Three nominations for Sweden's Oscar submission

About Endlessness, I Am Greta and Charter. Photo: TriArt Film, Nordisk Film

Today the Swedish Oscar Committee presented the shortlist for Sweden's submission to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Selected for the shortlist are Roy Andersson’s Venice winner About Endlessness, Amanda Kernell’s Sundance hit Charter, and Nathan Grossman’s documentary I Am Greta, about Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, that premiered in Venice and also screened in Toronto.

– I think the committee has made a very good choice. Three very different films, but all of them show the breadth of Swedish film today, as well as attracting the attention of an international audience at some of the world's leading film festivals, says Steffen Andersen-Møller, Head of the International Department at the Swedish Film Institute and chairman of the Oscar Committee.

The three films on the shortlist:

• Charter
Following the acclaimed Venice winner Sami Blood (2016), writer-director Amanda Kernell's second feature had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it competed in the World Cinema Drama section. Starring Ane Dahl Torp, Tintin Poggats Sarri and Sverrir Gudnason, Charter had its European premiere at the Gothenburg Film Festival, where it competed for a Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film. Currently nominated for the Nordic Council Film Prize, Charter is distributed in Sweden by Nordisk Film, with TrustNordisk handling international sales.

• I Am Greta
Debuting filmmaker Nathan Grossman's documentary about teenage Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, followed by the Toronto Film Festival. It was recently awarded a Science Film Award at the Zurich Film Festival. I Am Greta is domestically distributed by TriArt Film and will have its Swedish cinema premiere on November 20. Hulu has the US distribution rights, sales are handled by Dogwoof.

• About Endlessness
Roy Andersson's dreamlike contemplation on human existence had its world premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director. (Andersson’s previous film, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, was also lauded at Venice, nabbing the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 2014 festival.) About Endlessness also screened at the Toronto Film Festival. It was nominated for four Swedish Guldbagge Awards, winning one, and also garnered a European Film Award for Best Visual Effects. About Endlessness is distributed in Sweden by TriArt Film and in the US by Magnolia, with Coproduction Office handling international sales.

The final Swedish Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film will be presented on November 3. The 93rd edition of the Oscars will be held on April 25, 2021.
 

About the selection

Each year the Swedish Oscar Committee nominates a Swedish candidate for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Swedish films that have had their domestic premiere between 1 October 2019 and 31 December 2020, and meet the requirements for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), have been eligible for the 2021 Oscars.

Members of the Swedish Oscar Committee:

Jan Lumholdt, The Swedish Film Critics Association
Goran Kapetanović, The Swedish Union for Performing Arts and Film – directors
Lisa Ohlin, The Swedish Union for Performing Arts and Film – directors
Zoran Slavic, The Swedish Film and Television Cooperation Committee
Lena Rehnberg, The Swedish Film & TV Producers Association
Christer Nilson, The Swedish Film & TV Producers Association
Mirja Wester, Göteborg International Film Festival

Chairman: Steffen Andersen-Møller, head of the International Department at the Swedish Film Institute.

For more information, please contact:
Theo Tsappos, Festival Manager at the International Department at the Swedish Film Institute: theo.tsappos@sfi.se, phone: +4686651133