Nordic Line-Up Complete For The 2016 Oscars
The 88th Academy Awards ceremony will honour the best films of 2015 on February 28th 2016 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is presented to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.
The Academy will formally announce a list of eligible submissions in October 2015, from which nine finalists will be shortlisted in mid-December, and the final five nominees will be revealed on 14 January 2016. The Nordic entries are as follows:
DENMARK: A WAR
A War highlights the consequences of war on all its participants – from soldiers and civilians to family and loved ones. We follow company commander Claus Michael Pedersen and his men who are stationed in an Afghan province. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy crossfire and in order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences for him – and his family back home.
FINLAND: THE FENCER
Fleeing from the Russian secret police because of his controversial past, a young Estonian fencer named Endel is forced to return to his homeland, where he begins to train a group of young children in the art of fencing. The past however catches up with him and Endel has to choose between letting his students down or putting his life in danger.
ICELAND: RAMS
In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending to their sheep. but have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi’s sheep, the entire valley comes under threat. The authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak. But Gummi and Kiddi don’t give up so easily – and each brother tries to stave off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by using his wits.
NORWAY: THE WAVE
Even though awaited, no-one is really ready when the mountain pass of Åkneset above the scenic narrow Norwegian fjord Geiranger falls out and creates a 85 meter high violent tsunami destined to crush everything in its path before it hits land in Geiranger. A geologist is one of those caught in the middle of it and a race against time begins.
SWEDEN: A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE
Like a modern day Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Sam and Jonathan, two traveling salesmen peddling novelty items, take us on a kaleidoscopic wandering through human destiny. It is a journey that unveils the beauty of single moments, the pettiness of others, the humor and tragedy hidden within us, life s grandeur as well as the ultimate frailty of humanity.