WOMAN AT WAR is Iceland‘s contribution for the Nordic Council Film Prize 2018 – WINTER BROTHERS is Denmark‘s contribution
Iceland has submitted Woman at War, writer/director Benedikt Erlingsson‘s new feature, for this year‘s Nordic Council Film Prize. It will compete against four films from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Denmark‘s contribution is the Danish/Icelandic coproduction Winter Brothers by Icelandic writer/director Hlynur Pálmason. The Nordic Council Film Prize award ceremony will take place on October 30, during the Session of the Nordic Council in Oslo.
Woman at War had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won four awards in the Critics Week section, including the SACD Award for Best Screenplay. It will screen in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Winter Brothers has won a total of 18 international awards since having its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in August 2017, where four of the awards were won. The film has also won a total of 11 awards in Denmark, with nine coming at the Robert Awards and two at the Bodil Awards.
Last year, Finnish film Little Wing by Selma Vilhunen won the award. In 2015, Icelandic film Virgin Mountain by Dagur Kári won the award and in 2014 Benedikt Erlingsson‘s debut feature Of Horses and Men became the first Icelandic film to win the award.
This year‘s jury for Iceland was comprised of Hilmar Oddsson, Börkur Gunnarsson and Helga Thórey Jónsdóttir.
Information on the five films up for this year‘s Nordic Council Film Prize and the countries jury motivations can be found below:
ICELAND
Woman at War, director Benedikt Erlingsson, screenwriters Benedikt Erlingsson and Ólafur Egill Egilsson and producers Marianne Slot, Benedikt Erlingsson and Carine Leblanc.
This work of art by Erlingsson and his team raises environmental issues to another level. From the very outset, the audience's empathy towards the characters overwhelms its empathy towards the issue. Furthermore, the audience never fails to struggle to find empathy for each and every character in the story. The audience understands the characters' actions and is delighted by excellent camera work, scriptwriting, and acting throughout, in addition to excellent directing and casting.
DENMARK
Winter Brothers, director and screenwriter Hlynur Pálmason and producers Julie Waltersdorph Hansen, Per Damgaard Hansen and Anton Máni Svansson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0RaGwzqLBE
In a time when the film industry is characterised by conformity and secure solutions, Winter Brothers is something of a breath of fresh air. Director Hlynur Pálmason experiments with strange image combinations and discomforting soundscapes, and although Winter Brothers tells a story of some kind, the experience is based on sensations, associations, and dream interpretations. What do we do with a story about two brothers working on a lime mill in a bleak winter landscape? That's up to us. Pálmason invites us on an excursion, but has no free tickets – the audience is the co-writer of a journey of discovery to an unknown land.
FINLAND
Euthanizer, director and screenwriter Teemu Nikki and producers Jani Pösö and Teemu Nikki.
The black comedy Euthanizer challenges its audience's expectations and moral standards. The cinematography and locations subtly reflect the rugged beauty of the movie's inner world. Matti Onnismaa's lead performance is not only very convincing, but also reminiscent of Buster Keaton.
NORWAY
Thelma, director Joachim Trier, screenwriters Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier and producers Eili Harboe, Kaya Wilkins and Henrik Rafaelsen.
In Thelma, director Joachim Trier uses tools from horror films and thrillers to tell the story of the lonely, pining, and carnal Thelma in a film that is also a convincing depiction of the tension between oppression and being oppressed. The forces of restraint that stand against penetrating needs are awful once set free.
A camera portrays the world from the outside. Yet a film can create a universe like no other, portraying not so much the world as it is, but a way in which to perceive the world. In Thelma this is achieved by way of a sophisticated filmscape that creates some of the most memorable images of contemporary Norwegian cinema.
SWEDEN
Ravens, director and screenwriter Jens Assur and producers Jan Marnell, Tom Persson and Jens Assur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXAxrmuwuC8
Jens Assur's debut feature film Ravens is a well-rounded and detailed epic. Exquisite and varied acting paired with equally fantastic cinematography elevate this story about Sweden at a time of change. Agne, an ageing farmer, struggles against the land as his dreams crumble around him, while his wife tries to hold things together as their eldest son yearningly watches over his beloved ravens in the forest. This is the 1970s – a long time ago, yet still close at hand. With artistic courage and uncompromising consistency, Assur creates a story with universal reach.
For further information about the films and the Nordic Council Film Prize, visit norden.org and nordiccouncilfilmprize.com.