"The Opponent" by Milad Alami becomes Sweden's Oscar entry

"The Opponent" will be Sweden's entry in the Oscar category Best International Film.

The film is about Iman, an Iranian professional wrestler (Payman Maadi) who flees to Sweden with his family and ends up in an asylum accommodation in Norrbotten.

With "The Opponent", director Milad Alami drew inspiration from his own experiences from growing up in refugee accommodations.

Alami was educated in Denmark and made his feature film debut with the film "The Charmer" in 2017, which premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival and received several awards.

At the end of 2023, his TV series "Bullshit" will premiere.

How the Oscar process works

Last year, 92 countries submitted approved entries to the Oscar jury. On December 21, the jury will present the "short list" with 15 entries that will continue. On January 23, the five final nominees will be selected.

Last year's entry "Boy from heaven" made it to the short list, but was not nominated. The last time a Swedish entry was nominated was in 2017 with Ruben Östlund's "The Square". The last time Sweden won the category was in 1983 with Ingmar Bergman's "Fanny and Alexander".