Sentimental Value and The Ugly Stepsister. Photo: Kasper Tuxen / Mer Film / Eye Eye Pictures og Marcel Zyskind / Ymer Media.
In the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shortlists, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value has been shortlisted in the categories for Best International Feature Film, Best Casting and Best Cinematography, while Emilie Blichfeldt’s feature film The Ugly Stepsister has been shortlisted for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. In addition, the co-productions Folktales and Palestine 36 are shortlisted.
On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the 98th Oscars® shortlists in 12 award categories. Joachim Trier’s Grand Prix winner from Cannes, Sentimental Value, is one of fifteen films shortlisted for Best International Feature Film. The film is also shortlisted for Best Casting (Yngvill Kolset Haga and Avy Kaufman) and Best Cinematography (Kasper Tuxen). Emilie Blichfeldt’s Sundance and Berlinale feature debut, The Ugly Stepsister, has been shortlisted for Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Thomas Forsberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg).
“Being shortlisted for Best International Feature Film, Best Casting, and Best Cinematography is a significant recognition of the range and quality of the work behind Sentimental Value. We are also pleased to see The Ugly Stepsister shortlisted in the category Best Hair and Makeup. These acknowledgements highlight the strength of Norwegian filmmaking today and the close collaboration with U.S. distributors and international partners who bring Norwegian films to audiences worldwide,” says Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute.
“With these shortlistings, Sentimental Value moves into a new phase of the awards season. Joachim Trier and his team have created a film that has resonated strongly within the Academy community, and the focused campaign and distribution work in the U.S. has built meaningful momentum ahead of the nominations in January,” says Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
The American–Norwegian documentary Folktales has been shortlisted in the category Best Documentary Feature. The film follows 3 students enrolled in the dogsledding program at Pasvik Folk High School in Northern Norway and is co-produced by Fuglene, with Gudmundur Gunnarsson and Kari Anne Moe serving as co-producers.
Norwegian cinematographers Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo and Tor Edvin Eliassen have been nominated for Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature by the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) for their work on Folktales, marking a significant international recognition of Norwegian documentary filmmaking.
Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, Folktales is distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
The Palestinian feature film Palestine 36 is also among the 15 films shortlisted for an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film. The film has a Norwegian co-producer, Stær Film, represented by Elisa Fernanda Pirir, and has received Norwegian funding of NOK 500,000 through Sørfond, under the title All Before You.
On the shortlist for Best Visual Effects are the feature films Sinners and The Electric State. Both received VFX services from the Norwegian company Storm Studios.
Sentimental Value is Joachim Trier’s sixth feature, shot in Oslo in autumn 2024. The screenplay is co-written by Trier and his longtime collaborator Eskil Vogt. Produced by Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film) and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (Eye Eye Pictures), the film is a Norwegian-French-German-Swedish-Danish co-production with investment and support from, among others, the Norwegian Film Institute, Oslo Film Fund, Zefyr Media Fund, Storyline, the Swedish Film Institute, Film i Väst, the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, and the Nordic Film and TV Fund.
The Norwegian Film Institute has granted Sentimental Value NOK 20.5 million in development and production funding. International Sales Agent is MK2 (France) and Neon is the US distributor.
The Ugly Stepsister is the debut feature from director Emilie Blichfeldt who also wrote the screenplay. The Ugly Stepsister received NOK 17.8 million in production support from the Norwegian Film Institute. The film is produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film in co-production with Lizette Jonjic for Zentropa Sweden, Mariusz Wlodarski for Polish Lava Film, and Theis Nørgaard for Danish Motor. International Sales agent is Paradise Ctiry (former Memento International) and the US distribution is handled by Shudder.
Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father - and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.
The Ugly Stepsister is a daring and unexpected take on Cinderella’s world-famous tale, seen through the eyes of the ugly stepsister, combining comedy and horror by Emilie Blichfeldt. In a twisted take on the classic Cinderella story, ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ follows Elvira as she battles to compete with her insanely beautiful stepsister. In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will go to any lengths to catch the prince’s eye. ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ is the gory tale of the blood and sweat, grit, and gold that goes into making Elvira the belle of the ball.
Manager International Relations, Feature Films
