Joachim Trier’s Cannes-winning title, Sentimental Value, has been submitted as Norway’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th annual Academy Awards.
Sentimental Value was chosen from a shortlist of three Norwegian films, including Dreams and Facing War.
The Norwegian Oscar Committee, consisting of representatives from the Norwegian film industry, chaired by the Director of the Norwegian Film Institute, said Sentimental Value profoundly moved them as a jury.
“What we are seeing is a director with the playful confidence to borrow from the great artists of film history, while always maintaining and developing his own voice, and using it to explore the many nuances of human relationships, here in particular a complex father–daughter relationship,” the Committee said.
“This is a film exquisitely well-crafted in every aspect, but which, above all, makes an impression because it touches us deeply. It has been a privilege to witness this evolving and maturing body of work over the last two decades, with a clear artistic signature throughout – and today Joachim Trier stands out as a filmmaker who is confident, assured, and fully at the height of his storytelling talent.”
Sentimental Value stars Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning. The film was shot in Oslo in autumn 2024. The screenplay is co-written by Trier and his longtime collaborator Eskil Vogt. Produced by Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film) and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (Eye Eye Pictures). Plot follows sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father — and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.
The film is a Norwegian-French-German-Swedish-Danish co-production with investment and support from, among others, the Norwegian Film Institute, Oslo Film Fund, Zefyr Media Fund, Storyline, the Swedish Film Institute, Film i Väst, the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, and the Nordic Film and TV Fund.
