The Fencer joins nine films that have been short-listed with seven of the nine being European films.

Golden Globes are selected by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The film was shot in Estonia and coproduced by Allfilm. The Finnish production company is Making Movies.

The Fencer, partly based on true life events of an Estonian sportsman and coach Endel Nelis (1925-1993), is a story of an introvert who arrives in a small Estonian town in 1952 to teach fencing. The Estonian cast includes Märt Avandi and Ursula Ratasepp. The film was supported by the Estonian Film Institute.

The other films on the short list include Jaco Van Dormael’s The Brand New Testament (Belgium), Tobias Lindholm’s A War (Denmark), Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s LUX Prix winner,  Mustang (France), Giulio Ricciarelli’s Labyrinth of Lies (Germany), László Nemes’ Son of Saul, (Hungary) and Paddy Breathnach’s Viva (Ireland), Naji Abu Nowar’s Theeb (Jordan) and Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia).

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced 14 January 2016 and the Oscars will be held on28 February 2016.