LAMB nominated for EFA's European Discovery 2021 – Prix FIPRESCI
Lamb, the debut feature from Icelandic writer/director Valdimar Jóhannsson, is among six films nominated for the European Film Awards in the category European Discovery 2021 – Prix FIPRESCI. The award is presented annually as part of the European Film Awards to a director for a first full-length feature film.
Lamb had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard program at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, where the film received the Prize of Originality. The film was recently screened in cinemas in the USA and took over a million dollars in ticket sales at cinemas. The film has now become the highest-grossing Icelandic film shown in American cinemas.
Lamb is a supernatural drama about an Icelandic couple who live with their herd of sheep on a beautiful but remote farm. When they discover a mysterious newborn on their land, they decide to keep it and raise it as their own. This unexpected development, and the prospects of a new family, brings them much joy before ultimately destroying them.
Lamb was directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson, written by Jóhannsson and the acclaimed Icelandic poet, novelist, and screenwriter Sjón (who also co-wrote Robert Eggers' upcoming The Northman), and stars Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snær Gudnason and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson. It was shot by Eli Arenson and edited by Agnieszka Glińska. The sound was designed by Ingvar Lundberg and Björn Viktorsson, and the score was composed by Thórarinn Gudnason.
The film is an Iceland/Sweden/Poland coproduction. It was produced by Hrönn Kristinsdóttir and Sara Nassim at Iceland's Go to Sheep, Piodor Gustafsson and Erik Rydell at Sweden's Black Spark Film & TV, and Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska and Jan Naszewski at Poland's Madants. It was coproduced by Film i Väst, Chimney Sweden, and Chimney Poland, in association with Rabbit Hole Productions and Helgi Jóhannsson. The film was supported by the Icelandic Film Centre, the Swedish Film Institute, the Polish Film Institute, Iceland's Ministry of Industries and Innovation, Eurimages, and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
International sales for Lamb are being handled by New Europe Film Sales (jan@neweuropefilmsales.com).
This year's nominations were determined by a committee comprised of European Film Academy Board Members Anita Juka (Croatia) and Joanna Szymańska (Poland), producer/screenwriter Paula Alvarez Vaccaro (UK, Italy), producer Vladimer Katcharava (Georgia) as well as film critics Marta Balaga (Finland, Poland), Janet Baris (Turkey), Andrei Plakhov (Russia), Frédéric Ponsard (France) and Britt Sørensen (Norway) as representatives of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics.
The European Discovery 2021 – Prix FIPRESCI will be presented at the 34th European Film Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 11 December.