That distinction goes to KD Dávila’s futuristic prison satire “Please Hold,” about a wrongful arrest that takes a young man through a Kafkaesque techno hellscape. Even without the home country advantage, the fact that “Please Hold” is a topical comedy, similar to last year’s winner in the category “Two Distant Strangers,” gives it an edge.
Though hardly a guarantee, a few past Oscar winners and nominees appear on the shortlist, weighting their odds slightly. A six-time nominee and two-time winner in the live action category, director and longtime Danish Film Academy chair Kim Magnusson produced two films that made the shortlist. The one that snagged a nomination is “On My Mind,” which hails from Martin Strange-Hansen, who won the category in 2003. It’s a touching tragicomedy about a man desperate to record a karaoke song for his dying wife. Another film with a significant name bump is “The Long Goodbye,” executive produced by Riz Ahmed and directed by Aneil Karia. Released alongside his eponymous studio album, the haunting film stars Ahmed in a dystopian tale of a British South Asian family who are abruptly abducted from their home by armed vigilantes. The other two nominees, one about forced marriage in Kyrgyzstan and the other about a Polish hotel maid with dwarfism, while both excellent, are likely too bleak to inspire voters. No film will be considered a frontrunner until we have seen it. Frontrunners “Please Hold” “The Long Goodbye” “On My Mind” Contenders “Ala Kachuu – Take and Run” “The Dress” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
