The festival also handed awards to Danish director Bille August and actress Ghita Nørby for Silent Heart.
Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael’s The Brand New Testament won two prizes at the Norwegian International Film Festival (August 15-21) closing ceremony, which took place yesterday (August 20) at Haugesund’s City Hall.
Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael’s The Brand New Testament, which will be released in Norway by Another World Entertainment, left the ceremony with two awards, including the Sower of Joy prize and the Audience award.
The jury described the film as “an absurd, smart and extremely original film, which deserves to reach a large audience.”
The Audience jury added a special mention to Norwegian director Kari Anne Moe’s documentary Rebels (Pøbler), which had its world premiere at the festival.
Norwegian film critics voted German director Sebastian Schipper’s Victoria Best Film, and the ecumenical prize went to French director David Oelhoffen’s Far from Men (Loin des hommes).
The Norwegian Cinema Association, Film & Kino, gave its Aamot statuettes to now former Haugesund festival director and culture chief Gunnar Johan Løvvik for ”his enthusiasm and commitment to Norwegian cinema,” and to Norwegian sound designer Gisle Tveito.
Danish Oscar-winning director Bille August and actress Ghita Nørby both received prizes for Silent Heart (Stille Hjerte).
August collected the Playing Faun, the city of Haugesund’s appreciation of a good ambassador for the festival, while Nørby was given the festival president Liv Ullmann’s honorary prize.
Silent Heart, which follows three generations of a family gathering over a weekend to say goodbye to Esther (Nørby), their mater familias, who is terminally ill, was selected for the festival’s main programme.
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