Nominations for the Nordic Council Film Prize 2015
Denmark
Stille hjerte (Silent heart)
Masterfully crafted and played to perfection, director Bille August and screenwriter Christian Torpe tell a heart-warming story about an unforgettable weekend where a family has to come to terms with a mother’s wish to die. In the typically Nordic tradition of exorcising all skeletons from the closet, the film dissects one of the most difficult challenges a family can face – saying goodbye to a loved one.
Finland
They Have Escaped
A gripping coming-of-age drama, a thrilling road movie, a drug-induced fantasy and then some! Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää's They Have Escaped flirts with genre characteristics only to rise above their respective dynamics and to metamorphose into an expressionistic, no holds barred adult fairytale. The exquisite cinematography combined with a thoughtful, multifaceted soundtrack adds to film's strong, dreamlike ambiance.
Iceland
Fúsi (Virgin Mountain)
With a delicate touch, director Dagur Kári’s Virgin Mountain is a moving coming-of-age portrait of a gentle giant. In a skilfully nuanced way this humanistic film conveys both inner torment and offbeat charm, while its symbolic interaction of items big and small conveys such universal themes as goodness, giving and grace.
Norway
Mot nature (Out of nature)
In Out of Nature, Ole Giæver portrays a self-reflection of our modern lives and today’s Nordic man. A personal yet forthright narrative conveys a collage of mental imagery to express memories, hopes, dreams, and emotive atmospheres, yet all in a good humour that addresses embarrassment, shame and pain.
Sweden
Gentlemen
Mikael Marcimain’s Gentlemen takes us on a winding journey of a story in which time perspectives and identities are as fluid as the boundary between dreams and fantasy. The attention to detail in the film’s various expressions culminates in a uniquely personal, playful and self-reflective work.
Watch the nominated films here
The Nordic Council Film prize is worth DKK 350,000, which is shared between the film’s director, screenwriter and producer. The Nordic Council’s five prizes will be awarded to the winners at the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik on 27 October.