Nordisk Panorama, den største felles arenaen for kort- og dokumentarfilm i Norden, ble i år arrangert i Århus i Danmark. Og her gjorde de siste årenes tendens med svensk og dansk dominans seg nok en gang gjeldende: Hele seks av ti priser gikk til svenske filmer, mens norsk film fikk to “honorable mentions” med Thomas A Østbyes dokumentar Imagining Emanuel og Mariken Halles No Sex Just Understand. Det var Sista Kapitlet av Peter Torbjörnsson som fikk den store dokumentarprisen og Jens Assurs som fikk kortfilmprisen med Killing the Chickens to Scare the Monkeys. 81 filmer har deltatt i årets mønstring.

PRISVINNERNE:

Best Nordic Documentary

Last Chapter by Peter Torbiörnsson (S)

The prize is awarded to the best documentary from the Nordic region. The winner receives 50,000kr.

The jury’s comments: “Last Chapter is a gripping piece of filmmaking, dealing with fundamental questions like guilt and the search for redemption. In an on-going search for truth, the film re-evaluates an era and the political dreams of a whole generation”

Honorable mentions:

Imagining Emanuel by Thomas A. Østbye (N)

The jury’s comments: “The jury has chosen Imagining Emanuel for an Honorable Mention because of its original idea and structural strength. Within a strictly respected formal setting the filmmaker questions identity and contrasts various perceptions of reality, successfully translating them into their human dimension by questioning our biased way of constructing identity“.

The Guerilla Son by David Herdies & Zanyar Adami (S)

The jury’s comments: “The jury has chosen The Guerilla Son for an Honorable Mention because of its creative approach to dealing with the weight of memory and the role it plays in defining our relationships and expectations. At the same time it is a poignant film about the love between a father and a son”.

Best Nordic Short Film

Killing the Chickens to Scare the Monkeys by Jens Assur (S)

The prize is awarded to the best short film from the Nordic region. The winner receives 50,000kr..

The jury’s comments: ”A story of acute significance: masterfully combining elements of still-photography, theatre, documentary film and drama to create an unconventional voice of its own. The film’s surreal reality is gloriously depicted in meticulous detail – from the timeless characters to the shabby ill-fitting uniforms alongside a perfectly composed landscape and everyday dialogue. Directed with skilfully instinctive feeling, this film is brilliantly told in all its understated brutality”.

Honorable mentions:

No Sex Just Understand by Mariken Halle (S/N)

The jury’s comments: “In the first Honorable Mention we, as viewers, are merely bystanders. From a certain distance we witness how the main characters accidentally meet. Between blurry dialogues we glimpse loneliness, family tragedy, aggression and sexual tension that ultimately develops into a clash of opposite universes. A memorable film that is distinguished by an impressive sense of timing and perhaps, more importantly, just the right dose of humour”.

To All My Friends by Behrouz Bigdeli (DK)

The jury’s comments: “Our second Honorable Mention takes us on a rollercoaster ride of love and loyalty, guilt and dependency. It poignantly shows how those closest to us can sometimes be the very ones that hinder our ability to change. Effective set design, compelling acting, dynamic cinematography and talented directing come together to tell a convincing tale of the ultimate friendship”.

New Nordic Voices

Manenberg by Karen Walltorp & Christian Virum (DK)

The prize is awarded to a Nordic film talent with a clear personal style. The winner receives €3000.

The jury’s comments: ” The film is a dark story about how hard it is to make the right choice. The directors have managed to get close to their characters and follow them through their lives full of challenges, in a community surrounded by drugs and crime. They have spent an impressive amount of time in order to show the positive sides of people and life in a South African township. In spite of all, there is hope”

Honorable mentions: 

Two by Lucia von Horn Pagano (S)

The jury’s comments: “Two is a touching drama about a girl who is left alone in the midst of her father’s new family. The director shows in a subtle and visual way her jealousy towards her half-sister. The filmmaker dares to explore the psychological conflict in-depth. The use of music and the cinematography makes the story convincing”.

