Norway, The Netherlands and Finland have selected “Out Stealing Horses,” “Instinct” and “Stupid Young Heart,” respectively, to vie for a nomination in the international feature film category of the Oscars.
Directed by Hans Petter Molands, “Out Stealing Horses” was chosen over Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Beware of Children” and Eirik Svenssons’s “Harajuku.” Based on Per Petterson’s novel, the movie is set in 1999 and follows a lonely 67-year-old man who discovers that his neighbor is someone he knew back in 1948. “Out Stealing Horses” won the Silver Bear in Berlin.
“The film’s sensual and inner tranquility reverberates in very beautiful scenery and a nicely tuned actor ensemble that is needed to lift the film’s themes and seamless shifts between different time periods,” said Norway’s Oscar committee. “Out Stealing Horses” was produced by Turid Øversveen and Håkon Øverås for 4 ½ Fiksjon. TrustNordisk is handling international sales.
“Instinct,” which marks the directorial debut of the Dutch actress Halina Reijn, follows a psychologist who becomes infatuated with one of her patients who is an imprisoned sex offender. The film is headlined by Carice Van Houten (“Game Of Thrones”) and Marwan Kenzari (“Aladdin”). “Instinct” won the Piazza Grande award at Locarno. The psychological thriller was produced by Topkapi Films, in co-production with Man Up and BNNVARA. Films Boutique is handling international sales.
“Stupid Young Heart,” directed by Selma Vihunen (“Little Wing”), is a coming-of-age drama following two teenagers struggling to cope with an unplanned pregnancy. The movie was produced by Elli Toivoniemi and Venla Hellstedt at Tuffi Films. “Stupid Young Heart” world premiered at Toronto last year in the Contemporary World Cinema section and went on to win the Crystal Bear award in the Generation section at Berlin.