"o' horten" was picked for the "un certain regard"-section of the cannes film festival. here it was praised by one reviewer as "deliciously funny" in a festival that contained few happy stories. this marked the fourth time that hamer was represented at cannes, which makes him one of only two norwegians to accomplish this feat. this instance, however, marked a step up for hamer, as his previous appearances had been in the slightly less prestigious "directors' fortnight"-category. at the festival, the film was picked for international distribution by the distribution company sony pictures classics. hamer also won the norwegian film critics' award in 2008, thereby becoming the first director to win this award three times. at the amanda awards that year, "o' horten" was nominated for a number of awardsincluding "best film" and "best direction"but won only two: "best sound" and "best actor in a supporting role" for espen skjønberg.