Sentimental Value’s victory at the Oscars on Sunday has been hailed in Norway as the moment the country stepped out of the film industry shadow cast by its Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Denmark.
Joachim Trier’s film became the first ever Norwegian feature to win an Academy Award when it was named best international film at the ceremony in Los Angeles.
Set around a family home in Oslo and telling the story of a film director estranged from his adult daughters, the film was nominated in eight other categories including best actress for Renate Reinsve, best supporting actress for Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning, and best supporting actor for Stellan Skarsgård.
Norway secured a record 11 nominations overall, including The Ugly Stepsister for best makeup and styling, and Espen Nordahl for the visual effects in Sinners.
International recognition for film-making in Scandinavia has long focused on Sweden and Denmark, but Norwegian film has been on a steady upward trajectory in recent years and work by Dag Johan Haugerud, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel and Lilja Ingolfsdottir among others has contributed to what some critics have described as a Norwegian “golden age”.
Morten Ståle Nilsen, a film and TV critic for the Norwegian newspaper VG, said: “The Oscar for Sentimental Value is undoubtedly a real shot in the arm for the Norwegian film world. We have long lived in the shadow of more ‘mature’ movie nations like Sweden and, in more recent times, Denmark. Last night, we climbed out of that shadow.”
Victory for Skarsgård would have made him the first Swedish male actor to take home an Oscar, and some commentators viewed his failure to win as a snub.
Nilsen said it was “a bit of a shame about our Swedish brother Stellan”, who he had thought had a good chance of winning.
Skarsgård himself said the absence of any individual Oscars had kept the cast together as an ensemble. He added: “And we won the most important – best international film.”
There was, however, success for the Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, who won best film score for Sinners, the third Oscar of his career so far.
Nilsen said Sentimental’s win would automatically bolster other Norwegian film-makers’ confidence, but warned that the industry is not in the best of health after a spate of redundancies across the business in recent months. “Some of which can be traced back to the pandemic, some of which can be traced back to political policy,” he added.
Trier and his team have been invited to the home of the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, when they get back from the US to celebrate their achievement. Støre told broadcaster NRK: “The film has touched audiences all over the world and left a lasting mark on Norwegian film history. I saw the film in the cinema and it made a strong impression on me. You make all of Norway proud.”
Trier’s last film, The Worst Person in the World, which also starred Reinsve, was nominated for two Oscars in 2022.
Describing himself as a “film nerd from Norway”, Trier cited James Baldwin in his acceptance speech, who he said “makes us remember that all adults are responsible for all children, and let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously and into account”.
Kjersti Mo, the CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute, who was at the Oscars gala in Los Angeles with Norway’s culture and equality minister, Lubna Jaffery, said Sentimental Victory’s victory marked a “historic moment for Norwegian cinema”.
“This is an enormous recognition of the filmmakers behind the film and of an extraordinary artistic collaboration,” Mo added.
It was also an important example of the importance of Nordic and European collaboration, she said, and of maintaining a model where “cultural policy and artistic freedom go hand in hand”.
She added: “When a small film nation like Norway receives this kind of international recognition, it shows what can happen when film-makers are given time, trust and artistic freedom to develop their stories. This success is also the result of many years of long-term film policy in Norway, where we have built strong creative communities and made room for artistic ambition.”
