Loveable crowned as Best Film at Norway’s Amanda Awards
- Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s debut feature has swept four gongs, including Best Film, while Armand took home three prizes from Norway’s national film awards, hosted in Haugesund

Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s Loveable [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lilja Ingolfsdottir
film profile] emerged as the big winner at the 41st edition of the Amanda Awards, held on Saturday evening in Haugesund as part of the 53rd Norwegian International Film Festival (16-22 August). The film collected four trophies out of its nine nominations, including Best Norwegian Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Helga Guren, who impressed audiences and critics alike with her performance as Maria. This marked both Ingolfsdottir and Guren’s first Amandas, with the director’s intimate drama, which premiered last year at Karlovy Vary, confirming its position as one of the most significant Norwegian films of the year.
Close behind was another debut feature, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s Cannes-premiered Armand [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview: Renate Reinsve
film profile], which cashed in on three awards out of its seven nominations. The film earned Ellen Dorrit Petersen her second Amanda for Best Supporting Actor, for her role in this tense psychological drama where two mothers spiral into madness and obsession during one afternoon in an empty elementary school. The film was also recognised in the technical categories, with Pål Ulvik Rokseth awarded Best Cinematography and Mats Lid Støten winning Best Sound Design.
The Sundance-premiered body-horror fairy tale The Ugly Stepsister [+see also:
film review
film profile] brought Lea Myren her first Amanda, as she scooped Best Debut Performance for her portrayal of Elvira, under the direction of first-time filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt. The film also collected the Best Make-up Design Award for Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg.
Another highlight was Facing War [+see also:
film review
film profile], Tommy Gulliksen’s documentary on former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, which took home Best Documentary Film. In the children’s category, Mikkel Brænne Sandemose’s animated fairy-tale adaptation The Polar Bear Prince claimed the award, adding to the director’s family-film credentials.
The Best Foreign-language Film Amanda went to Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], with the film’s co-writer, Norwegian filmmaker Mona Fastvold, attending the ceremony. Meanwhile, the People’s Amanda, decided by audience vote, went to John Andreas Andersen’s World War II drama No. 24 [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which also earned Alf Martin Løvvold the Best Visual Effects Award.
Music was celebrated as well, with renowned singer-songwriter Thomas Dybdahl collecting his third Amanda for Best Original Score thanks to his work on Everything Must Go [+see also:
film review
film profile]. The Golden Clapper went to veteran composer duo Geir Bøhren and Bent Åserud, whose contributions to Norwegian film music have spanned decades. The Honorary Amanda was awarded to acclaimed director Hans Petter Moland, honoured for a career that includes Out Stealing Horses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hans Petter Moland
film profile] – winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlinale – and A Somewhat Gentle Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hans Petter Moland
film profile], among others.
Here is the complete list of winners at the 41st Amanda Awards:
Best Film
Loveable [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lilja Ingolfsdottir
film profile] – Lilja Ingolfsdottir (Norway)
Best Director
Lilja Ingolfsdottir – Loveable
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Helga Guren – Loveable
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ellen Dorrit Petersen – Armand [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview: Renate Reinsve
film profile] (Norway/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden)
Best Debut Performance
Lea Myren – The Ugly Stepsister [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Norway/Poland/Sweden/Denmark)
Best Documentary Film
Facing War [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Tommy Gulliksen (Norway/Belgium)
Best Children’s Film
The Polar Bear Prince – Mikkel Brænne Sandemose (Norway/Belgium)
Best Short Film
As We Forgive – Hedda Mjøen (Norway)
Best Foreign-language Film
The Brutalist [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Brady Corbet (USA/UK/Hungary)
Best Screenplay
Lilja Ingolfsdottir – Loveable
Best Cinematography
Pål Ulvik Rokseth – Armand
Best Editing
Jens Christian Fodstad – Dreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dag Johan Haugerud
film profile] (Norway)
Best Sound Design
Mats Lid Støten – Armand
Best Original Score
Thomas Dybdahl – Everything Must Go [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Norway)
Best Costume Design
Karen Fabritius Gram, Ingjerd Meland – Quisling – The Final Days [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Norway)
Best Make-up Design
Thomas Foldberg, Anne Cathrine Sauerberg – The Ugly Stepsister
Best Production Design/Scenography
Kate Van Der Merwe – Safe House (Norway/Denmark/Sweden/Finland)
Best Visual Effects
Alf Martin Løvvold – No. 24 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Norway)
The People’s Amanda Audience Award
No. 24 – John Andreas Andersen
The Honorary Amanda
Hans Petter Moland
The Golden Clapper
Geir Bøhren, Bent Åserud
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