The films were announced on the shortlist on Tuesday ahead of the official nominations being released on Monday, January 17.
"We are incredibly proud and happy that Armand, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, Maybe Elephants, and No Other Land have taken an important step closer to an Oscar nomination. Competing with the best films in the world, these Norwegian films and filmmakers have received attention, been seen, and appreciated to the extent that they’ve been voted onto the shortlists,” Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute, said in a press release.
The films were also praised by the culture minister, Lubna Jaffery.
“This is huge! It shows that despite our small size in the global context, we are a film nation to be reckoned with. I am super proud and cheer for all four who are through,” she told Norwegian newswire NTB.
Armand is on the shortlist of the best international films. It was directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel and stars Renate Reinsve, the lead actress in The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske) which received two Oscar nominations in 2021.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Ibelin) is a documentary about the life of Mats Steen, who passed away in 2014 as a result of the disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the age of 25. Steen had built up a large network through gaming, with the film’s title inspired by his World of Warcraft character’s name.
Maybe Elephants (Kanskje det var elefanter) is a short animated film and is made by director Torill Kove.
No Other Land is about a Palestinian activist who allies himself with an Israeli journalist after the war in Gaza breaks out. It joins Ibelin on the list of documentaries. No Other Land is a co-production between Palestine and Norway.
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