Denmark has submitted fifty-nine films for consideration for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since the inaugural award in 1956. The official Danish submission is selected annually in late summer by the Danish Film Institute.
As of 2026, Denmark won four times, for: Babette's Feast (1987), Pelle the Conqueror (1988), In a Better World (2010) and Another Round (2020).
Submissions
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1956. The International Feature Film Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Following this, they vote via secret ballot to determine the five nominees for the award.
In 1957, Denmark became the first country to send a film with a female director to the Foreign Oscar competition with Annelise Hovmand's Be Dear to Me. Two years later, Astrid Henning-Jensen's Paw became to the first film directed by a woman to receive a nomination in the category.
Between 1998 and 2002, four out of five Danish submissions were made according to the austere Dogme 95 movement principles. None were nominated and none have been submitted since.
Besides the four wins, fifteen films also succeeded in getting nominations: Qivitoq (1958), Paw (1959), Harry and the Butler (1960), Waltzing Regitze (1989), After the Wedding (2006), A Royal Affair (2012), The Hunt (2013), A War (2015), Land of Mine (2016), Flee (2021) and The Girl with the Needle (2024).
Flee (2021), directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, was also nominated in the Best Documentary Feature and Best Animated Feature categories, becoming the first film ever to be nominated in all three of those categories.
SuperClásico (2011), The Guilty (2018), Holy Spider (2022), and The Promised Land (2023), all advanced to the December shortlist, but were not nominated.
Mr Nobody Against Putin (2025), won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film despite not being nominated for the Best International Feature Film category.
Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Denmark for review by the Academy for the award by year.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Director Result 1956(29th) Qivitoq 1957(30th) Be Dear to Me 1958(31st) The Girls Are Willing 1959(32nd) Paw 1961(34th) Harry and the Butler 1964(37th) Sextet 1965(38th) Gertrud 1966(39th) Hunger 1967(40th) Once There Was a War 1968(41st) People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart 1969(42nd) Ballad of Carl-Henning , Sven Grønlykke 1970(43rd) Re: Lone 1971(44th) The Missing Clerk 1972(45th) Oh, to Be on the Bandwagon! 1974(47th) The Olsen Gang's Last Escapade 1975(48th) Per 1976(49th) The Olsen Gang Sees Red 1977(50th) Boys 1978(51st) Me and Charly , Henning Kristiansen 1979(52nd) Johnny Larsen 1982(55th) Tree of Knowledge 1983(56th) Zappa 1984(57th) Tukuma 1985(58th) Twist and Shout 1986(59th) The Dark Side of the Moon 1987(60th) Babette's Feast 1988(61st) Pelle the Conqueror 1989(62nd) Memories of a Marriage 1990(63rd) Dance of the Polar Bears 1991(64th) The Great Day on the Beach Den Store Badedag 1992(65h) Sofie 1993(66th) Black Harvest 1994(67th) Carl, My Childhood Symphony 1996(69th) Hamsun 1997(70th) Barbara 1998(71st) The Celebration 1999(72nd) Mifune's Last Song 2000(73rd) A Place Nearby 2001(74th) Italian for Beginners 2002(75th) Open Hearts 2003(76th) Reconstruction 2004(77th) The Five Obstructions , Jørgen Leth 2005(78th) Adam's Apples 2006(79th) After the Wedding 2007(80th) The Art of Crying 2008(81st) Worlds Apart 2009(82nd) Terribly Happy 2010(83rd) In a Better World 2011(84th) SuperClásico 2012(85th) A Royal Affair 2013(86th) The Hunt 2014(87th) Sorrow and Joy 2015(88th) A War 2016(89th) Land of Mine 2017(90th) You Disappear 2018(91st) The Guilty 2019(92nd) Queen of Hearts 2020(93rd) Another Round 2021(94th) Flee 2022(95th) Holy Spider Ali Abbasi 2023(96th) The Promised Land Nikolaj Arcel 2024(97th) The Girl with the Needle Magnus von Horn 2025(98th) Mr Nobody Against Putin David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin 2026(99th) Woman Unknown May el-Toukhy
Shortlisted films Each year since 2010, the Danish Film Institute has announced a three-film shortlist prior to announcing the official Danish Oscar candidate. The following films were shortlisted by Denmark but not selected as the final candidate: YearFilms2010R · Submarino2011A Family · A Funny Man2012Love Is All You Need · The Passion of Marie2013The Act of Killing · Northwest2014Someone You Love · Speed Walking2015The Look of Silence · Men & Chicken2016The Commune · Walk with Me2017Darkland · Word of God2018A Fortunate Man · Winter Brothers2019Before the Frost · Daniel2020Enforcement · A Perfectly Normal Family2021Margrete: Queen of the North · The Shadow in My Eye2022As in Heaven · Forever2023Apolonia, Apolonia · 2024Echo of You · Sons2025Beginnings · The Last Viking2026 Home · What Lies Between Us
See also List of Greenlandic submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
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