27/09/2023 - The other big victors at this year’s edition were Markus Toivo’s Under Construction and Arman Zafari’s Prelude, both in receipt of the New Nordic Voice Award

It’s a wrap for the 2023 edition of Nordisk Panorama, which unspooled in the Swedish city of Malmö from 21-26 September. This year's winners were announced on 26 September at the awards ceremony held at the City Hall. From among the 64 eligible films selected to compete in the festival’s competitive strands, seven were awarded, including the winner of the first Nordic Documentary Producer Award.

The top prize, the Award for Best Nordic Documentary, went to the IDFA winner Apolonia, Apolonia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lea Glob
film profile] (Denmark) by Lea Glob. The jury, made up of Alexandre Marionneau, Marie Kloos, Magnus Gertten and Lucie Kon, provided the following supporting statement: “We wanted to celebrate an exceptional movie that leans on one of the most precious documentary filmmaking resources: the use of time. It is an adorable movie, about lifelong friendship, about the sacrifices you have to make to express yourself in the arts, and about dreams and plans that you stick to, wherever life takes you.” The prize consists of a €11,000 cash award sponsored by Nordic public broadcasters DR, NRK, RUV, SVT and YLE.

An Honourable Mention was bestowed upon Mia Engberg’s Hypermoon [+see also:
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interview: Mia Engberg
film profile] (Sweden). The jury labelled it “a powerful visualisation of feelings many of us not just dread, but struggle to face up to” and “a lesson in tackling some of life’s most difficult challenges”.

Next, the Award for Best Nordic Short Film went to Marlene Emilie Lyngstad’s Norwegian Offspring (Denmark). The short “unsettled” the jury (made up of Fredrik S Hana, Carmen Gray and Lucie Canistro), “creating much discussion among us about masculinity, outsider ideologies, lack of connection and warped intimacy, involving a very problematic, fascinating and well-acted protagonist”. The attendant cash award of €5,000 is sponsored by the Association of Danish Film Directors and the Association of Swedish Film Directors.

The New Nordic Voice Award, worth €5,000 and sponsored by AVEK and Film i Skåne, was split between a documentary and a short. The winning pictures are two Finnish projects – namely, Markus Toivo’s Under Construction and Arman Zafari’s Prelude. Toivo’s doc was billed as a film capable of “opening a gate, both physical and metaphorical, to the silence and loneliness that endures between fathers and sons.” Meanwhile, Zafari’s “beautifully structured” short was praised for its “fine lead performances” and for how it tackles the theme of “what it means to strive for perfection”. The jurors in charge of handing out this award were Anita Mathal Hopland, Birgir Thor Møller and Jane Ray.

The Nordic Documentary Producer Award went to Sweden’s Stina Gardell, of Stockholm-based Mantaray Film (whose credits include I Am Ingrid, The Most Beautiful Boy in the World [+see also:
film review
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interview: Kristina Lindström and Kris…
film profile] and The Nun). The brand-new €10,000 cash award is backed by the Danish Producers’ Association, Virke Norwegian Producers Association, Audiovisual Producers Finland (APFI), the Finnish Documentary Guild, Filmproducenternas Rättighetsförening (FRF) and the Icelandic Filmmakers Association.

Finally, the Young Nordic Award (worth €1,500) went to Ingvild Søderlind’s short Brouillarta (Norway), whilst Smari Gunnarsson and Logi Sigursveinsson’s documentary The Home Game [+see also:
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film profile] (Iceland) snagged the City of Malmö's Audience Award (worth €2,500).

Here is the full list of this year’s award winners:

Best Nordic Doc
Apolonia, Apolonia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lea Glob
film profile] – Lea Glob (Denmark)
Honourable Mention
Hypermoon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mia Engberg
film profile] – Mia Engberg (Sweden)

Best Nordic Short
Norwegian Offspring – Marlene Emilie Lyngstad (Denmark)

New Nordic Voice (ex aequo)
Under Construction – Markus Toivo (Finland)
Prelude – Arman Zafari (Finland – short film)

Nordic Documentary Producer Award
Stina Gardell

City of Malmö’s Audience Award
The Home Game [+see also:
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film profile] - Smari Gunnarsson, Logi Sigursveinsson (Iceland)

Young Nordic Award
Brouillarta – Ingvild Søderlind (Norway - short film)