“Smart and nicely detailed, with everyday life and observations seen from the outside, it is a harrowing tale of radicalisation. But from a little boy’s perspective, this is also a film that affirms the value of human decency,” concluded the 2023 jury of the Haugesund Film Festival Norwegian Critics’ Award as it justified its choice of Mano Khalil’s Neighbours [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] as the winner. The celebrated Swiss-French production (the Kurdistan-born director has been based in Switzerland since 1996) has truly enjoyed worldwide festival success since its 2021 opening.

The ever-delightful Ray of Sunshine Award, instigated by the Norwegian Cinema Managers’ Association with the primary objective of identifying a proper cinematic joybringer, went to Norway’s own Listen Up!, Kaveh Tehrani’s highly anticipated adaptation of Gulraiz Sharif's bestselling novel, which world-premiered at Haugesund and had the jury instantly captivated. “The film is colourful, has a broad target audience and is based on a book that many people got excited about a few years ago. We all left the cinema smiling, and hoping and believing that the film will have a long life at the cinema,” predicted the optimistic motivation.

For the Audience Award, a select and discerning jury of moviegoing experts plumped for the Danish title Tove’s Room [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], Martin Zandvliet’s study of Tove Ditlevsen, a legendary poet and Danish cultural icon, played excellently by Paprika Steen in the film, which literally takes place in a single room. “The story upset us, but also touched us,” read the justification, which also contained words like “exquisite”, “fascinating” and “beautiful”.

For the Next Nordic Generation, Marlene Emilie Lyngstad, a Norwegian alumna of the National Film School of Denmark, won the main award, including a monetary prize of NOK 10,000 (circa €866), for Norwegian Offspring.

Honourable Mentions were given to Anatomy of a Fall [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Justine Triet
scheda film] (critics’ jury), Fallen Leaves [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] (Ray of Sunshine jury) and Prelude by Arman Zafari from the Aalto ELO Film School in Finland (Next Nordic Generation jury).

Earlier on during the festival, as is tradition, the nominees for the Nordic Council Film Prize were unveiled. This year, they emerged as Empire by Frederikke Aspöck (Denmark), Bubble by Aleksi Salmenperä (Finland), The Edge of the Shadows by Malik Kleist (Greenland), Driving Mum [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Hilmar Oddsson, Hera Hilmar
scheda film] by Hilmar Oddsson (Iceland), War Sailor [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Gunnar Vikene (Norway) and Opponent [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Milad Alami
scheda film] by Milad Alami (Sweden). The winner will be announced on 31 October at the annual session of the council, this year to be held in Oslo.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Norwegian Critics’ Prize
Neighbours [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Mano Khalil (Switzerland/France)
Honourable Mention
Anatomy of a Fall [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Justine Triet
scheda film] – Justine Triet (France)

Audience Award
Tove’s Room [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] - Martin Zandvliet (Denmark)

Ray of Sunshine Award
Listen Up! - Kaveh Tehrani (Norway)
Honourable Mention
Fallen Leaves [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] – Aki Kaurismäki (Finland/Germany)

Next Nordic Generation Award
Norwegian Offspring – Marlene Emilie Lyngstad (Denmark)
Honourable Mention
Prelude - Arman Zafari (Finland)

Nominees for the 2023 Nordic Council Film Prize
Empire - Frederikke Aspöck (Denmark/Sweden)
Bubble - Aleksi Salmenperä (Finland)
The Edge of the Shadows - Malik Kleist (Greenland)
Driving Mum [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Hilmar Oddsson, Hera Hilmar
scheda film] – Hilmar Oddsson (Iceland/Estonia)
War Sailor [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] – Gunnar Vikene (Norway/Germany/Malta)
Opponent [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Milad Alami
scheda film] – Milad Alami (Sweden/Norway)