Iceland submits WOMAN AT WAR for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar
The Icelandic Film and TV Academy has selected Benedikt Erlingsson‘s Woman at War as Iceland‘s entry for the 2019 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nine shortlisted films in December of this year and the five nominated films will be announced on January 22 of 2019. The 91st Academy Awards will take place on February 24, 2019.
The film tells the story of Halla, an independent woman in her late 40s, who declares war on the local aluminium industry. She'll risk anything to protect the Icelandic highlands, until an orphan unexpectedly enters her life.
Woman at War was directed by Benedikt Erlingsson (Of Horses and Men) and written by Erlingsson and Ólafur Egilsson. It stars Halldóra Geirhardsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurdarson, Davíd Thór Jónsson, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, Ómar Gudjónsson and Jörundur Ragnarsson. The film is an Icelandic/French/Ukrainian coproduction and was produced by Marianne Slot, Benedikt Erlingsson, and Carine Leblanc, and coproduced by Serge Lavrenyuk, Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson and Birgitta Björnsdóttir. The film was shot by Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson, edited by Davíd Alexander Corno and the score was composed by Davíd Thór Jónsson.
International sales for the film are being handled by Beta Cinema (thorsten.ritter@betacinema.com).
Woman at War had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won four awards in the Critics‘ Week section, including the SACD Award for Best Screenplay. It has since screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Sydney Film Festival, the Festival International du Film de la Rochelle in France and the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Woman at War was recently nominated for this year‘s Nordic Council Film Prize. It also recently became the first Icelandic film to be nominated for the European Parliament‘s LUX Prize and made this year‘s selection list for the European Film Awards.
Reviews of the film have been very positive. Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Cineuropa all delivered raves. Screen International and The Guardian were also positive.