The Norwegian drama-comedy "Elling" is one of five films nominated in the Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category.
News of Norway, February 12
Director Petter Næss's film revolves around two former mental patients: the timid, fussy Elling (played by Per Christian Ellefsen) and the hulking Kjell (Sven Nordin), who share an apartment together as they adjust to life outside the hospital. The two have been placed in a state-subsidized flat in Majorstua, Oslo, and the film portrays them attempting to manage on their own.
The film, based on the successful Norwegian novel "Brødre i blodet" (Blood Brothers) by Ingvar Ambjørnsen, has been a hit in Scandinavia. When director Petter Næss received the news about the Oscar nomination, he described it as "a fantastic surprise." According to the Norwegian wire service NTB, Næss plans to travel to Los Angeles to attend the awards ceremony, his first-ever trip to the United State. The ceremony is scheduled for March 24. Many awards
"Elling," released in 2001, has received several awards including Best Screenplay (by Axel Hellstenius) and Best Nordic Film in the Stockholm Film Festival. At the San Sebastián International Film Festival, "Elling" received a Special Mention as well as the Youth Jury Award. It received the Don Quixote Prize from the International Association of Film Clubs at Forum du Cinéma European in Strasbourg, and the audience prize at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck. The American company First Look has signed to distribute "Elling" in the United States.
Other Oscar nominations in the Best Foreign Film category include "Lagaan" from India, "No Man's Land" from Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Amélie" from France, and "Son of the Bride" from Argentina. Previous Norwegian Oscar nominations in the Foreign Language Film category include "The Other Side of Sunday" (1996), "Pathfinder" (1987), and "Nine Lives" (1957). None have won the Oscar, although "Kon-Tiki" won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 1951.
Facts
Official website: www.elling.nu
Academy Awards official website: www.oscar.com