27th European Film Awards: Documentary Nominations

The European Film Academy proudly announces the six nominations in the category European Documentary.

A committee consisting of EFA Board Members Antonio Saura (producer, Spain) and Ada Solomon (producer, Romania), EFA Member Signe Byrge Sørensen (producer, Denmark), as well as documentary experts Claas Danielsen (Germany), Ally Derks (Netherlands) and Jacques Laurent (Belgium) decided on the following nominations.

Der Banker: Master of the Universe (Master of the Universe), Marc Bauder, Germany and Austria
Investment bankers are the real Masters of the Universe, not politicians, armies or even countries.

Just the Right Amount of Violence, Jon Bang Carlsen, Denmark
So-called "interventionists" enter suburban homes in the night and rip troubled teens from their beds to transport them, against their will, to a reform school in Utah.

Of Men and War, Laurent Bécue-Renard, France and Switzerland
Anger consumes a dozen combat vets long after their return from the front as they attempt to make peace with themselves, their past, and their families.

Sacro GRA, Gianfranco Rosi, Italy and France
Rome's giant ring road – the Grande Raccordo Anulare, or GRA – and the invisible worlds and possible futures harboured in this area of constant turmoil.

Waiting for August, Teodora Ana Mihai, Belgium
During their mother's absence, Georgiana has been catapulted into the role of head of the family, responsible for her six brothers and sisters in a social housing condo on the outskirts of Bacau, Romania.

We Come as Friends, Hubert Sauper, Austria
A science fiction-like odyssey in a home-made flying machine

The nominated films will now be submitted to the more than 3,000 EFA Members to elect the winner. The European Documentary 2014 will then be presented at the 27th European Film Awards Ceremony in Riga on Saturday, 13 December – streamed live on www.europeanfilmawards.eu.  

To read info about each film plus director's statement go to award official site here. To check better synopsis and trailers for each nominated documentary continue reading.

Master of the Universe
A former banker in Germany, who entered the business with the advent of modern computer systems reminisces of his working years in some of the world-leading banking corporations. His narration outlines the typical paradigm of the professional and personal life of a bank's employee, along with the ethical dilemmas they often faced. Also, he shares his views on the dynamics in financial markets and recession.



Just the Right Amount of Violence
For many families in the sprawling suburbs of Los Angeles, an idyllic, peaceful middle-class existence is just a facade. What lies beneath is the unseen domestic turmoil: teens addicted to drugs, breaking the law and engaging in violent outbursts—and parents at their wits end. Interventionists, like Evan “Bullet” James and Dana “Hodges” Goller, specialize in entering these suburban homes in the night and ripping troubled teens from their beds to transport them, against their will, to a reform school in Utah



Of Men and War
Anger consumes a squad of combat vets years after they return from the front. The dozen warriors in Of Men and War come home to the United States, but their minds are stuck out on the battlefield. Like figures from a Greek tragedy, all have traumatic memories that haunt them to this day. Ghosts and echoes of the war fill their lives. Wives, children, and parents bear the brunt of their fractured spirits. At The Pathway Home, a pioneering PTSD therapy center, the protagonists resolve to end the ongoing destruction. Their therapist is a Vietnam vet himself, helping the boys forge meaning from their senseless trauma. Over years of therapy, Of Men and War explores their grueling paths to recovery, as they attempt to make peace with themselves, their past, and their families.



Sacro GRA
Through the personal stories of seven people, the film explores unfamiliar areas nearby the"Grande Raccordo Anulare" (GRA), the 70 kilometers of Rome's beltway.
Far from the iconic monuments of the Eternal City, the GRA is the stage for all the people living on the fringes of a sprawling capital.



Waiting for August
Georgiana is turning fifteen this winter. She lives with her six siblings in a social housing condo on the outskirts of Bacau (Romania). Their mother Liliana, an economic migrant in Torino, will not be back till the summer. During mother's absence, Georgiana is catapulted to the role of new head of the family. Her adolescence is brutally cut short, when she becomes responsible for her brothers and sisters. Caught between puberty and responsibilities, she moves ahead improvising. Phone conversations with her Mom are her only guidelines. Intimate scenes from the daily life of Georgiana and her siblings will show us-uncensored, in fly-on-the-wall style- how real events are experienced and interpreted with great imagination by these children. One is bound to be amazed by their great ingenuity, while also realizing how fragile their daily balance is.



We Come As Friends
A modern odyssey, a dizzying, science fiction-like journey into the heart of Africa. At the moment when the Sudan, the continent’s biggest country, is being divided into two nations, an old ‘civilizing’ pathology re-emerges - that of colonialism, clash of empires, and yet new episodes of bloody (and holy) wars over land and resources. The director takes us on this voyage in his tiny, self-made flying machine out of tin and canvas, he leads us into most improbable locations and into people’s thoughts and dreams, in both stunning and heartbreaking ways. Chinese oil workers, UN peacekeepers, Sudanese warlords, and American evangelists ironically weave common ground in this documentary.