Baltic Event Co-Production Market 2012 project The Fencer (directed by Klaus Härö, produced by Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg of Making Movies Oy, Finland), a drama about a fencing instructor evading the Soviet secret police in the 1950s, has been nominated for a Golden Globe and shortlisted for foreign-language film Oscar.

On December 10, 2015, the Finnish-German-Estonian co-production set in post World War II Estonia, was announced as one of the nominees for the Golden Globe in the category of foreign language film. A Finnish film was last nominated (and won!) for a Golden Globe in 1957, Estonia had it first and only nomination last year, with Zaza Urushadze’s Tangerines, produced by Ivo Felt of Allfilm, Estonia, who also co-produced The Fencer.
The Golden Globes Awards Ceremony takes place on January 10, 2016.

A week later, on December 17, 2015, The Fencer was also revealed as one of nine titles competing for the nomination of the Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards. For director Klaus Härö, The Fencer marks the fourth time Finland has selected his film as national entry for foreign-language Oscar – making him the record-holder among Finnish directors. While, for Estonia, Tangerines was also the first film nominated for an Oscar, the first and only Finnish entry to receive a nomination to date was Aki Kaurismäki’s The Man without a Past in 2002.
The five nominees will be announced on January 14, 2016.

The Fencer, which won the Best Estonian Film Award at November’s Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, has also been announced as the opening-night film at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival.

The most recent collaboration between the producers of Making Movies Oy and director Klaus Härö, the grandfather-grandson drama Dark Christ, was presented at Baltic Event Co-Production Market 2015.

Year 2016 marks the 15^th anniversary for Baltic Event, the largest international film market in North-Eastern Europe. Presenting yearly around 50 feature film projects in five different categories, ranging from script ideas to screenings of freshly completed films, it has become an important hub for film professionals from all over Europe, the CIS countries, and also worldwide. Since 2015, Baltic Event presents the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of 20,000 euros.

Photo: producer Kaarle Aho and director Klaus Härö at Baltic Event in 2012.

Read more:
Oscars: Nine Titles Advance in Foreign Language Category
9 Foreign Language Films Advance in Oscar® Race
2016 Nominations Announced! 
Golden Globes 2016: Complete list of nominees