Norwegian director Knut Erik Jensen has received the Norwegian Aamot Award in Oslo, Norway. The annual award given by Norway's theatre managers and distributors was bestowed on Jensen for "his ability to capture the life and history of Norway's northernmost regions in a poetical way".

Jensen is the director of the surprise box-office hit Cool And Crazy, which has sold 500,000 tickets since its January release in Norway, a country with only 4.2 million inhabitants. The film is now the fifth most popular Norwegian film ever.

Cool And Crazy is a portrait of a male voice choir from Berlevag, a remote town inside the Arctic circle with a population of just 1,200. With its blend of humour and melancholia, the documentary has become a symbol for the regional rebellion against the political negligence of Norway's government towards its northern regions. Jensen also directed the critically acclaimed Stella Polaris and Burnt By Frost. However, his last effort, Passing Darkness, only attracted 8,000 admissions.

"I presume this means that the audiences want me to continue. I hope I can make even smaller films in the future," the director said upon being handed the award by author Linn Ullmann, daughter of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann.

For some 30 years, the Aamot Award was the only major film award in Norway. Actress/director Liv Ullmann was the last recipient.