All the Scandi films that have ever won an Oscar

The film industry’s most anticipated award ceremony is fast approaching, and contrary to popular belief, quite a few Scandinavian films have had their piece of the pie. It’s fairly common knowledge that the Nordics have spawned some of the most renowned Oscar-winning Hollywood stars – from Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo to Liv Ullman. However, we believe the region’s remarkable and award-winning films deserve their own moments in the spotlight.

Below, a comprehensive list of Scandinavian films that have won an Academy Award.

Related: 13 celebrities who have (surprisingly) never won an Oscar

Winning the Best Documentary category in the 1951 Academy awards, Kon-Tiki follows a Norwegian explorer, writer and filmmaker Thor Heyerdahl on his remarkable 1947 expedition. The quest took the man (and five other crew members) on an extraordinary, 4300 nautical miles long adventure across the Pacific Ocean - all on a wooden raft.

Directed by acclaimed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, who has won 4 Academy Awards, The Virgin Spring won the Best International Feature Film (previously Best Foreign Language Film) category in 1960. The harrowing thriller is set in 14th century Sweden, following a sweet, privileged teenage girl and her family’s servant leaving their farm to deliver candles to the church. However, things take a dire turn as the young lady gets murdered on her way to the church, and her father embarks on a relentless and brutal journey towards revenge.

Another hit directed by Ingmar Bergman, Through a Glass Darkly won the Best International Feature Film category in 1961. The drama follows the life of Karin (Harriet Andersson), who returns to her loved ones after being released from a mental hospital. However, when the family goes on holiday to their island home, Karin starts to drift away from reality again, believing that God is visiting her.

Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, Fanny and Alexander did not only win the Best International Feature Film category, but also the Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Cinematography categories during the 1984 Academy Awards. Set in the early 20th-century, the story follows two young Swedish children, Fanny (Pernilla Allwin) and Alexander (Bertil Guve), enjoying an idyllic life with their loving parents. However, after their father dies, all joy disappears from the Ekhdahl home, and misery arrives with the kids’ new stepfather.

Based on a book by praised author Karen Blixen, Babette’s Feast won the Best International Feature Film category in the 1987 Oscars. Directed by Gabriel Axel, the touching film tells the story of a strict religious community living in a Danish village, who take in a Parisian refugee, Babette (Stéphane Audran), from the Franco-Prussian War in the late 19th-century. In gratitude, Babette prepares a lavish feast while shielding the community from her secret.

A Danish coming-of-age film snatching the Best International Feature Film award in the 1989 Oscars, Pelle the Conqueror is a moving story. The plot follows a widowed man who takes his 12-year-old son Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) from their home in Sweden to Denmark in the hope of a better life. Directed by Bille August, the film explores the difficulties faced as an immigrant, and Pelle learns an important lesson on surviving in a sometimes harsh and unforgiving world.

Winning the Best Short Live-Action Film category in the 1999 Academy Awards, The Election Night (Valgaften) follows an idealist and head-in-the-clouds voter who, on his way to polls, has to deal with continuous encounters with racist cab drivers and their insulting comments. The Election Night is directed and written by Anders Thomas Jensen.

Directed by Martin Strange-Hansen, This Charming Man won the Best Short Live-Action award during the 2003 Oscars. The film is a humour-filled story of a young Danish man desperately trying to find a job. However, a comic misunderstanding, including falling for a good-looking girl, may risk a position that he was potentially about to get.

Narrated by iconic Norwegian actress Liv Ullman, The Danish Poet won the Best Short Animated Film category in the 2007 Oscars. Directed by Torill Kove, the film pivots around the existential thoughts of a woman who contemplates the peculiar coincidences that made her forefathers and mothers meet and form the premises for the person she is today.

A Danish-American production, The New Tenants won the Best Short Live-Action film category in the 2010 Oscars. Directed by Joachim Back, the film centres around its three main characters: a nosy neighbour, a drug dealer and an angry husband, who all encounter during an unforgettable move-in day.

Directed by Susanne Bier, In a Better World (Hævnen) won the Best International Feature Film in the 2011 Academy Awards. The poignant, romantic melodrama portrays the colliding lives of two Danish families, one wrecked by divorce and the other by death. However, the two young boys from the families become friends, bringing solace for a little while before a tragic turn occurs.

The winner of the Best Documentary category in the 2013 Oscars, Searching for Sugarman is directed by acclaimed Malik Bendjelloul, receiving praise for being one of the most touching and humbling documentaries of a musician. The film follows two fans of a rock and roll artist called Rodriguez, who fell off the map after producing unsuccessful music. However, he obtained a massive fanbase in South Africa, and two locals set out to figure out what happened to the mysterious musician.

Directed by Anders Walter, Helium snatched the Best Short Live-Action Film award in the 2014 Academy Awards. The film portrays the story of a hospitalised, dying young boy Alfred (Pelle Falk Krusbæk). He is entertained by the hospital’s quirky janitor Enzo (Casper Crump), telling the boy tales about a magical fantasy world of Helium. Alfred draws happiness and joy from Enzo’s stories to his otherwise sombre life.