‘The Love That Remains’ Selected by Iceland as Oscar Candidate

The Icelandic Film and TV Academy has selected Hlynur Pálmason‘s “The Love That Remains” as Iceland’s entry in the best international feature film category of the Academy Awards.

The film, which had its world premiere in Cannes’ Premiere section, captures a year in the life of a family as the parents navigate their separation.

The Icelandic selection committee stated: “’The Love That Remains’ captivates with strong and effortless performances and a simple yet powerful visual narrative. It moves seamlessly between social realism and artistic imagery, captivating the viewer from the very first frame. The interactions and interpretations of the actors are so authentic that the viewer feels almost as if looking through a peephole into the life of a real family, rather than witnessing a predetermined structure or staged performance.”

New Europe Film Sales handles international sales. North American rights for the film are with Janus Films.

The cast includes Saga Garðarsdóttir, Sverrir Guðnason, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Þorgils Hlynsson, Grímur Hlynsson, Ingvar Sigurðsson and Anders Mossling.

The film is produced by Anton Máni Svansson for Still Vivid in Iceland, with Katrin Pors for Snowglobe in Denmark.

It is co-produced by Mikkel Jersin and Eva Jakobsen for Snowglobe (Denmark), Nima Yousefi for Hobab (Sweden), Didar Domehri for Maneki Films (France), Anthony Muir and Kristina Börjeson for Film I Väst (Sweden), and Olivier Pere and Remi Burah for Arte France Cinema (France).

It is the third time that a film by Pálmason has been selected as Iceland’s entry to the category, following “A White, White Day” (2020) and “Godland” (2024), which reached the shortlist for the Oscar.