21/08/2006

Jens Lien’s critics’ and festival favourite The Bothersome Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jens Lien
interview: Jørgen Storm Rosenberg
film profile] received three top awards last Friday at the annual Amanda Awards Ceremony (the local Oscars), broadcast live by commercial channel TV2 as part of the 34th Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund. Lead Trond Fausa Aurvåg was voted Best Actor, Jens Lien won Best Director and Per Schreiner, Best Original Screenplay for the black comedy, based on his radio play.

Since its successful launch at Cannes’ Critics Week last May, The Bothersome Man has continued to seduce festival crowds and juries. The film, produced by Norway’s Tordenfilm AS in co-production with the Icelandic Film Company, has won the BeTV Prize for Best Film at the Brussels European Film Festival and the Best Film and Silver Meliès for Best European Feature at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival in early July.

Bavaria Film International has sold the film to several key territories, including France (CTV International) and Belgium (Imagine Film Distribution).

However, the surprise top winner of the Amanda Awards was the CGI animated film Free Jimmy [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the directorial debut by comic strip creator Christopher Nielsen, and the big Norwegian/UK creative and financial team who worked six years and spent over €12.8m to make the film happen (the biggest budget ever for a Norwegian film) had every reason to celebrate last Friday with the Amanda Award for Best Film.

The story of drug-addicted elephant Jimmy was produced in Norway by Storm Studio and in the UK by veteran producer Sarah Radclyffe. London-based The Works is handling international sales.

Other Amanda winners include Ane Dahl Torp (Norway’s Shooting Star 2006), named Best Actress for her performance in Hans Petter Moland’s Comrade Pedersen (sold by Nordisk Film International); Pitbullterje, the feature debut by Arild Frølich, named Best Film for Children and Youth Audiences (sold by Trust Film Sales); and Dome Karukoski, the Finnish director of Beauty And the Bastard [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (sold by Rome-based Intramovies), who won the Canal +/SF Norge Amanda for Best Nordic Newcomer. Also of note is Amanda Best Actor winner Trond Fausa Aurvåg, who won another Amanda for his short film Lonely Together.

Full list of Amanda award winners:

BEST THEATRICAL FILM:
Free Jimmy (Slipp Jimmy fri) by Christopher Nielsen

BEST DIRECTOR:
Jens Lien: The Bothersome Man

BEST ACTOR:
Trond Fausa Aurvåg: The Bothersome Man

BEST ACTRESS:
Ane Dahl Torp: Comrade Pedersen (Gymnaslærer Pedersen) by Hans Petter Moland

BEST SUPPORTING ROLE:
Talat Hussain: Import/Exportby Khalid Hussain

BEST FILM FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG AUDIENCES:
Pitbullterje by Arild Frølich

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Per Schreiner: The Bothersome Man

BEST SHORT FILM:
Lonely Together (Alene menn sammen) by Trond Fausa Aurvåg

BEST NORDIC NEWCOMER (The Canal+/SF Norge Amanda):
Beauty and the Bastard (Tyttö sinä olet tähti) by Dome Karukoski (Finland)

THE DVD AMANDA:
Sometimes in April by Raoul Peck (France/USA/Rwanda) – Local distr: Warner Bros. Entertainment Norge A/S

BEST FOREIGN FEATURE:
Walk the Line by James Mangold (USA) – Local distr: Fox Film A/S