Nordic films in strong position for Oscars

Five Nordic films are in the running for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, securing the region’s status as a new hotbed of filmmakers, reports the NYSun.com.

Only one of the five films has been granted American distribution, but Scandinavia House in New York City will screen all of them this week. The Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur’s ‘Jar City’ will kick off the screenings, followed by Norwegian Petter Næss’ ‘Gone With the Woman’. The Finnish director Aleksi Salmenperä’s ‘A Man’s Job’ will follow along with Swedish Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’ and Danish Peter Schønau Fog’s ‘The Art of Crying’.

An Oscar nomination or win is a valuable form of promotion in a world where Hollywood reigns supreme. Scandinavia has brought home a total of five Oscars in the history of the Academy Awards, while receiving 27 nominations. Each country is allowed to enter only one film, and there are 63 entries for Best Foreign Language Film this year. Only 16 of these entries have been granted distribution in the US so far.