Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental Value’ Takes Home Best International Feature Oscar and Calls for Politicians to Prioritize Children
In a politically charged atmosphere at this year’s Oscars, Norwegian director Joachim Trier accepted the International Film Oscar for Sentimental Value. The film, which explores the life of a film director portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård and his troubled family dynamics, prompted Trier to express gratitude towards the late American writer James Baldwin. He emphasized Baldwin’s message that “all adults are responsible for all children” and urged the audience to refrain from supporting politicians who disregard this responsibility.
This marks the third consecutive year that the Best International Oscar has gone to a film from the Cannes Competition. Following accolades for Sean Baker’s Anora last year and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest the year before, Trier’s win is a notable turnaround. His previous Oscar-nominated film, The Worst Person in the World, was narrowly surpassed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, and expectations were similarly low for Sentimental Value after it lost out to Jafar Panahi’s It Was an Accident for France’s big prize in 2025, despite Panahi’s film being one of the year’s prominent art pieces.
The competition for the International Oscar this year has proven to be particularly notable since Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite made history with its 2020 win. This year’s nominees made a significant impact with four films receiving nominations in additional categories. Notably, Sirāt received a nomination in Sound, while It Was Just an Accident was recognized for Original Screenplay. However, attention turned to Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, which achieved nominations in Best Picture, Best Actor (for Wagner Moura), and Best Casting.
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A potential victory for The Secret Agent would have been significant for Brazilian cinema, which has faced challenges in recent years, notably during the Bolsonaro presidency. Walter Salles’ win last year with I’m Still Here provided a glimmer of hope for the industry.
Despite the film’s core cast receiving nominations, Sentimental Value was overlooked in the casting category. Nevertheless, it garnered nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing—much to the surprise of its editor, who was reportedly engaged in home improvement tasks when the nominations were announced. Trier’s achievements resonate profoundly in Norway, prompting comparisons to the legendary Ingmar Bergman, who was based in Sweden just 350 miles away and received only nine nominations throughout his career.
The competition this year was intensely competitive. The Voice of Hind Rajab appeared as a strong contender, succeeding where Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice fell short in making the transition from the Venice Film Festival—a more reliable indicator for Best Picture than International. However, both that film and Panahi’s offering were considered long shots for the Oscar, as the Academy has a history of shunning overtly political narratives. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s wins for A Separation in 2011 and The Salesman in 2016 are often attributed to a sense of artistic solidarity, particularly following his contentious relationships with the Iranian government and American political dynamics.
