The five nominees for the Nordic Council Film Prize 2019 have been unveiled at the Haugesund International Film Festival in Norway today (August 20).
The $52,750 (DKK 350,000) prize will be shared equally among the screenwriter, director, and producer.
The nominees are:
- Aurora (Finland), Miia Tervo (director/script), Max Malka (producer)
- Blind Spot (Norway), Tuva Novotny (director/script), Elisabeth Kvithyll (producer)
- Queen Of Hearts (Denmark), May el-Toukhy (director/script), Maren Louise Käehne (script), Caroline Blanco, René Ezra (producers)
- Reconstructing Utøya (Sweden), Carl Javér (director/script), Fredrik Lange (script/producer)
- A White, White Day (Iceland), Hlynur Pálmason (director/script), Anton Máni Svansson (producer)
This year’s nominees include three female directors (after an all-male shortlist in 2018).
All the films have had success on the festival circuit; for instance Queen Of Hearts won the audience award in Sundance before and the Dragon Award in Goteborg; A White, White Day won the rising star award in Cannes Critics’ Week; Blind Spot played in Toronto and won best actress at San Sebastian; Aurora won the international competition in Edinburgh; and Reconstructing Utoya was selected for the Berlinale and won two Guldbagge Awards in Sweden.
Organisers said, “the films are selected and nominated because of their high artistic quality and originality, and for the way they combine and elevate the many elements of film into a compelling and holistic work of art in Nordic culture.”
The winner will be announced on October 29 in Stockholm.
Last year’s winner was Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s Woman At War. The prize was started in 2002 and has been awarded annually since 2005.
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