Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s Loveable [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Lilja Ingolfsdottir
fiche film] 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview : Renate Reinsve
fiche film], 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film], 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], 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 [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film]. 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Hans Petter Moland
fiche film] – winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlinale – and A Somewhat Gentle Man [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Hans Petter Moland
fiche film], among others.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 41st Amanda Awards:

Best Film
Loveable [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Lilja Ingolfsdottir
fiche film] – 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview : Renate Reinsve
fiche film] (Norway/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden)

Best Debut Performance
Lea Myren – The Ugly Stepsister [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] (Norway/Poland/Sweden/Denmark)

Best Documentary Film
Facing War [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] – 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 [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] – Brady Corbet (USA/UK/Hungary)

Best Screenplay
Lilja Ingolfsdottir – Loveable

Best Cinematography
Pål Ulvik Rokseth – Armand

Best Editing
Jens Christian Fodstad – Dreams [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Dag Johan Haugerud
fiche film] (Norway)

Best Sound Design
Mats Lid Støten – Armand

Best Original Score
Thomas Dybdahl – Everything Must Go [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] (Norway)

Best Costume Design
Karen Fabritius Gram, Ingjerd Meland – Quisling – The Final Days [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (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 [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (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