06/02/2023 - Malou Reymann's unsettling historical drama has won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film, while Alma Pöysti received the Best Acting Award for her performance in Four Little Adults

Producer Matilda Appelin (left) and director Malou Reymann picking up their Award for Best Nordic Film for Unruly

The 46^th Göteborg Film Festival came to a close on 5 February, after the announcement of its award winners on Saturday. Unruly [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Malou Reymann emerged as the laureate of this year’s Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film as well as a prize of SEK 400,000 (€35,000), one of the world’s largest film prizes, provided by Region Västra Götaland and the City Council of Gothenburg.

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“With a great wish to honour a film that tells its story with both great sensitivity and power, the jury is grateful to shine a light on a universal story about the human spirit versus the oppressive system. Although it is rooted in the past, it transcends time and borders, and speaks strongly to our time, our minds and our hearts. A solid and mature work, a powerful voice – a timely story of separation,” was the Nordic Competition jury’s statement. This year, said jury consisted of Iranian actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl, Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich and Swedish composer Matti Bye.

The jury also rewarded the work of Alma Pöysti with the Best Acting gong, thanks to her performance as Juulia in Four Little Adults [+see also:
film review
interview: Selma Vilhunen
film profile], directed by Selma Vilhunen. The jury was “grateful to honour an actor without limitations. An actor who gives us an impressive performance with a large range of emotions, empathy, braveness and strength to portray a touching modern character with no borders. And who moves effortlessly between the dramatic and the humorous, in a performance that is mesmerising, witty and intelligent.” It’s worth noting that for the fifth consecutive year, the Dragon Award for Best Acting was gender-neutral, and all of the actors in the films competing in the Nordic Competition were eligible.

Furthermore, director of photography Jacob Møller snagged the Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award for his work on Copenhagen Does Not Exist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Skovbjerg
film profile], directed by Martin Skovbjerg. The FIPRESCI jury picked Let the River Flow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ole Giæver
film profile] by Ole Giæver, as it “masterfully conveys the sorrowful mood caused by the threat of a disappearing culture, a loss of identity, language and family ties”, and the film was also voted for by the audience as the Best Nordic Film.

Danish director Lea Glob received the Best Nordic Documentary Dragon Award, which is accompanied by SEK 250,000 (€22,000) in services from Edisen, for Apolonia, Apolonia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lea Glob
film profile]. “Every creative choice in the making of this film is taken from real-life experiences that all of us can relate to. The story is not just about the character who struggles to reach her dream; it’s about the journey. A story about not giving up. A story about hope. A beautiful film about female friendship,” the jury stated.

The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award – consisting of a stay at the Bergman Estate on Fårö and a visit to Bergman’s personal archive in Stockholm – went to Runner [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Marian Mathias. “Every frame of this minimalist masterpiece is a cinematic experience, and every character is carefully depicted. Behind this film, there is a true artist and a wonderful promise for the future of cinema,” underlined the jurors.

Here is the full list of award winners at the 46^th Göteborg Film Festival:

Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film
Unruly [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Malou Reymann (Denmark)

Dragon Award for Best Acting
Alma Pöysti - Four Little Adults [+see also:
film review
interview: Selma Vilhunen
film profile] (Finland)

Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award
Jacob Møller - Copenhagen Does Not Exist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Skovbjerg
film profile] (Denmark)

FIPRESCI Award
Let the River Flow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ole Giæver
film profile] - Ole Giæver (Norway/Finland)

Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary
Apolonia, Apolonia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lea Glob
film profile] - Lea Glob (Denmark)

The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award
Runner [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Marian Mathias (USA/France/Germany)

Audience Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film
Let the River Flow - Ole Giæver

Dragon Award for Best International Film
The Blue Caftan [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Maryam Touzani (France/Morocco/Denmark/Belgium)

Draken Film Award
After Mourners - Hanna Högstedt (Sweden)

Mai Zetterling Grant
Mårten Nilsson

Nordic Honorary Dragon Award
Jan Troell

Dragon Award Best Swedish Short
Madden - Malin Ingrid Johansson (Sweden)

Audience Choice Award for Best Swedish Short
Container Scanning - Edvin Hallberg, Anton Hellström (Sweden)

Angelo Award
Annika Fredriksson - Love You Bye (Sweden)

Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize
Kenneth Karlstad - Kids in Crime (Norway)