"Congratulations on the Oscar statuette! said Norway's Culture Minister Trond Giske in an official statement. "I am both impressed and proud that the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film went to Peter & The Wolf and to Storm Studio, Breakthru Films and SeMaFor Studios. This shows that Norwegian animation films and the Norwegian animation film industry are truly in the world league."
The 2006 version of the classic 1936 tale by Russian Sergei Prokofiev was directed by UK filmmaker Suzie Templeton for Breakthru Films in the UK, in co-production with Poland's SeMaFor Studios and Norway's Storm Studios. The 30 minute long film had its world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2006, accompanied by live music from the Philharmonia Orchestra. The film received the Annecy Cristal award and Audience award at the Annecy International Film Festival in France last year. Storm Studio and Breakthru Films had previously collaborated on the 3D animation feature film Free Jimmy, 2006 Amanda winner for Best Film. Lars Hellebust from Storm Studio attended the 80th Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles last Sunday night.
Other Oscar winners in which Nordic financing was involved include the documentary film Taxi to the Dark Side by Alex Gibney. The film about an Afghan taxi driver beaten to death in 2002 while in U.S. military custody, was part of 10 documentaries produced for the Why Democracy? initiative. DR and YLE's commissioning editors Mette Hoffman Meyer and Iikka Vehkalahti were part of the working group who developed the project, with financing from 42 world broadcasters including DR, YLE, NRK and SVT.
The Swedish Sound editor Per Hallberg won his second Oscar for Paul Greengrass' The Bourne Ultimatum, an award he shared with Karen Baker Landers. His previous Oscar was in 1995 for the Sound Effects and Editing on Mel Gibson's Braveheart.