“Congratulations to the actors and the entire crew on this great success. I have never been to the EFA Awards, and I am very much looking forward to going to the ceremony in Lucerne. This year is also special for the fact that two other Croatian shorts, Sara Jurinčić’ and Ana Hušman’s, were shortlisted for the European Film Award, and I would’ve loved if all three of us had won the nomination”, said the film’s director and screenwriter Nebojša Slijepčević.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, the first Croatian short to win the prestigious Cannes Palme d'Or, is one of the five titles nominated for the European Film Award, awarded annually by the European Film Academy. The list of all the nominated short films is available on this link.

As Slijepčević highlighted, two other Croatian shorts were shortlisted for an EFA nomination: the experimental documentary short Valeria directed by Sara Jurinčić (Restart), which was selected as a contender for the ‘European Oscars’ at the Zinebi International Festival of Documentary and Short Films in the Spanish town of Bilbao, and the experimental documentary short I Would Rather Be a Stone by author and producer Ana Hušman, which became a contender for the European Film Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

In addition, the Croatian-Portuguese co-production, That’s How I Love You, directed by Mário Macedo, was also in the running for a nomination. The film was selected as an EFA contender at the Portuguese Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix, automatically entering the running for an Academy Award nomination. The film was co-produced by Croatian company Plan 9 and the Portuguese Olhar de Ulisses. The Croatian producers of the film are Šimun Kuliš and Vanja Vascarac.

The European Short Film – Prix Vimeo category is organised by the European Film Academy in cooperation with a series of film festivals across Europe. At each of the qualifying festivals, an independent jury chooses one of the European short films in competition as a contender running for a nomination, while the full list totals 28 contenders. The participating festivals in the end nominate five films, and members of the European Film Academy vote on the winner. The European Film Awards gala ceremony will take place on 7th December in the Swiss city of Lucerne, while the nominations in the other categories will be announced on 5th November.

Earlier, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent also qualified for an Oscar nomination, thanks to receiving the Palme d'Or in Cannes, as well as the Grand Prix at the Melbourne International Film Festival. In addition, the film is also on the list of selected titles in the running for a César Award nomination, awarded by the Académie des César – the French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques. Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Slijepčević’s short has won numerous festival awards and recognitions, the most recent ones including the Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival and the French Un Festival C'est Trop Court! in Nice (Best Leading Actor – Goran Bogdan).

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent is produced by Antitalent, with producers Katarina Prpić and Danijel Pek. Co-producers are Katya Trichkova (Contrast Films, Bulgaria), Noëlle Lévénez for (Les Films Norfolk, France), and Boštjan Virc (Virc Studio, Slovenia).