Sweden has picked "A Man Called Ove" to represent the country at the Academy Awards. Directed by Hannes Holm, the movie premiered at the Cabourg Film Festival and later went on to score nominations at the Guldbagge Awards. The film won three awards including Best Screenplay and Best Actor.

"A Man Called Ove" is an interesting pick from Sweden given the country's dominance throughout the years. The film did not get a major festival premiere and has not received international exposure like other past submissions. However, Music Box Films will release it in the U.S giving it a major boost.

Sweden has been submitting films since 1956 and has been nominated 14 times with three wins from films by Ingmar Bergman. The country was last nominated in 2004 for the film "As it is in Heaven."

However, Sweden has still had a number of favorite films submitted. Two years ago "Force Majeure" was heavily touted as a front-runner winning the Critics Choice and making the January shortlist. However, the Academy surprised snubbing the film. Last year Roy Andersson's "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" was submitted and also obtained attention throughout including a nomination at the Indie Spirit Awards. However, even though it had won the Golden Lion, the film proved too experimental for the Academy's sensibilities.

"A Man Called Ove" will compete against a number of international hits this year including Venezuela's Golden Lion winner "From Afar," Bosnia and Herzegovina's Silver Bear winner "Death in Sarajevo" and Germany's critical darling "Toni Erdmann". Other films that have been submitted include Saudi Arabia's "Barakah Meets Barakah" and Romania's acclaimed film "Sieranevada."

The deadline for the foreign language category is Oct. 3 with the Academy announcing a list of eligible films later that month. On Jan. 17 the Academy will announce the nine finalists from among the eligible films and on Jan. 24 nominations will be announced. The winner will be announced at the Oscar ceremony on Feb. 26, 2017.

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