Maltese feature film Luzzu has made a longlist for best feature film at this year’s European Film Awards. 

It joins a list of 40 films to make the award's Feature Film Selection, with more titles to be announced in September.

That list will be whittled down to a shortlist by members of the European Film Academy, with an eight-member jury eventually selecting an overall winner. 

While Malta hosted the European Film Awards at Mediterranean Conference Centre back in 2012, Luzzu is the first Maltese film to be chosen in the awards. 

Luzzu is Alex Camilleri’s feature-length directorial debut, a Maltese language film that has netted international praise and scooped awards at festivals around the world. 

It tells the story of a fisherman who risks everything to enter Malta's black-market fishing industry and has already wowed judges at this year's Sundance Film Festival, which is where the first screening took place. 

Lead actor Jesmark Scicluna, a fisherman from Siggiewi, also bagged the Special Jury Award for his performance at the Sundance Film Festival.

The movie will be shown in Malta during an event on September 3 at Eden Cinemas before being released in theatres five days later. 

On Tuesday, the European Film Awards announced the first part of the  Feature Film Selection, where Luzzu, alongside The Dig, Supernova, and The Father are among the first 40 feature movies recommended by a committee for nominations at this year’s event. 

The feature films have been selected by a committee consisting of the Academy Board and a diverse range of European invited experts.

The members of the European Film Academy vote for the nominations in the main categories which will be announced on 9 November 2021 during the Seville European Film Festival in Spain.

The winner will be announced during the 34th European Film Awards will take place in Berlin on 11 December 2021.