The Academy Award for best foreign film to Danish drama In a Better World was hailed Monday in Denmark as a milestone, DPA reported.
The film about a family split between small-town Denmark and Sudanese refugee camp is the third from the Scandinavian country of 5.5 million people to achieve Oscar glory.
Culture Minister Per Stig Moller paid tribute to director Susanne Bier and said the award showed that Denmark despite its small size was able to "make artistic contributions that generated a big response."
The head of the Danish Film Institute said the Oscar would likely create more interest in the US market for the film and other Danish films.
"The timing is fantastic," Henrik Bo Nielsen told Danish news agency Ritzaum. There were other Danish movies that could be offered for screening.
Film researcher Peter Schelepern at Copenhagen University said the award could "boost the Danish film industry."
"It will create new interest in Denmark," Schepelern told broadcaster DR.