There’s seemingly little stopping all the accolades being bestowed upon Paola Cortellesi’s directorial debut, There Is Still Tomorrow [+lee también:
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entrevista: Paola Cortellesi
ficha de la película], the stylish black-and-white homage to Italian neorealist cinema in which she also stars as a struggling wife and mother who gradually asserts her rights as a woman in post-war Rome. After garnering prizes from gatherings such as Göteborg and Sydney and, in between, a large batch of Italian awards plus, not least, a Golden Globe, the film has now conquered Norwegian audiences. “The opening scene takes a hold of you, with both humour and violence. You are trapped and can’t escape – just like the main character. The story is touching and intense; you have to see how this ends,” went the statement of the Audience Award expert jury at the 52nd Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund’s awards ceremony on Thursday night.

Cortellesi’s film also won the Eurimages Audentia Award at the festival, consisting of a cash prize of €30,000, intended to promote greater gender equality in the European film industry. “Little did we know that a clever revitalisation of Italian neorealism was exactly what we needed today, nor that the portrayal of domestic violence, women’s struggle and societal development could be handled with such effortless ease and wit,” opined the jury, who also included the expression “a modern masterpiece” in their motivation.

Challenging the notion of Swedish angst and austerity to the hilt are Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson, whose warmly humanistic documentary The Last Journey [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] won probably the most iconic Haugesund honour of them all, the annually presented Ray of Sunshine Award, “meant for the film that excites and spreads the most joy”, as the official definition reads. “This is one of those films that manages to put the entire cinema in the same, good, electric mood, with tears and laughter intertwined,” beamed the jury with regard to this road-movie account of a son (Hammar himself) taking his father on a journey to relive good memories and rekindle the spark of life. Domestically, the film has become the highest-grossing Swedish documentary ever, and has now enjoyed its international debut at Haugesund.

The film-student-orientated Next Nordic Generation Award went to Tape by Candace Hui Wing Ki from the Aalto ELO Film School in Finland, with an Honourable Mention going to Whatever City by Tobias Klemeyer Smith from the Norwegian Film School. The prize for the main winner consists of 20,000 NOK (€1,700).

Earlier during the festival, the nominees for the Nordic Council Film Prize were unveiled: this year, the contenders are Crossing [+lee también:
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entrevista: Levan Akin
ficha de la película] by Levan Akin (for Sweden), Fallen Leaves [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland), Sex [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dag Johan Haugerud
ficha de la película] by Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway), The Son and the Moon by Roja Pakari (Denmark), Touch [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Baltasar Kormákur (Iceland) and Twice Colonized [+lee también:
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entrevista: Lin Alluna
entrevista: Lin Alluna
ficha de la película] by Lin Alluna (Greenland). The final winner will be announced on 22 October, during a TV show broadcast by Icelandic public service broadcaster RÚV and shown in all of the Nordic countries.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Audience Award
There Is Still Tomorrow [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] – Paola Cortellesi (Italy)

Ray of Sunshine Award
The Last Journey [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] – Filip Hammar, Fredrik Wikingsson (Sweden)

Eurimages Audentia Award
There’s Still Tomorrow - Paola Cortellesi

Next Nordic Generation Award
Tape – Candace Hui Wing Ki (Finland)
Honourable Mention
Whatever City - Tobias Klemeyer Smith (Norway)

Nominees for the 2023 Nordic Council Film Prize
Crossing [+lee también:
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entrevista: Levan Akin
ficha de la película] – Levan Akin (Sweden/Denmark/France/Turkey/Georgia)
Fallen Leaves [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] - Aki Kaurismäki (Finland/Germany)
Sex [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dag Johan Haugerud
ficha de la película] – Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway)
The Son and the Moon - Roja Pakari (Denmark/Iran)
Touch [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] – Baltasar Kormákur (Iceland/UK)
Twice Colonized [+lee también:
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entrevista: Lin Alluna
entrevista: Lin Alluna
ficha de la película] – Lin Alluna (Greenland/Denmark/Canada)