There’s seemingly little stopping all the accolades being bestowed upon Paola Cortellesi’s directorial debut, There Is Still Tomorrow [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paola Cortellesi
scheda film], 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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Levan Akin
scheda film] by Levan Akin (for Sweden), Fallen Leaves [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland), Sex [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dag Johan Haugerud
scheda film] by Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway), The Son and the Moon by Roja Pakari (Denmark), Touch [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Baltasar Kormákur (Iceland) and Twice Colonized [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lin Alluna
intervista: Lin Alluna
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paola Cortellesi
scheda film] – Paola Cortellesi (Italy)

Ray of Sunshine Award
The Last Journey [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] – 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Levan Akin
scheda film] – Levan Akin (Sweden/Denmark/France/Turkey/Georgia)
Fallen Leaves [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - Aki Kaurismäki (Finland/Germany)
Sex [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Dag Johan Haugerud
scheda film] – Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway)
The Son and the Moon - Roja Pakari (Denmark/Iran)
Touch [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Baltasar Kormákur (Iceland/UK)
Twice Colonized [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lin Alluna
intervista: Lin Alluna
scheda film] – Lin Alluna (Greenland/Denmark/Canada)