For Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, scoring the second Oscar nomination of his career this year helped ease some of his lingering insecurities as a filmmaker. “This really makes me happy and proud,” Sorrentino, whose movie “The Hand of God” is up for a best international feature at this month’s Academy Awards, said in an interview. “If the first time could have been attributed to chance, the second proves that one has done good work over the years.”

“Hand of God” will compete with Danish documentary “Flee” and Japanese film “Drive My Car,” which is considered the frontrunner because it was also nominated for best picture, among others. Not going in as the favorite on the night of March 27, when the golden statuettes will be awarded in Los Angeles, has eased the tension for Sorrentino, who won a 2014 Academy Award with the movie “The Great Beauty.”