Helen Mirren to chair Nordic Council Film Prize jury

by Jorn Rossing Jensen

15/09/2011 - UK Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren will chair over the jury voting for the winner of the Nordic Council Film Prize - Scandinavia's largest film award which comes with a €47,000 cheque to be shared by the film's director, scriptwriter and producer.

"As one of the world's most acclaimed actresses, Mirren knows what it takes in terms of scriptwriting, directing and producing to make an outstanding film," said Managing Director Hanne Palmquist, of Nordsik Film & TV Fond, which has since 2002 administered the award on the council's behalf.

Mirren and her fellow jurors - Danish critic Per Juul Carlsen, Finnish communication manager Outi Heiskanen, Icelandic CEO Sif Gunarsdottir, Norwegian editor Silje Riise Næss, Swedish film critic Fredrik Sahlin and Palmquist - will publish their decision at an award event in Copenhagen on October 17.

After the announcement Mirren and that the director of the winning film will meet for a discussion on stage at Copenhagen's Grand Theatre, moderated by Sahlin. As the Nordic Council's prizes for literature, music, nature and environment, the film diplomas will be given out at the council's session in Copenhagen on November 2.

Four times nominated for an Oscar, Mirren won the trophy in 2007 for her performance in UK director Stephen Frears' The Queen [trailer, film focus]. Her four Emmys for television include Elizabeth I (2006) and Prime Suspect: The Final Act (2007). She is currently performing in US director David Mamet's Phil Spector project, opposite Al Pacino.

The nominées for the Nordic Council Film Prize are Danish director Nikolaj Arcel's Truth about Men [trailer]; Finnish director Zaida Bergroth's The Good Son [trailer]; Icelandic director Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson's Undercurrent; Norwegian director Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st [trailer, film focus] and Swedish director Pernilla August's Beyond [trailer].