Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen's Compartment No. 6 is one step closer to an Oscar nomination.
The film chosen as Finland's entry for Best International Feature Film was announced on Tuesday as one of the 15 films shortlisted for the category.
Somalia's Oscar nominee Guled & Nasra, however, did not make the list. Filmed in Djibouti, the Somali-language film is directed by Finnish national Khadar Ayderus Ahmed and produced by the Finnish company Bufo. The main actor of the film, Omar Abdi, is also from Finland.
The final Oscar nominations will be announced on February 8, and the Academy Awards will be presented on March 27.
Should Compartment No. 6 score a nomination, it will be the first time since Aki Kaurismäki’s nomination for The Man Without a Past in 2002 that a Finnish production has been represented in the category.
Compartment No. 6 has achieved considerable international success since it won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. The film is in contention for the Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film, which will be presented in Los Angeles on January 7.
