Oscars 2015 Predictions, Foreign Film: 'Ida' Wins European Film Awards; Is it the Front-runner?

By Francisco Salazar Dec 15 2014, 19:00 PM EST

"Ida" has won the European Film Award, becoming the front-runner in the Best Foreign Film race at the Academy Awards.

The European Film Awards are the European Oscars which hand out awards in every category and many of the EFA winners end up either being nominated for the Oscars or winning the Foreign Language Film category. For example, last year, "The Great Beauty" won the EFA before winning an Oscar. "Amour" also took home both the EFA and the Academy Award while "The White Ribbon" won the EFA before getting nominated at the Oscars.

While it is certainly a good predictor, it is important to remember that the EFA only awards European films as opposed to the Oscars, which pick a foreign film from all over the word. As a result, "Ida," which is Poland's Oscar submission, will most likely be nominated for the Oscars but it is still not a sure bet to win, especially if there is a strong candidate from Latin America, Asia, Africa or Australia. At the moment, Argentina has one of the strongest candidates in "Wild Tales." The film scored raves at Cannes and played to great reviews in the festival circuit. However, it has not been released in the U.S. and, as a result, has not showed up on any critics' awards except the National Board of Review.

"Ida," however, beat out strong contenders "Leviathan," "Force Majeure" and "Winter Sleep" which are all competing for a nomination at the Oscars.

"Ida" swept the awards as it also won Best Director for Pawel Pawlikowski, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.

Marion Cotillard added another award for her performance in "Two Days, One Night." The actress been getting a lot of buzz for her performance in the film and some pundits expect her to make a surprise appearance in the Best Actress race at the Oscars. The win at the EFA definitely gave her some recognition, but the performances that she competed against are not vying for the Academy Award, therefore it is unlikely this win will help her boost her status in the Oscar race.

Timothy Spall won the Best Actor award for his performance in "Mr. Turner." Like Cotillard, he is also a long shot at the moment for the Oscars. His performance has won a number of awards, including the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival, but it still has not garnered the attention needed for the Academy Award. The EFA also will not have an effect in the Oscar race, especially since the other nominees are also long shots or currently not even being looked at.

Other winners included "The Dark Valley," which won Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. The feature is Austria's pick to compete at the Academy Awards but has not really acquired the buzz necessary for a nomination.

"Locke" won Best Editing while Mica Levi took home the Best Score award for "Under the Skin." Levi is currently in contention for an Oscar nomination and she is one of the favorites to be nominated.

The critically acclaimed "Starred Up" won the Best Sound Design award while "The Tribe" from Ukraine won the European Discovery award.

Full List of Winners

European Film
"Ida"

European Comedy
"The Mafia Only Kills in the Summer"

European Director
Pawel Pawlikowski, "Ida"

European Actor
Timothy Spall, "Mr. Turner"

European Actress
Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"

European Screenwriter
Pawel Pawlikowski, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, "Ida"

European Cinematographer (Prix Carlo Di Palma)
Ryszard Lenczewski, Lukasz Zal, "Ida"

European Editor
Justine Wright, "Locke"

European Production Designer
Claus-Rudolf Amler, "The Dark Valley"

European Costume Designer
Natascha Curtius-Noss, "The Dark Valley"