A few tidbits of note in the Best International Film competition at the forthcoming Oscars. Two countries have been approved to submit that never have before: Uzbekistan and Uganda! In other "U" alphabetized news, The Ukraine will select their film on August 23rd.
But the most speficic recent news is that Sweden has already whittled their possible submission down to three films, and one of them is basically a Georgian film (though Georgia definitely won't be submitting it as they do not approve). They are...
- Aniara by Palla Kagerman & Hugo Lilja
A sci-fi film about Mars settlers whose ship is knocked off course causing existential drama. Magnolia released it in the US back in May. - The Perfect Patient by Mikael Håfström
This film, originally called Quick, is a true story about a judicial scandal in Sweden. It opens in Sweden next montn. No US distribution yet.
- And Then We Danced by Levan Akin
A gay romantic drama. This is actually in the Georgian language... but it ran into trouble in Georgia because of its subject matter. The director is Swedish-Georgian but born & raised in Sweden. The film premiered this summer at Cannes. It opens in Sweden next month. No US distribution yet.
Of those three pictures Aniara has already played in US arthouses (where it made just $40k) but it's nominated for a Saturn Award for Best International Film Release (coincidentally, it's pitted against Sweden's Oscar submission from last season, Border, in that same category). The only one of these directors previously submitted by Sweden is Håfström whose film Evil (2003), about bullying at a boarding school, went on to a Oscar nomination. (Evil was one of those bizarre times when despite an Oscar nomination the film didn't open in the US until years thereafter when it was old news and it bombed at US arthouses)
Sweden has been nominated for the Oscar for Best International Film 16 times. Of those 16 pictures, 3 were Ingmar Bergman films (The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, and Fanny and Alexander) all of which won the category (Sweden's only wins). Bergman also leads the list of "Most Submitted" directors for Sweden. They sent his films 8 times over the years. Though it's worth noting that Cries and Whispers was NOT submitted by Sweden but ended up nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Sweden's Only Multiple-Times Submitted Directors
"The Seventh Seal" was the first Ingmar Bergman film ever submitted by Sweden. It was not nominated but two years later he won the category with "The Virgin Spring"
- Ingmar Bergman (8 submissions, 3 nominations / 3 wins)
Bergman was also nominated at the Oscars in Best Director thrice (twice for films Sweden didn't submit for foreign films!) , for Screenplay four times, and for Best Picture once (Cries and Whispers, which Sweden did not submit). - Jan Troell (5 submissions, 3 nominations)
One of Troell's Foreign Film nominees The Emigrants was also nominated in Best Picture and Best Director) - Bo Widberg (4 submissions, 2 nominations)
- Roy Andersson (4 submissions... such a shame A Pigeon Sat on a Branch wasn't nominated)
- Ruben Ostlund (3 submissions, 1 nomination - The Square)
- Colin Nutley (3 submissions each)
- [TIE] Kjell Grede, Lukas Moodysson, and Kay Pollak (2 submissions each)