The 2024 Nordic Council Film Prize nominees. Photo: Grethe Nygaard
The nominees of this year’s Nordic Council Film Prize will be announced by Nordisk Film & TV Fond on Monday, August 24th, 2026, at noon. The prize is awarded annually to an artistically significant, Nordic-produced full-length feature film that has secured a distribution deal. The film must have had its premiere between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. 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 through the close collaboration of these three main contributors.
Meet the NCFP nominees in Haugesund!
The nominated films will be presented during the Opening of NEW NORDIC FILMS at The Norwegian Film Festival in Haugesund on Tuesday, August 25th. You can meet all the nominated filmmakers in a conversation about their film projects, moderated by Liselott Forsman, CEO at Nordisk Film & TV Fond, on Wednesday, August 26th at 18.00-19.00. After the talk, there will be a Nordic reception in the Festival tent by Edda Cinema.
Photo: Grethe Nygaard
The purpose: The purpose of the Film Prize is to promote the selection and circulation of Nordic films in the region to strengthen the Nordic cultural community and develop the Nordic region as a cultural domestic market. The nominated films are meant to benefit from the Film Prize, both culturally and commercially, in a Nordic and global perspective. The Nordic Council prizes aim to increase interest in culture and in collaboration on environmental issues, to recognise outstanding artistic and environmental initiatives, and to raise the profile and increase the visibility of Nordic co-operation.
The prize: The DKK 300,000 prize will be shared equally among the screenwriter, director, and producer.
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.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 of 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 2025 are:
Denmark: Heidi Hilarius-Kalkau Philipsen*, Jacob Ludvigsen, Emile Hertling Péronard
Finland: Marjo Pipinen*, Kalle Kinnunen, Tytti Rantanen
Greenland: Klaus Georg Hansen*, Ane Lena Fussing Rosbach, Inuk Jørgensen
Iceland: Jóna Finnsdóttir*, Guðrún Helga Jónasdóttir, Björn Þór Vilhjálmsson
Norway: Anne Gjeldsvik*, Emilio Sanhueza, Unnur Sande
Sweden: Jonas Holmberg*, Kerstin Gezelius, Hynek Pallas
The nominated films to Nordic Council Film Prize 2025 was:
DENMARK
My Eternal Summer
15-year-old Fanny and her parents have gone to spend their summer at a holiday home like they
always do. But beneath the surface of their usual routines and traditions lurks an unspoken
sadness – they know this will be her mother’s last summer. As they try to make the most of the
time they have left together, the family carefully navigates between savouring the present and
confronting the inevitable future.
Main director, Sylvia Le Fanu - Main writer: Mads Lind Knudsen, Sylvia Le Fanu- Main producer:
Jeppe Wowk - Production company: Adomeit Film ApS - Distribution company: Reel Pictures -
International sales: Trust Nordisk - Original title: Min Evige Sommer - International title: My Eternal
Summer - National premiere: 27.02.25 - Total length in minutes: 105
FAROE ISLAND
The Last Paradise on Earth
Kári cherishes the simple life in his small village. Together with his sister Silja, he quietly mourns
the loss of their mother. While Kári finds solace in his job at the fish factory, Silja struggles to finish
school, and their father returns to the sea on a fishing boat. But when the factory faces the threat of
closure, the fragile balance of their world begins to unravel. As the friends dream of escape and
seek new lives beyond the island, Kári makes a different choice – to stay and confront life head-on.
Main director: Sakaris Storá - Main writers: Tommy Oksen, Mads Stegger, Sakaris Stórá - Main
producer: Jón Hammer - Production company: Adomeit Film, Kykmyndir - Distribution company:
Øst for Paradis - International sales: Reinvent Studios - Original title: Seinasta paradís á jørð -
International title: The Last Paradise on Earth - National premiere: 10.04.25 -
Total length in minutes: 87
FINLAND
The Helsinki Effect
The Helsinki Effect is an all-archival documentary about a meaningless conference that changed
the world. With a fresh subjective perspective and a comical touch, the film explores the art of slow
diplomacy during the Cold War era.
Main director: Arthur Franck - Main writer: Arthur Franck - Main producers: Sandra Enkvist, Arthur
Franck, Oskar Forstén - Production company: Polygraf - Distribution company: Polygraf, Rise and
Shine - Original title: The Helsinki Effect - International title: The Helsinki Effect - National premiere:
5 april 2025 - Total length in minutes: 88
GREENLAND
WALLS – Akinni Inuk
Two strong Greenlandic women are united by a shared traumatic past and a chaotic present – one
behind bars, the other behind a cool facade. A moving journey for justice, freedom, and a second
chance at life.
Main directors: Sofie Rørdam, Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg - Main producer: Emile Hertling
Péronard - Production company: Ánorâk Film - Original title: WALLS – Akinni Inuk - International
title: WALLS – Akinni Inuk - National premiere: 08.04.25 - Total length in minutes: 75
ICELAND
When the Light Breaks
When the Light Breaks on a long summer’s day in Iceland. From one sunset to another, Una, a
young art student encounters love, friendship, sorrow, and beauty.
Main director: Rúnar Rúnarsson - Main writer: Rúnar Rúnarsson - Main producers: Heather Millard,
Rúnar Rúnarsson - Production company: Compass Films - Distribution company: Sam Film -
International sales: The Party Film Sales - Original title: Ljósbrot - International title: When The
Light Breaks - National premiere: 26.08.24 - Total length in minutes: 82
NORWAY
Dreams
Johanne (17) falls head over heels in love with her teacher. It is her first crush and in an attempt to
preserve the feeling, she writes down everything she experiences. When her mother and
grandmother read what she has written, they first react with shock at the intimate descriptions, then
are captivated by the book’s literary qualities. But what has actually happened between Johanne
and the teacher? And should this be published as a book?
Main director: Dag Johan Haugerud - Main writer: Dag Johan Haugerud - Main producers: Yngve
Sæther, Hege Hauff Hvattum - Production company: Motlys - Distribution company: Arthaus -
Original title: Drømmer - International title: Dreams - National premiere: 04.10.2025 - Total length
in minutes: 110
SWEDEN
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
The film is the definitive cinematic account of the background to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
through unique and immersive footage, long buried in the vaults of Sveriges Television’s archives.
From the director of The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 and Concerning Violence.
Main director: Göran Hugo Olsson - Main writer: Göran Hugo Olsson - Main producer: Tobias
Janson - Production company: Story AB - Distribution company: Folkets Bio - Original title: Israel
Palestina på svensk tv 1958–1989 - International title: Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 -
National premiere: 04.10.24 - Total length in minutes: 210
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