A little late in the game. . . on November 15, the European Film Academy announced the list of non-European films nominated for this year's Prix Screen International. The list of "non-European" nominees include several European co-productions, including the very European The Constant Gardener. Even if directed by a Brazilian national, and partly set in Africa, The Constant Gardener is certainly no less European than Best European Film nominee Don't Come Knocking, which, although directed by the German Wim Wenders, is set in the United States, is based on a screenplay by the American Sam Shepard, and stars a mostly non-European cast led by Americans Shepard and Jessica Lange. Would anyone not consider Rebecca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest American productions simply because they were directed by Europeans?
It might be a good idea for the European Film Academy to — pardon the expletive — globalize their nomination process, as their picks for who or what is "European" and who/what isn't can become quite labyrinthine and contradictory. Additionally, a truly international awards ceremony based in Europe could turn out to be the sort of strong competitor the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences needs; one that might – and I know I'm being overly optimistic here – put an end to both the Academy Awards' supremacy and the Academy's generally mundane choices.
In any case, the 11 "non-European" nominees (six of them English-language productions) for the 2005 Prix Screen International are:
- BATALLA EN EL CIELO (Battle in Heaven), by Carlos Reygadas, France
/ Mexico / Germany / Belgium - BE WITH ME, by Eric Khoo, Singapore
- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, by Ang Lee, USA
- BROKEN FLOWERS, by Jim Jarmusch, USA
- THE CONSTANT GARDENER, by Fernando Meirelles, UK / Germany / Kenya
- CRASH, by Paul Haggis, USA
- C.R.A.Z.Y., by Jean-Marc Vallée, Canada
- GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, by George Clooney, USA
- LOOK BOTH WAYS, by Sarah Watt, Australia
- SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE, by Park Chan-Wook, South Korea
- TSOTSI, by Gavin Hood, UK / South Africa
The winner will be announced on December 3, during the European Film Awards ceremony in Berlin.