Danish Oscars: and the winner is…

Last Sunday, Denmark held the Bodil film awards, the local equivalent to the Oscars. All of the nation’s top talent gathered for the event to recognise achievement in the Danish film industry this year, reports the Copenhagen Post.

The winner at the awards by far that night was the popular Danish film, ‘The Art of Crying’. The film scooped a total of four prizes including the much sought after Best Film award.

‘The Art of Crying’ is based on a novel by Erling Jepsen. Set in a rural town in Jutland in the 1970s, the film explores one dysfunctional family’s struggle with incest and suicide. Though dark in content, the film has a definite comedy side that won it the favour of both fans and film critics.

Directed by Peter Schønau Fog, the film has sold 230,000 tickets to date.

The film’s lead actor, Jesper Asholt, won a Bodil for his portrayal of the family’s father. Asholt said he was pleased by the award because it showed recognition of his talent by members of the film industry.

“I really wanted this since it was such a tough film to make,” Asholt said in a television interview.

The lead actress in the film ‘Daisy Diamond’ picked up the award for the Best Actress. Critics showered praise upon Doomi Rapace for her portrayal of a young mother struggling to support her child.