The Fencer: First Finnish Golden Globe Nominee In 58 Years

The Finnish Oscar contender The Fencer (Miekkailija) directed by Klaus Härö has been nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Foreign Language Film making it the first Finnish film in 58 years to do so. The last Finnish nominee was The White Reindeer by Erik Blomberg in 1957, which went on to win.

Producer Kaarle Aho told nordiskfilmogtvfond.com: “This [Golden Globe nomination] is wonderful news. We’ve actually had quite a positive feeling about it for a few weeks because the screenings in LA all went so well. But of course this was something we didn’t dare say out loud… Naturally The Fencer is a beautiful film, but Klaus Härö has also done a fantastic job in promoting it in the US.”

The Fencer tells the true story of the young Estonian fencer Endel who Flees from the Russian secret police because of his controversial past, and 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 own life in danger.

Klaus Härö says that the film was his most challenging yet: “It was a film with many children and in two languages that I have not mastered – Estonian and Russian. But I thought, wow, this is the most beautiful story, the most beautiful screenplay that I’ve ever read.”

The 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards will be hosted by Ricky Gervais on Sunday, January 10th 2016 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The Fencer will compete against The Brand New Testament (Belgium / France / Luxembourg), The Club (Chile), Mustang (France), and Son of Saul (Hungary).