'Border' stars Eero Milonoff and Eva Melander. Photo: Micke Bayart/Azul
Sweden will be represented at the 2019 Oscars by the Cannes-winning film Border (Gräns), the Swedish Film Institute announced on Tuesday.
The film, directed by Ali Abbasi and based on a short story by Let the Right One In author John Ajvide Lindqvist, will compete for the Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
“I am overwhelmed; I thought it was impossible to even get to Cannes, but as the film has grown and is now being screened at festivals all over the world, the Oscars dont seem so far away all of a sudden,” Abbasi said in a press release.
Border tells the story of Tina (Eva Melander), a misshapen social outcast who uses her animal-like sense of smell to sniff out the guilty as a customs officer. When she meets Vore (Eero Milonoff), who shares her unique appearance, Tina discovers the truth about who she really is. Hollywood Reporter describes the film as “a universal parable about tribalism, racism and fear of the Other”.
Border had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and would go on to win the festivals Prix Un Certain Regard. It has also been selected for inclusion in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival and was recently honoured with the Critics award at the Norwegian Film Festival. In addition to the Oscar nomination, Abbasis film is also shortlisted for a nomination at the European Film Awards.
Lindqvist, whose novel Låt den rätte komma in was made into a successful Swedish film and remade for an American audience as Let Me In, is a co-screenwriter on Border for the film adaptation of his novella.
“Its a victory for all those who dont belong anywhere,” Lindqvist said of the films Oscar nod.
Border was produced by Meta Film Stockholm, Black Spark & Kärnfilm AB in co-production with Meta Film Denmark together with Film i Väst, SVT and Copenhagen Filmfund. It received financial support from Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the Danish Film Institute and the Swedish Film Institute.
