The nominees of this year’s Nordic Council Film Prize will be announced during the Opening of NEW NORDIC FILMS at The Norwegian Film Festival in Haugesund on August 22.
The prize is awarded annually to an artistically significant, Nordic-produced full-length feature film with distribution. The film must have had its premiere between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. The DKK 300,000 prize will be shared equally among the screenwriter, director, and producer, underscoring how film as an art form is brought about by the close collaboration of these three main contributors.
Purpose: The Nordic Council prizes aim to increase interest in culture and in collaboration on environmental issues, to recognize outstanding artistic and environmental initiatives and to raise the profile and increase the visibility of Nordic co-operation.
Criteria for nomination: The nominated films must have deep roots in Nordic culture, be of high artistic quality, distinguish themselves by their artistic originality, and combine and elevate the many elements of film into a compelling and holistic work of art.
National and Nordic jury: Each national jury consists of three members appointed by the Nordic Council of Ministers (Ministers for Culture). The members are selected from prominent figures whose work relates analytically and critically to film.
Each national jury has a three-year tenure, and the members of the national juries for 2023 are:
Denmark: Heidi Hilarius-Kalkau Philipsen*, Jacob Ludvigsen, Amalie Næsby Fick
Finland: Mikaela Westerlund*, Kalle Kinnunen, Kaisu Isto
Iceland: Jóna Finnsdóttir*, Guðrún Helga Jónasdóttir, Björn Þór Vilhjálmsson
Norway: Inger Merete Hobbelstad*, Emilio Sanhueza, Anne Gjelsvik
Sweden: Emma Gray-Munthe*, Caroline Cowan, Gunnar Bergdahl
The Nordic jury is made up of the chairs (*) of each of the national juries.
The nominees in 2022 were:
(WINNER) Denmark: Godland – directed and written by Hlynur Pálmason, produced by Eva Jakobsen, Katrin Pors, Mikkel Jersin for Profile Pictures and Anton Máni Svansson for Join Motion Pictures.
Finland: The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic - directed and written by Teemu Nikki, produced by Jani Pösö for It’s Alive Films.
Iceland: Lamb – directed by Valdimar Jóhannson, written by Valdimar Jóhansson and Sjón, produced by Hrönn Kristinsdóttir and Sara Nassim for Go to Sheep.
Norway: The Worst Person in the World – directed by Joachim Trier, written by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, produced by Thomas Robsahm and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Oslo Pictures.
Sweden: Clara Sola – directed by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, written by Maria Camila Arias and Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, produced by Nima Yousefi for HOBAB