For the first time in the history of the Nordic Council prizes, all five awards went to the same country: Norway. The Nordic Council Film Prize winner is Sentimental Value, which the Jury regarded as an “instant classic of Nordic cinema.”
Director Joachim Trier and screenwriter Eskil Vogt won the Nordic Council Film Prize ten years ago for their film Louder Than Bombs. Now they have doubled their success with the drama Sentimental Value.
The jury giving out the Nordic Council Film Prize described Sentimental Value as an “instant classic of Nordic cinema.” The film tells the story of an actress, her sister and their emotionally distant father, a film director who is planning a return to Oslo with a new film project. This nuanced family drama also explores the meaning of home and the possibilities and impossibilities of making art.
Sentimental Value is internationally the most widely seen Norwegian film of all time. Before winning the Nordic Council Film Prize, it has already received numerous accolades, including the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and six European Film Awards.
The Nordic Council Film Prize is awarded to director-screenwriter Trier, screenwriter Vogt and producers Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar. The latter two are receiving the prize for the first time.
Worth approximately €40,000, the prize shared among director, screenwriters and producers recognises the collective effort behind a film. The jury praised Trier’s vision in particular, describing Sentimental Value as his most mature work.
“Director Joachim Trier has created a film characterised by a cinematic musicality, employing a range of narrative devices and visual ideas that ultimately come together to form a meaningful whole,” the jury stated.
The members of the jury that selected the winner were Jacob Ludvigsen (Denmark), Jan Berg Jørgensen (Faroe Islands), Jóna Finnsdóttir (Iceland), Anne Gjelsvik (Norway), Jonas Holmberg (Sweden) and chair Marjo Pipinen (Finland).
The Nordic Council gives out awards annually in the categories of environment, literature, children and young people’s literature, music and film. This year, all the awards went to Norway. For the first time in the history of the prizes, one country swept the entire awards slate.
The award will be presented to Trier, Vogt, Ekerhovd and Berentsen Ottmar at a ceremony on October 27. The ceremony will take place in Helsinki and can also be watched live on the website norden.org.