# List of Danish submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Since the inaugural award in 1956, Denmark has submitted fifty-nine films for consideration for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The official Danish submission is selected annually in late summer by the Danish Film Institute
Fourteen of which succeeded in getting nominated for the Academy Award: Qivitoq (1958), Paw (1959), Harry and the Butler (1960), Babette's Feast (1987), Pelle the Conqueror (1988), Memories of a Marriage (1989), After the Wedding (2006), In a Better World (2010), A Royal Affair (2012), The Hunt (2013), A War (2015), Land Of Mine (2016), Another Round (2020), Flee (2021) and The Girl with the Needle (2024). While four films have won the Oscar: Babette's Feast (1987), Pelle the Conqueror (1988), In a Better World (2010) and Another Round (2020).
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.

## 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 Foreign Language Film since 1956. The Foreign Language Film Award 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. 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 | Qivitoq | Erik Balling | Nominated |
| 1957 (30th) | Be Dear to Me | Ingen tid til kærtegn | Annelise Hovmand | Not nominated |
| 1958 (31st) | The Girls Are Willing | Guld og grønne skove | Gabriel Axel | Not nominated |
| 1959 (32nd) | Paw | Paw | Astrid Henning-Jensen | Nominated |
| 1961 (34th) | Harry and the Butler | Harry og Kammertjeneren | Bent Christensen | Nominated |
| 1964 (37th) | Sextet | Sekstet | Annelise Hovmand | Not nominated |
| 1965 (38th) | Gertrud | Gertrud | Carl Theodor Dreyer | Not nominated |
| 1966 (39th) | Hunger | Sult | Henning Carlsen | Not nominated |
| 1967 (40th) | Once There Was a War | Der var engang en krig | Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt | Not nominated |
| 1968 (41st) | People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart | Människor möts och ljuv musik uppstår i hjärtat | Henning Carlsen | Not nominated |
| 1969 (42nd) | Ballad of Carl-Henning | Balladen om Carl-Henning | Lene Grønlykke, Sven Grønlykke | Not nominated |
| 1970 (43rd) | Re: Lone | Ang. Lone | Franz Ernst | Not nominated |
| 1971 (44th) | The Missing Clerk | Den forsvundne fuldmægtig | Gert Fredholm | Not nominated |
| 1972 (45th) | Oh, to Be on the Bandwagon! | Man sku' være noget ved musikken | Henning Carlsen | Not nominated |
| 1974 (47th) | The Olsen Gang's Last Escapade | Olsen-bandens sidste bedrifter | Erik Balling | Not nominated |
| 1975 (48th) | Per | Per | Hans Kristensen | Not nominated |
| 1976 (49th) | The Olsen Gang Sees Red | Olsen-banden ser rødt | Erik Balling | Not nominated |
| 1977 (50th) | Boys | Drenge | Nils Malmros | Not nominated |
| 1978 (51st) | Me and Charly | Mig og Charly | Morten Arnfred, Henning Kristiansen | Not nominated |
| 1979 (52nd) | Johnny Larsen | Johnny Larsen | Morten Arnfred | Not nominated |
| 1982 (55th) | Tree of Knowledge | Kundskabens Træ | Nils Malmros | Not nominated |
| 1983 (56th) | Zappa | Zappa | Bille August | Not nominated |
| 1984 (57th) | Tukuma | Tukuma | Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt | Not nominated |
| 1985 (58th) | Twist and Shout | Tro, håb og kærlighed | Bille August | Not nominated |
| 1986 (59th) | The Dark Side of the Moon | Manden i Månen | Erik Clausen | Not nominated |
| 1987 (60th) | Babette's Feast | Babettes Gæstebud | Gabriel Axel | Won Academy Award |
| 1988 (61st) | Pelle the Conqueror | Pelle Erobreren | Bille August | Won Academy Award |
| 1989 (62nd) | Memories of a Marriage | Dansen med Regitze | Kaspar Rostrup | Nominated |
