GÖTEBORG 2025 Göteborg Industry / Awards
Miia Tervo and Zar Amir Ebrahimi emerge as the winners of the Nordic Film Market
- The directors’ upcoming projects in development, You Crazy Thing and Honor of Persia, have received the two awards up for grabs at the Gothenburg-based event
On 30 January, the 26th Nordic Film Market (29-31 January), an integral part of the Göteborg Film Festival, announced its market award winners, highlighting outstanding projects that ooze artistic excellence and international potential.
You Crazy Thing, directed by Miia Tervo and produced by Marko Talli (Yellow Film & TV), received the Film Finances Scandinavia Award, which includes €15,000 in development support. The award recognises a Nordic feature project from the Discovery line-up that demonstrates strong artistic and international appeal. The jury, composed of director Goran Kapetanović (Sweden), MOIN Film Fund’s head of Funding and International Co-production Katrin Mersmann (Germany), and Paolo Bertolin (Italy), senior programmer and artistic director of the New Zealand International Film Festival, stated: “We unanimously decided to reward a story coming from a remote place that hits close to the heart thanks to an equally heartfelt and hilarious presentation. This project promises to turn into a melancholic yet humorous view on human life that reveals how what makes us different could be just a pair of keys.”
You Crazy Thing follows Aino, a financially struggling mental-health nurse with a deep disdain for the wealthy, as she prepares a performance with her patients for a televised talent competition. When she unexpectedly falls in love with one of her patients, a wealthy investment consultant named Mikael, Aino must confront her biases and embrace her own vulnerabilities.
From the Nordic Gateway section, the newly introduced slate that features international projects in development, Honor of Persia, directed by Zar Amir Ebrahimi and produced by Mohammad Farokhmanesh, Ebrahimi and Jacob Jarek (brave new work, Alambic Production and Profile Pictures), was granted the Tint Post-Production Award, valued at 400,000 SEK (€35,000). Provided by Gothenburg-based post-production company Tint, this award grants high-quality post-production services, including colour grading and access to Tint's Dolby Atmos Theatrical mixing stage. The jury, consisting of film consultant Claus Ladegaard (Denmark), ACE Producers managing director Jacobine van der Vloed (Netherlands) and producer Maria Ekerhovd (MER Film, Norway), stated: “With captivating artistic expression, this writer-director tells a courageous and personal story, which we believe the audience needs and wants to see.”
Honor of Persia tells the story of Ava Rad, a beloved Iranian TV and film star, whose life unravels when an old, explicit tape of hers is leaked. Once adored by both the religious Guardians of the Islamic Revolution and Iran's cultural elite, Ava is suddenly cast out, exposing the contradictions of a society caught between religious totalitarianism and the extravagance of a youth under pressure.
The Nordic Film Market is one of the most important industry platforms for showcasing Nordic films, hosting 60 feature-length projects across market screenings, works in progress and development pitches.
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