Published: 16/01/2012 | Edited: 16/01/2012
The British Film and Television Academy (BAFTA) has included Norwegian director André Øvredal’s The Troll Hunter (Trolljegeren) on the short list of 15 international films considered for Best Non-English-Language Feature.
In the UK Øvredal’s mockumentary was this week (Monday, 9 January) released on DVD/Blue-ray to become the first Norwegian title on top of the charts, selling 16,000 units on the first day, reaching 35,000 after four days of sale. Local distributor, Momentum Pictures, which gave it a 83-print theatrical release last September, estimated it would stay No 1 over the weekend. Momentum will later this year release Morten Tyldum’s Headhunters/Hodejegerne.
Produced by John M Jacobsen and Sveinung Golimo for Filmkameratene, the fake documentary proving that trolls exist in Norway was selected by BAFTA from 285 international titles, and is competing with – among others – German director Wim Wenders’ Pina and Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation. The final nominations will be announced on 17 January, well ahead of the 12 February’s awards ceremony.
The Troll Hunter, which was screening at the Sundance Film Festival – one of its more than 45 international festival appearances, the 2010 record for a Norwegian film – has been sold worldwide, mainly through Magnolia’s Magnet Releasing and UPI. Domestically it reached app 280,000 admissions and won an Amanda – Norway’s national film prize – for Best Visual Effects, adding the Audience Award.
