It seems as if Italian cinema may face a return to former glory days, with the announcement of the European Film Awards nominees this week. Leading the pack are two Italian films, both nominated for five awards. The first is Il Divo, a biopic of Italian politician Paolo Sorrentino (played by Toni Servillo), dealing with his ties to the Mafia. The other is Gomorra, another film dealing with Italian organised crime, but this time looking at how pervasive the mafia is in the Naples region. Having seen the latter, the disappointing decision to be intentionally cold and unsympathetic of every character leaves me hoping that Il Divo will surprise.

Other multiple nominees include Entre Les Murs, winner of the Cannes Palm D’Or this year, over-rated horror flick The Orphanage, and Hunger, Steve (not THE) McQueen’s directorial debut concerning Irish Republican terrorist Bobby Sands’ hunger strike for his political status. The latter receives a rightful nomination for Michael Fassbinder as Sands, although he may lose out to Toni Servillo. Possibly the most interesting of the films, the animated Waltz with Bashir ,which covers a particular massacre during the Lebanese war, received noms for best film and screenplay.

It’s also good to see Mongol get a nomination int he category it most definitely deserves: cinematography.

The winners will be announced on December 6th, but for the full list of nominees, go here.