Putting an end to speculations, Tero Koistinen, president of the Finnish Oscar jury confirmed on Wednesday that Le Havre; written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki; will represent Finland at this year's Oscars race for Best Foreign Language Film.
The director of Drifting Clouds was nominated in 2002 for The Man Without a Past but refused to attend the Hollywood ceremony in protest of the US war against Iraq, and in 2006, when Lights in the Dusk was selected as Finland's Oscars' entry, Kaurismäki asked for his film to be withdrawn from the race, leaving Finland without a candidate. Under Barak Obama's presidency, the politically comitted director felt he could put an end to his US boycott. In last week's interview to nordiskfilmogtvfond.com, he said: "I rebuilt my personal boycott since the US troops came out of Iraq and war criminals came out of the US!"
Shot in the French city of Le Havre, the film about a shoe shiner who befriends an African child refugee had its world premiere in Cannes last May where it received the FIPRESCI award and a Special Mention from the ecumenical jury. The Finnish/French/German co-production was released domestically by Future Film Distribution last Friday and took the third place at the local Top Ten. Arthaus is launching it today on Norwegian screens.
The final five Foreign language films vying for an Academy Award will be announced on January 24, 2012.
Le Havre is also one of seven Nordic films short-listed for the 45th European Film Awards. The other candidates are Denmark's In a Better World and Melancholia, Iceland's Volcano, Norway's Oslo, August 31st, Sweden's Beyond and Play. A total of 45 films have been short-listed for the EFA nominations to be announced on November 5, 2011.