"Congratulations to the team behind 'Ida,' a remarkable film that insists on silence and contemplation in a noisy culture," says Henrik Bo Nielsen, CEO of the Danish Film Institute, about "Ida," the first Polish production ever to receive an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language category.
The other films nominated for this award at Sunday's Oscar ceremony were "Leviathan" by Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia), "Tangerines" by Zaza Urushadze (Estonia), "Timbuktu" by Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania), and "Wild Tales" by Damián Szifron (Argentina).
"Ida," a story about a young novice who discovers the dark truth about her family, is produced by Opus Film of Poland and co-produced with Danish partners: Christian Falkenberg Husum of Phoenix Film is the Danish co-producer, working closely with associate producer Sofie Wanting Hassing. The Danish Film Institute has supported the film through its minor co-production funding programme.
On the creative side, Kristian Selin Eidnes Andersen has written the score, while Claus Lynge is behind the sound design.
"There is no doubt that the strong artistic achievements of Danish film in recent years stem in large part from Danish filmmakers collaborating with artists from other countries and production environments. Co-production is not just about money, it's also about mutual creative exchange," says DFI's Henrik Bo Nielsen.
Sunday's Academy Award is yet another international triumph for "Ida" which has won a string of top prizes such as a BAFTA, five European Film Awards including for Best Film, the Goya Award, and the international film critics' FIPRESCI Prize back in 2013 at its world release at the Toronto Film Festival. The film was also nominated for a Golden Globe 2015. The Danish sales agent Portobello Film Sales reports having sold the film to 53 countries.
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"The right match between composer/sound designer and director is just as important as finding the right cast," says "Ida"s Danish composer Kristian Selin Eidnes Andersen, who talks about his work in The Art of Finding the Right Sound.
"We fell for Pawel Pawlikowski's story. When an experienced, award-winning director comes along with such a great screenplay, we can't turn it down," says Danish co-producer Christian Falkenberg Husum in our interview for "Ida"s world premiere at Toronto Film Festival in 2013. Read Financing European Arthouse.
Ida
A young nun discovers that she is Jewish; as a child, she had been christened in order to protect her from the Holocaust. She travels to her home village with her only living relative - an aunt who is a communist judge, used to be a powerful prosecutor. Their journey is the search for identity, love and forgiveness.