Historic Academy Awards to Nordic films

With nine nominations at the 98th Academy Awards, by far the highest number ever for a film from Norway, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi) had already made Norwegian Oscar history before it became the first Norwegian film to win the Best International Feature award on Sunday evening’s ceremony in Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.

The family drama produced by Mer Film’s Maria Ekerhovd and Eye Eye Pictures’ Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (with Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany and the United Kingdom as co-producing countries) is the seventh Norwegian film to receive a nomination in the International Feature Film category through the years of the Oscars. Among them is also Trier’s previous film The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske), which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay (Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier) as well.

Sentimental Value was nominated in the following categories: Best Picture, Best International Film, Joachim Trier for Best Director, Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier for Best Original Screenplay, Renate Reinsve for Best Actress, Stellan Skarsgård for Best Supporting Actor, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Best Supporting Actress, Elle Fanning for Best Supporting Actress and Olivier Bugge Coutté for Best Editing.

In another historic win, director David Borenstein’s Mr. Nobody Against Putin became the first Danish film to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film. The documentary exposing the government’s propaganda at Russian schools is co-directed by the film’s protagonist Pavel Talankin, and produced by Helle Faber for Danish production company Made in Copenhagen (in co-production with the Czech Republic).

Furthermore, Ludwig Göransson won the award for Best Original Score for his music to the American top nominated feature Sinners. The Swedish composer was also nominated for Best Original Song together with Raphael Saadiq for “I Lied to You” from the same film. This year’s Oscar for Best Original Score marks Göransson’s third Academy Award.

The Norwegian majority production The Ugly Stepsister (Den stygge stesøsteren), directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Anne Cathrine Sauerberg and Thomas Foldberg, both Danish). The film is produced by Maria Ekerhovd at Mer Film, who was thereby celebrated for two of her films and ten nominations in Los Angeles. Norway could also count an eleventh nomination with Espen Nordahl from Storm Studios being among the nominated in the Visual Effects category, also for Sinners.

Using the promotional opportunity

The unprecedented number of Oscar nominations thus marks a historic moment for Norwegian cinema, which the Norwegian Film Institute use to promote Norwegian filmmakers and build international relations for the Norwegian industry in Los Angeles.

“With a record eleven nominations – nine for Sentimental Value, one for The Ugly Stepsister and one for VFX on Sinners– we saw this is an exceptional opportunity to highlight Norwegian cinema on the international stage,” says Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute.

On March 13 and 14, the Norwegian Film Institute hosted press meetings, receptions and events at Stanley House in Los Angeles. Friday’s press meeting included nominees and representatives from Sentimental Value and The Ugly Stepsister as well as Norwegian Best Visual Effects nominee Nordahl, and a reception was held in the evening for the Norwegian Oscar nominees with around 300 attending guests from the Nordic and international film industry. On the following day, the Norwegian Film Institute hosted the industry summit “Norwegian Stories in a Global Industry”, featuring conversations and keynotes on Norwegian storytelling in the international audiovisual industries. Norway's Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery delivered opening remarks at both events.

Monday March 16 marks the start of NOW – Nordic Opportunity Week, a programme hosted by Norway, Sweden and Finland for producers, directors, investors, studios, sales agents, and development hubs from the Nordic region and the United States. The programme includes studio visits, pitch sessions for selected projects, project presentations for decision makers, networking arenas for Nordic and international industry players and individual meetings with U.S. industry representatives, as well as professional and social meeting spaces. Also on Monday, the Consul General of Finland in Los Angeles, Minna Laajava, is hosting a Nordic Producers’ reception.

Sentimental Value, Mr. Nobody Against Putin and The Ugly Stepsister have received support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Sources: The Norwegian Film Institute and the Danish Film Institute.