‘Another Round’ Director Thomas Vinterberg in Tears after Oscar Win — Made the Film as Monument for His Daughter
Thomas Vinterberg paid tribute to his late daughter, Ida, when accepting the Best International Feature Film Oscar for the Danish movie Another Round.
He dedicated his win to his daughter, who passed away in a car accident in 2019, aged 19.
The filmmaker said in his speech that the unthinkable happened four days before the shooting of Another Round.
"An accident on a highway took my daughter away, someone looking into a cell phone. And we miss her and I love her," he said. "Two months before it, we shot this movie, and two months before she died, she was in Africa," the director added.
Vinterberg, trying to hold back tears, explained that Ida sent him a letter because she had just finished reading the script and was glowing with anticipation. She adored it and was supposed to be debuting it in the movie.
The Danish Director further added from the stage Union Station in Los Angeles on Sunday night, that he made the movie for her as her monument.
So, Ida, this is a miracle that just happened, and you're a part of this miracle.
Vinterberg excitedly skipped onto the stage before accepting the prize. He thanked his wife for being the "angel" behind the movie, as well as his children and Tobias Lindholm, the film's co-writer.
According to him, winning at the Oscars is beyond anything he could ever imagine, apart from the fact that he always dreamt about it.
The film Another Round is the fourth Danish film to win the award. The most recent was In a Better World, released in 2010.
Mads Mikkelsen, the lead actor, plays one of a group of Danish school teachers who attempt to break free from their malaise.
The whole theme of Another Round was the loss of control.
Vinterberg was also nominated for Best Director, but he lost to Chloé Zhao in the category on Sunday night.
The filmmaker rose to international prominence as a co-founder of the Dogme 95 filmmaking movement.
In 1995, he co-founded the movement with fellow Danish director Lars von Trier. Vinterberg was inspired by him to place the “epic final dance sequence” at the end of the movie.
He revealed he was initially perplexed by the decision to place the scene at the end of the film.
He opened up how a previous conversation with his friend, the talented Danish director, and writer Von Trier, inspired him to include the celebratory dancing scene at the end.
As a novelist, Von Trier claims that the only thing he learned was to save the best for last.
To some extent, it has a simplicity to it, which I ended up following in this case.
Vinterberg also said that even though Mikkelson was dancing for Tommy in reel life, he was actually dancing for his late daughter in reality, which his family wanted to see.
Besides winning the Academy Award, the critically acclaimed film has won thirty-six awards across various events.