The European Film Academy has announced the 14 films from 16 countries that will compete for the Best Documentary of the Year award, which will be presented on 9 December in Berlin.

The European Film Awards are open to documentaries that, among other criteria, have had their first official screening between 1 June 2022 and 31 May 2023 and have a European director or are refugees or similar. Other documentaries premiered at festivals in the summer may be added in September.

In the coming weeks, the 4,600 members of the European Film Academy will begin to view the films selected in the ‘European Documentary’ category. The EFA Awards finalists will be announced on 7 November, after which Academy members will be able to vote for the winner, who will be announced at this year’s European Film Awards ceremony in the German capital on 9 December.

The selection is based on the standards of diversity and inclusion proposed by the European Film Academy. And among the shortlisted films on the shortlist is a Spanish co-production. It is ‘Light Falls Vertical / Ara La Llum Cau Vertical’ (Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands) written and directed by Efthymia Zymvragaki.