Oscars: Norway's Sentimental Value wins Best International Film
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Joachim Trier accepts the award for Best International Feature Film for Sentimental Value alongside (back, from left) Norwegian producer Maria Ekerhov, US actress Elle Fanning, Norwegian screenwriter Eskil Vogt, Norwegian actor Anders Danielsen Lie, Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve and Norwegian actress Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES - Sentimental Value, directed by Joachim Trier, won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film on March 15, the first Norwegian film to win in this category after six previous nominations.
“I’m just a film nerd from Norway,” Trier said onstage during his acceptance speech, standing alongside his film team.
While Sentimental Value centres on a deeply dysfunctional family, the director said he felt the opposite about the cast behind him.
He went on to paraphrase late American author and activist James Baldwin, noting that adults are responsible for children, and emphasised the importance of not supporting politicians who fail to prioritise children.
In the movie, Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve plays stage actress Nora, who has a complicated relationship with her estranged father Gustav Borg, portrayed by Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, whose film-making career has waned. The film also garnered four acting nominations as well as nods for best picture and director.
The film traces “the emotional behind-the-scenes story of reconciliation through art”, Variety said in its review.
Prior Norwegian nominees included Trier’s previous film, The Worst Person In The World (2021), Kon-Tiki (2012), Elling (2001), The Other Side Of Sunday (1996), Pathfinder (1987) and Nine Lives (1957).
The other nominees in 2026 were Brazil’s The Secret Agent, Iran’s It Was Just An Accident, Sirat from Spain, and The Voice Of Hind Rajab from Tunisia. REUTERS
