Lars von Trier's Cannes winner Dancer In The Dark, Per Fly's The Bench and Lone Scherfig's Italian For Beginners led the nominations for Denmark's Oscar equivalents, the Robert awards.

The trio secured ten nominations each in a year when award nominations for Danish films proved as competitive as the fight for box-office admissions. With local films released in the autumn battering each other at the box-office, the Danish Film Academy nominated 13 of the 16 eligible films for at least one award. The award ceremony takes place on February 4 in Copenhagen

While all films released are nominated for the best film award, Dancer also secured nominations including best actress for Bjork, best supporting actress for Shobka Fallon and best director. The director category was added this year along with an audience prize.

The Bench was nominated for best actor for Jesper Christensen, best score and best original screenplay, among others. The latest Dogme film, Italian For Beginners, picked up nominations for most of its cast as well as for script and direction. Currently a huge box-office success, the film has its international premiere in competition at next month's Berlin International Film Festival.

The presence of such local hits in the nominations line-up meant the Academy, now chaired by producer Kim Magnusson, was judged more in touch with audiences than its Swedish equivalent. Another local box-office success, Anders Thomas Jensen's debut Flickering Lights, picked up eight nominations including best script and male actor for Soren Pilmark.

Denmark's official Oscar candidate, Kaspar Rostrup's A Place Nearby, was nominated for best actor, actress, set design and costume.