It's seldom mentioned by the Danish media how ‘Hævnen’ (‘In a Better World’), the winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for 2010, was partly funded by the Swedish Film Institute … and SVT … and Trollhättan Film, a company based in a Swedish town the locals know as Trollywood.
No, when ‘Hævnen’ (or should it have been ‘Hämnden’?) triumphed, it was a victory for good old Denmark, with not a Swede in
sight.
And so it will come to pass that the Danish co-producers of two films vying for glory in the same category at this weekend’s Golden Globes will probably go un-noticed by the Danish media. Unless one of them wins, that is.
Ida good feeling
Poland's entry ‘Ida’, which most international media describe as a Polish-Danish entry, is joint favourite with Russian entry ‘Leviathan’. It has already won 46 awards and counting, including four of the main European Film Award prizes.
Co-made by Danish producer Phoenix Film Investments with support from the Danish Film Institute, it tells the story of a ‘Catholic’ orphan who ahead of taking her monastic vows discovers that her real name is Lebenstein and her parents were killed in the Holocaust.
Force not with this one
Meanwhile, Sweden’s multilingual drama ‘Force Majeure’, which IMDB describes as a Swedish/French/Norwegian production, was made in collaboration with Danish production company Beofilm.
Released at cinemas in Denmark on December 11, it follows the aftermath of a spectacularly filmed avalanche in the French Alps. It is not expected to win.
No joy only sorrow
Both 'Ida' and ‘Force Majeure’ are on the nine-film shortlist for the Oscars, which will be cut down to five next Thursday (January 15).
Denmark’s entry, Nils Malmros’s ‘Sorg og glæde’ (‘Sorrow and Joy’), failed to make the cut, it was confirmed on December 19 – the first time since 2009 that the country has failed to make the nine-film shortlist.
