Danish Director Scoffs At Reporter Asking About ‘Lack Of Diversity’ In His Film: ‘Takes Place In Denmark In The 1750s’ | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Amanda Harding.

    A Danish actor and director reacted with derision when asked about the lack of "diversity" in the film "The Promised Land," which was screened at the Venice Film Festival.

    Actor Mads Mikkelsen and award-winning filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel were sitting for a panel discussion about the movie when an unnamed journalist posed the question.

    "If it's not because of artistic reasons, but because of a lack of diversity this film cannot compete in [the Academy Awards]. Are you worried about that?" the journalist asked, prompting Mikkelsen to quickly say, "Are you?"

    "You're putting us on the spot, so you answer the question," he continued with a laugh and shake of his head.

    Arcel also defended the casting choices. "First of all, the film takes place in Denmark in the 1750s," he said. "We do have a big plot line about a girl of color who is being subjected to racism. It was very rare to have people of color in Denmark in the 1700s, almost nobody. She was probably at the time the only one in the entire country of Denmark."

    The director went on to discuss how the new diversity requirements in Hollywood weren't a consideration during the movie's development. "It wasn't a thought in our mind. I think it would be a little weird. It's just historical and how it was in the 1750s," Arcel added.

    Per IMDb, "The Promised Land" is about a poor soldier named Ludvig Kahlen (Mikkelsen) who arrives in 1755 in Denmark with the goal of cultivating the land to gain wealth and honor. But Kahlen experiences pushback from landowner Frederik De Schinkel, who believes that the land belongs to him.

    The Danish journalist was referring to the new Oscars eligibility requirements set forth by the Academy. They stipulate that beginning in 2024, a film will only qualify for Best Picture if it meets specific diversity criteria in two of four diversity areas. The Academy's new guidelines cover "on-screen representation, themes and narratives" and "creative leadership and project team," among other items, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

    Per the guidelines, underrepresented groups would need to be included both on screen in major and minor roles and the storylines must focus on those groups as well.