06/02/2017 - Amanda Kernell’s feature debut was named Best Nordic Film at the Swedish film festival, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year

Amanda Kernell (second from left) receiving the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film for Sámi Blood

Swedish-Sámi director Amanda Kernell’s first feature, Sámi Blood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amanda Kernell
interview: Lars Lindstrom
film profile], which had already been honoured at Venice and Thessaloniki, received the world’s largest film prize, the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Feature, which comes with SEK 1 million (€104,000), at the closing ceremony of Sweden’s Göteborg International Film Festival on Saturday (4 February), in Gothenburg’s Auktionsverket Kulturarena.

Set in the 1930s, the film portrays a 14-year-old reindeer-breeding Sámi girl, who must endure racism and biology examinations at her boarding school. She starts dreaming of another life, but to achieve this, she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.

Sámi Blood, which was included in the festival’s focus on new productions from the Arctic area of Sápmi (aka Lapland) in northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia, also garnered Sophia Olsson the Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award. It will be released in Sweden on 3 March.

Danish director Andreas Dalsgaard and Syrian journalist Obaidah Zytoon’s Venice Days winner The War Show [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Dalsgaard
film profile] – the Arab Spring in Syria as seen through the eyes and lens of radio host Zytoon, and how the war affected her and her friends – bagged the Award for Best Nordic Documentary.

At the end of Göteborg’s 40^th-anniversary programme, Belgian directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne were presented with the Honorary Dragon Award. The Nordic Honorary Dragon Award had already been given to Danish director Lone Scherfig, whose new British-Swedish feature Their Finest [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lone Scherfig
film profile] took home the Audience Award for Best Feature; finally, Swedish director Rojda Sekersöz’s Beyond Dreams scooped Best Nordic Feature.

Here is the full list of winners at the 40^th Göteborg International Film Festival:

Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film
Sámi Blood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amanda Kernell
interview: Lars Lindstrom
film profile] – Amanda Kernell (Sweden/Denmark/Norway)

Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary
The War Show [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Dalsgaard
film profile] – Obaidah Zytoon, Andreas Dalsgaard (Denmark/Finland/Syria)

Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award
The Impossible Picture – Sandra Wollner (Germany/Austria)

Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award
Sophia Olsson – Sámi Blood

International Critics’ FIPRESCI Award
Tom of Finland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dome Karukoski
film profile] – Dome Karukoski (Finland/Sweden/Denmark/Germany/USA)

Lorens Award for Best Producer
Anton Máni Svansson, Lise Orheimm Stender, Jesper Morthorst, Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson – Heartstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
film profile] (Iceland/Denmark)

Audience Award for Best Feature
Their Finest [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lone Scherfig
film profile] – Lone Scherfig (UK/Sweden)

Audience Award for Best Nordic Feature
Beyond Dreams – Rojda Sekersöz (Sweden) 

Honorary Dragon Award
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne 

Nordic Honorary Dragon Award
Lone Scherfig

Best Short 
My Burden – Niki Lindroth von Bahr (Sweden)

Audience Award for Best Short
My Burden – Niki Lindroth von Bahr 

Angelos Ecumenical Prize
Beyond Dreams – Rojda Sekersöz

Göteborg Film Prize
Fragilite – Abang Bashi (Sweden)

Mai Zetterling Scholarship
Abang Bashi

Doris Foundation Prize
Swedish producer China Åhlander

Bonnier Scholarship
Swedish writer-director Johanna Pyykkö