39th awards ceremony to be held on January 16, 2027, in the Greek capital Athens.