Oscars: Denmark Picks ‘The Promised Land’ for Best International Feature Category

Denmark has picked its 2024 Oscar contender, selecting period epic The Promised Land as its official Academy Award entry in the best international feature category.

The drama, which premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival this year, stars Mads Mikkelsen as a driven man determined to cultivate the wild Danish heath, the last area of untamed wilderness in 18th-century Denmark. The film re-teams Mikkelsen with director Nikolaj Arcel, whose last Danish feature, A Royal Affair, picked up a best international feature nomination in 2013 (and introduced the world to Alicia Vikander).

Magnolia Pictures, which also released A Royal Affair stateside, has U.S. rights to The Promised Land and is planning a domestic theatrical release for the film on Feb. 2, 2024.

The film’s debut was greeted by critical raves, including The Hollywood Reporter, which called it “a gripping historical epic. Shows once again that period pieces can be vigorous, powerful and emotionally stirring,” comparing Mikkelsen’s “magnetic stoicism, imposing physicality and soulful introspection” in the Scandinavian Western to “a character who might have been at home in a John Ford saga.”

The Promised Land co-stars Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg and Kristine Kujath Thorp. TrustNordisk is handling international sales.

The deadline for submissions for the 2024 best international feature Oscar is Oct. 2. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the films on the 2024 Oscar shortlist on Dec. 21. The five nominees will be announced Jan. 23. The 95th Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10.