EXCLUSIVE: Greenland has made its third-ever submission to the worldwide function class on the Oscars, with documentary WALLS – Akinni Inuk.
The movie was chosen by a five-person Oscar committee, chaired by filmmaker AldaRos Olsen Rosing, alongside filmmakers Mads Madsen and Hanne M. Sorensen, and actresses Kimmernaq Kjeldsen and Aka Niviana.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. The Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) permits it to undergo the class, alongside the identical guidelines granted to different autonomous territories together with Hong Kong.
WALLS – Akinni Inuk tells the story of two Greenlandic girls whose lives change into intertwined at a brand new Greenland jail – Ruth, who’s serving a sentence with out launch date; and movie producer Nina who’s engaged on a movie about Greenland’s jail system.
The movie is directed by Sofie Rordam and Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg, and produced by Emile Hertling Peronard for Greenland and Denmark’s Anorak Movie.
Backers embody Nordook, the Danish Movie Institute, and Eqqumiitsuliornermut Aningaasaateqarfik (the Greenland Arts Fund).
WALLS – Akinni Inuk received the most effective Nordic documentary prize when it had its world premiere at CPH:DOX earlier this yr, earlier than a global premiere at Sizzling Docs in Toronto. It was nominated for the 2025 Nordic Council Movie Prize by Greenland.
It’s Greenland’s third submission to the worldwide function class, after Nuummioq and Inuk for the 2011 and 2013 awards respectively, neither of which have been nominated.
“The choice can also be about extra than simply our movie,” mentioned Rordam and Skydsbjerg in a press release. ”It’s an illustration of how Greenland is lastly claiming its genuine voice within the worldwide world of cinema. And of how our filmmakers are lastly having the chance to share our tales – from our perspective – with the world.
”Greenland’s movie historical past is barely 25 years outdated, however we’ve got been telling tales for millennia. We’re now taking extra steps towards not solely political but in addition narrative sovereignty. And this choice is a crucial step on that journey.”
”The movie is each deep and thought-provoking and challenges our understanding of freedom,” mentioned a press release from the choice committee. ”The topic is severe, however it additionally presents hope for a greater future.”
The submission arrives at a time when Greenland’s political standing as a self-governing territory throughout the sovereign state of Denmark is in focus. US president Donald Trump has made claims that the US ought to management the territory; the vast majority of Greenlandic and Danish politicians reject these claims.
A shortlist for the worldwide function award will likely be launched by AMPAS on December 16, earlier than the nominations announcement on January 22, 2026, and the ceremony on March 15.