At least two Danish films are in contention to receive nominations when the Oscar line-ups are revealed on Thursday January 10.
The first, ‘En kongelig affære’ (‘A Royal Affair’), the country’s selection in the best foreign language film category, last month made a shortlist of just nine films vying for one of the five nominations.
Should it be successful, it will better the achievement of last year’s nominee, ‘Superclásico’, which made the final nine but not the final five, and be in a position to emulate ‘Hævnen’ (‘In a Better World’), which won the Oscar two years ago – Denmark’s third triumph in the category.
While bookmakers Ladbrokes expect ‘En kongelig affære’ to be nominated – it has already made the Golden Globes’ nominees list – it rates it a distant 16/1 third favourite to win, behind market leader ‘Amour’ (1/3), an Austrian French-language film that was released in Denmark on December 20 and has been named by many critics as their favourite film of 2012.
Nevertheless, ‘En kongelig affære’, Nikolaj Arcel’s historical romance about the doomed love affair between royal physician Johann Struensee and the queen of Denmark, has also received favourable reviews – particularly Stateside – and remains an outside bet to win.
“I have no idea what will happen,” Arcel told Entertainment Weekly. “I have no illusions. If we get nominated, I’ll be extremely happy. It depends on what people like. It’s a tough competition.”
The second is ‘9 Meter’, which is currently on a shortlist of eleven to win the Oscar for best live action short film. The short, directed by 34-year-old Anders Walter Hansen, depicts the exploits of a young parkour exponent who is convinced his record-setting jumps will keep his dying mother alive.
Should ‘9 Meter’ triumph, it will also become the fourth Danish film to win the category following ‘The New Tenants’ (2009), ‘Der er en yndig mand’ (2002) and ‘Valgaften’ (1998).
The 85th Academy Awards are due to take place on February 24.
