Director Thomas Vinterberg Honors Late Daughter With Oscar Win

Director Thomas Vinterberg was victorious Sunday night when his film Another Round won an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. 

“This is beyond anything I could ever imagine, except this is something I’ve always imagined,” he said. “Since I was five, I’ve been preparing speeches in train stations, at school, in the toilet and here I am—it’s amazing”

Later in his acceptance speech, Vinterberg shared that his daughter passed away four days after the film began shooting. “We wanted to make a film that celebrates life and four days into shooting, the impossible happened: an accident on a highway took my daughter away… we miss her, I love her,” he said.

“Two months before we shot this movie and two months before she died, she was in Africa and she sent me a letter. She has just read the script and she was glowing with excitement, she loved this and she felt seen by this. And she was supposed to be in this,” he continued. “If anyone dares to believe that she’s here with us somehow, you’ll be able to see her clapping and cheering with us. We ended up making this movie for her as her monument. So Ida, this a miracle that just happened and you’re a part of this miracle. Maybe you’ve been pulling some strings somewhere, I don’t know but this one is for you.”

Vinterberg also thanked the film’s star Mads Mikkelsen, he said, “You gave us your finest, not just for the film but for my daughter as well and I’ll never forget that. He also thanked the film’s crew who “threw everything together they had in their hands to rescue me, to rescue this film.”

Another Round, in which Vinterberg described as “four depraved white drunk men basically, who teaches children to drink,” topped Danish box offices in 2020. The film also received a BAFTA and four European Film Awards earlier this year.