Black Swan by Brigitta Kontros (S)

The jury’s comments: “In a society ruled by “machismo” it is not easy to be a woman. Due to infidelity, a mother is forced to leave her daughter and now the daughter has difficulties taking care of her own child. The director gives us an openhearted portrait of two strong women. By simple means, we are drawn into their drama”.

Go Wæst

Seven Years of Winter by Marcus Schwenzel (DK)

The prize is awarded to the best new film in the region. The winner receives one week’s access to the studio facilities at Filmby Aarhus sponsored by the film area itself as well as one week’s use of HD recording equipment sponsored by Aarhus Filmværksted.

The jury’s comments: ”Our winning film is a very gripping story with key words such as innocence, loss of innocence and brutalisation. Even with a world famous event at its very centre, the film manages to maintain the full and uncompromising attention and dedication of its audience in every single frame.

The location of the film has such a painful presence in everyone’s consciousness that it could have worked against the film, but the film manages to become its very own through a strong character, a little boy and his destiny that uses the setting as a powerful character in its own right. The acting is great, it is beautiful and painful and a humane and touching story.

It is great to see that the co-producer of the film is part of this great international production with such a high quality. It makes us very proud”.

Go Wæst Talent Award

The Art World’s Ugly Faces by Malte Klagenberg (DK)

The prize is awarded to the best talent in the region. The winner receives two days color-grading sponsored by Picturewise and two days post-production in a sound studio sponsored by Soundmill Aps.

The jury’s comments: ”Our talent prize goes to a reckless and bold film, told with great personal commitment. It points to The Emperor’s New Clothes in a Bohemian world with clear cinematic references. In this film, the director clearly has something to tell and does so directly, engagingly and without hesitation. The courage that the filmmaker shows – to depict the ugly side of an otherwise highly celebrated scene – fully deserves the talent prize”.

Honorable mentions:

The Great Mistake by Anders Berthelsen (DK)

The jury’s comments: “Our first Honorable Mention goes to a film that is a clear proof of the greatness we can expect from this genre in the future. Something good is definitely on its way. In this film stylistic elements are combined with a good story in an international frame. The film enters the story in one place and ends up somewhere completely different, and as an audience we are with it all the way because it stylistically and with an intense atmosphere true to its story, it succeeds in expressing and creating its very own universe. Even when it travels to notorious infamous places, such as mafioso-ridden Venice”.

Last Fall by Andreas Thomsen (DK)

The jury’s comments: “Our second Honorable Mention goes to a poetic little film with great scope, dealing with the important issues in life such as loss and goodbyes. Stylistically it creates – within seconds – a very convincing and simplistic universe, and the framework of the film brings us to the end of the world and back with great confidence. The film gives us a good and meaningful cinematic experience that touches us through a little boy’s loss of his father”.

Upstairs by Jesper Maintz (DK

The jury’s comments: “Our third and final Honorable Mention goes to a very strong frame tale that is technically playful and superior. The film has great actors, but especially one supporting actor impresses us and leaves a lasting impression. An actor that we would love to see unfolding his talents fully in a coming key role in a Danish feature film. Of course the director has greatly contributed to the success of this remarkable supporting performance. Demonic atmosphere and ambiguity steers the story steadily forward, and its characters are never fully who we think they are. It’s a great accomplishment to create this much uncertainty with such certainty”.

Fedeora

How to Pick Berries by Elina Talvensaari (F)

The critic’s prize is given for the first time this year and is awarded to the best short documentary.

The jury’s comments: ”The FEDEORA jury gives the award to the film How to Pick Berries, a visually poetical and technically superb documentary. The film deals in a mystical way with a fragment of the social reality and simultaneously leaves it up to the viewers themselves to reflect upon the perspectives of the movie”.