| 1990 (63rd) | Dance of the Polar Bears | Lad isbjørnene danse | Birger Larsen | Not nominated |
| 1991 (64th) | The Great Day on the Beach | Den Store Badedag | Stellan Olsson | Not nominated |
| 1992 (65h) | Sofie | Sofie | Liv Ullmann | Not nominated |
| 1993 (66th) | Black Harvest | Sort Høst | Anders Refn | Not nominated |
| 1994 (67th) | Carl, My Childhood Symphony | Min fynske barndom | Erik Clausen | Not nominated |
| 1996 (69th) | Hamsun | Hamsun | Jan Troell | Not nominated |
| 1997 (70th) | Barbara | Barbara | Nils Malmros | Not nominated |
| 1998 (71st) | The Celebration | Festen | Thomas Vinterberg | Not nominated |
| 1999 (72nd) | Mifune's Last Song | Mifunes sidste sang | Søren Kragh-Jacobsen | Not nominated |
| 2000 (73rd) | A Place Nearby | Her i Nærheden | Kaspar Rostrup | Not nominated |
| 2001 (74th) | Italian for Beginners | Italiensk for begyndere | Lone Scherfig | Not nominated |
| 2002 (75th) | Open Hearts | Elsker dig for evigt | Susanne Bier | Not nominated |
| 2003 (76th) | Reconstruction | Reconstruction | Christoffer Boe | Not nominated |
| 2004 (77th) | The Five Obstructions | De Fem Benspænd | Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth | Not nominated |
| 2005 (78th) | Adam's Apples | Adams Æbler | Anders Thomas Jensen | Not nominated |
| 2006 (79th) | After the Wedding | Efter Brylluppet | Susanne Bier | Nominated |
| 2007 (80th) | The Art of Crying | Kunsten at græde i Kor | Peter Schønau Fog | Not nominated |
| 2008 (81st) | Worlds Apart | To verdener | Niels Arden Oplev | Not nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) | Terribly Happy | Frygtelig lykkelig | Henrik Ruben Genz | Not nominated |
| 2010 (83rd) | In a Better World | Hævnen | Susanne Bier | Won Academy Award |
| 2011 (84th) | SuperClásico | SuperClásico | Ole Christian Madsen | Made shortlist |
| 2012 (85th) | A Royal Affair | En kongelig affære | Nikolaj Arcel | Nominated |
| 2013 (86th) | The Hunt | Jagten | Thomas Vinterberg | Nominated |
| 2014 (87th) | Sorrow and Joy | Sorg og glæde | Nils Malmros | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) | A War | Krigen | Tobias Lindholm | Nominated |
| 2016 (89th) | Land of Mine | Under sandet | Martin Zandvliet | Nominated |
| 2017 (90th) | You Disappear | Du forsvinder | Peter Schønau Fog | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) | The Guilty | Den skyldige | Gustav Möller | Made shortlist |
| 2019 (92nd) | Queen of Hearts | Dronningen | May el-Toukhy | Not nominated |
| 2020 (93rd) | Another Round | Druk | Thomas Vinterberg | Won Academy Award |
| 2021 (94th) | Flee | Flugt | Jonas Poher Rasmussen | Nominated |
| 2022 (95th) | Holy Spider | عنکبوت مقدس | Ali Abbasi | Made shortlist |
| 2023 (96th) | The Promised Land | Bastarden | Nikolaj Arcel | Made shortlist |
| 2024 (97th) | The Girl with the Needle | Pigen med nålen | Magnus von Horn | Nominated |

## 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:
| Year | Films |
| 2010 | R · Submarino |
| 2011 | A Family · A Funny Man |
| 2012 | Love Is All You Need, The Passion of Marie |
| 2013 | The Act of Killing, Northwest |
| 2014 | Someone You Love, Speed Walking |
| 2015 | The Look of Silence, Men & Chicken |
| 2016 | The Commune, Walk with Me |
| 2017 | Darkland, Word of God |
| 2018 | A Fortunate Man, Winter Brothers |
| 2019 | Before the Frost, Daniel |
| 2020 | A Perfectly Normal Family, Enforcement |
| 2021 | Margrete: Queen of the North, The Shadow in My Eye |
| 2022 | As in Heaven, Forever |
| 2023 | Apolonia, Apolonia · Before It Ends  [da; no] |
| 2024 | Echo of You · Sons |