ICDA names 2026 Semiramis Award casting nominees

The International Casting Directors Association has announced six nominees for its 2026 Semiramis Award for Excellence in Casting, with the winner to be revealed July 8 at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Czechia. The shortlist highlights casting work on films from Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Sweden and a Wild Card selection from the Philippines-led filmmaking duo behind Bring Her Back. Why it matters: - The Semiramis Award spotlights casting directors’ role in discovering talent, shaping performances and building the ensembles that drive films. - The award also gives the casting profession a bigger stage at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival during the festival’s 60th edition. - ICDA members use the award to recognize casting work across participating countries, including projects that may not fit a single national submission. What happened: - The International Casting Directors Association announced the six nominees for the 2026 Semiramis Award for Excellence in Casting. - ICDA will present the award on 8 July 2026 at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Czechia. - The nominees are Lena Paaske for Weightless (Vægtløs) , Stéphane Batut for Nouvelle Vague , Stavros Raptis for Patty Is Such a Girly Name , Amy Rowan for Christy , Simon Borka Otterstål for Kevlarsjäl / Kevlar Soul and Nikki Barrett for Bring Her Back as the Wild Card selection. The details: - Weightless (Vægtløs) is a 2025 Danish film directed by Emilie Thalund. - Nouvelle Vague is a 2025 French film directed by Richard Linklater. - Patty Is Such a Girly Name is a 2026 Greek film directed by Giorgos Georgopoulos. - Christy is a 2025 Irish film directed by Brendan Canty. - Kevlarsjäl / Kevlar Soul is a 2025 Swedish film directed by Maria Eriksson-Hecht. - Bring Her Back is a 2025 Wild Card Selection directed by Danny and Michael Philippou. - The annual process starts with each country selecting one film to represent its casting community. - An international jury of casting directors narrows the submissions to five nominees, plus one Wild Card nominee. - ICDA also organizes casting-related panels, masterclasses and other events around the award celebrations in Karlovy Vary. - ICDA said the full programme for Karlovy Vary will be announced in the coming days. - The award was established in 2016 and has been presented annually to casting directors, whether or not they are ICDA members. - In 2025, Tanja Grunwald and co-casting director Karin Jagd won for The Girl with the Needle by Magnus von Horn. - The ICDA was founded in 1994 and became an independent professional association in Berlin in 2019. - The group says it has members from around 40 countries and advocates for greater recognition of casting in film and television. - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is held annually in Karlovy Vary, Czechia, and is recognized as an A-list festival by FIAPF. Between the lines: - The Wild Card slot can surface work that stands out artistically even when a film does not align neatly with the country-by-country submission model. - Hosting the award at Karlovy Vary gives casting directors visibility inside one of Europe’s major film-industry gatherings. - The nominee list spans multiple countries and languages, underscoring casting as an international craft rather than a purely local one. What’s next: - ICDA will announce the Karlovy Vary program of panels, masterclasses and related events over the next few days. - The 2026 Semiramis Award winner will be presented on 8 July during the festival. - The announcement adds another industry event to Karlovy Vary’s 60th edition and extends the festival’s role as a meeting point for filmmakers, casting professionals and media. The bottom line: - ICDA is using one of Europe’s marquee film festivals to put casting on the main stage, and the 2026 shortlist shows how international the field has become.