The Danish shortlist for the best foreign language film entry for the 2015 Academy Awards has been decided upon and comprises Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Mænd og Høns’ (Men and Chicken), Tobias Lindholm’s ‘Krigen’ (A War) and Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The Look of Silence’.
Denmark’s entry for the Oscar category is chosen by a committee in two stages: first the shortlist is announced and then, within a month, the committee will decide on one of the films.
Mastering different genres
The committee is composed of seven representatives of the Danish film industry and the film institute Det Danske Filminstitut (DFI). Henrik Bo Nielsen, the head of DFI and the chairman of the committee, expressed enthusiasm about this year’s shortlist.
“These three films leave us in no doubt that the Danish film industry masters different genres, from intelligent, trippy humour, to realistic drama, to groundbreaking documentary,” he said.
“The three films also remind us that we have an outstanding talent pool and a production and support system that can retain accomplished Danish directors and attract talent with an international background.”
The most recent Danish Oscar winner was Susanne Bier’s ‘Hævnen’ (‘In a Better World’) in 2011.
