The nominations for the 25th annual European Film Awards have been announced, and Michael Haneke’s “Amour” led the way with six nominations.

This could be the start of an awards roll-out for “Amour” that few are expecting (many still refrain from seriously considering it in the Best Picture race at the Oscars). Well, I suppose that streak would more accurately have begun with the Palme d’Or win in Cannes, but nevertheless, with a December release still to come and critics groups sure to spring for it, it’s about to come on strong, I’m betting.

Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Hunt” and Steve McQueen’s “Shame” weren’t far behind with five nods and Tomas Alfredson’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” also had a strong presence with four nods. The European Film category was filled out with foreign film hopefuls “Barbara” (two nods), “Caesar Must Die” (which won top honors in Berlin back in February) and “The Intouchables.”

Check out the full list of nominees below.

European Film
“Amour”
“Barbara”
“Caesar Must Die”
“The Intouchables”
“The Hunt”
“Shame”

European Director
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia”
Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Steve McQueen, “Shame”
Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, “Caesar Must Die”
Thomas Vinterberg, “The Hunt”

European Actor
François Cluzet, Omar Sy, “The Intouchables”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Mads Mikkelsen, “The Hunt”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Jean-Louis Trintignant, “Amour”

European Actress
Emilie Dequenne, “Our Children”
Nina Hoss, “Barbara”
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Margarethe Tiesel, “Paradise: Love”
Kate Winslet, “Carnage”

European Screenwriter
Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg, “The Hunt”
Cristian Mungiu, “Beyond the Hills”
Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano, “The Intouchables”
Roman Polanski, Yasmina Reza, “Carnage”

European Cinematographer
Sean Bobbit, “Shame”
Bruno Delbonnel, “Faust”
Darius Khondji, “Amour”
Gökhan Tiryaki, “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia”
Hoyte van Hoytema, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

European Editor
Janus Billeskov Jansen, Anne Østerud, “The Hunt”
Roberto Perpigani, “Caesar Must Die”
Joe Walker, “Shame”

European Production Designer
Maria Djurkovic, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Niels Sejer, “A Royal Affair”
Elena Zhukova, “Faust”

European Composer
Cyrill Aufort, Gabriel Yared, “A Royal Affair”
François Couturier, “Shun Li and the Poet”
George Fenton, “The Angels’ Share”
Alberto Iglesias, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

The 25th annual European Film Awards will be held on December 1, 2012. You can watch them live at www.europeanfilmawards.eu.

Check out last year’s list of European Film Award nominees here.