The pundits are already looking forward to the new year’s awards season – and Daniel Day-Lewis is far from the only non American in the frame.

The little-known French actress Marion Cotillardhas stormed into most best actress lists for her impassioned portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en rose, joiningKeira Knightley, for Atonement. From that same film,James McAvoyhas also nudged into best actor contention, while 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan(Briony) may find herselfalongsideCate Blanchett’s take on Dylan in I’m Not There (out Dec 21), andTilda Swinton’s twitchy corporate lawyer in Michael Clayton, for best supporting actress.Tom Wilkinson, also from Michael Clayton, is being talked up as best supporting actor for his unhinged attorney, as is newcomerSam Rileyfor his pitch-perfect Ian Curtis in Control. Both will have to beat the frontrunner,Javier Bardem, for No Country for Old Men (out Jan 18). The virtuoso Spanish actor magisterially turns himself into a psycho killer of chilling appeal.

It wouldn’t be the awards season without nods for those who can carry off a serious illness on screen. This year, there’sJulie Christie’s moving portrait of a woman slipping into Alzheimer’s, in Away from Her; and France’sMathieu Amalrichas been attracting attention, as has the film he’s in, the poignant The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (out Feb 8), based onthe book written, via eye blinks, by stroke-stricken Jean-Dominique Bauby. Amalric’s Bauby is a masterclass in conveying a complex personality when all you can move is one eye.

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