Editor

Eight new Nordic films are competing for the Göteborg Film Festival's Nordic Film award. The films are either world premieres or international premieres and the award is 150 000 SEK and a statuette – the Film Dragon – by renowned artist Ernst Billgren. This year’s jury consists of five women representing the Nordic countries. Monika Tunbäck-Hanson, film and literature critic at daily newspaper Göteborgs-Posten since the late 1960s. She has been promoted honorary doctor at the University of Gothenburg for her contributions as a critic and serves as chairman of the Nordic jury since 1988.

This year her colleagues in the jury are:

Sirin Eide, newly retired short- and documentary film consultant at the Norwegian Film Fund. Has directed numerous short films, medium length films and tv-drama for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and TV2, as well as the film Aldri mer 13 in 1996.

Hanna Maylett, Finnish director whose works include fiction film Suburban Virgin and documentary films Good girls and 100 Clocks.

Helga Brekkan, Icelandic filmmaker and journalist, living in Stockholm, Sweden. She has directed films about volcanoes, authors and penguins.

Kirsten Dalgaard, directing manager of Danish Cinema House, Grand Teatret and film distribution company Camera film. Chairwoman for Natfilm Festival, member of the board of the Swedish Film Institute, Europa Cinemas and the Film Academy of Denmark.

The international federation of film critics, Fipresci, is present with a jury for the fourth time. The jury gives its prestigious award to a Nordic film in competition. The critics present also participate in the Göteborg Film Festival’s Critic’s Week with a personal choice of films. This year’s Fipresci jury includes Bojidar Manov (Novinar Daily, Bulgaria), Michel Euvrard (Séquences, Canada) and Eero Tammi (Filmihullu, Finland).


The eight films in competition are:
Beowulf & Grendel, an epic Viking drama directed by Sturla Gunnarsson (Iceland/ Canada/ UK)
Wellkåmm to Verona, a burlesque set among senior citizens directed by Suzanne Osten (Sweden)
Dark Horse (Voksne mennesker), a slacker movie from the Nordic Award winner of 2004, Dagur Kári (Denmark/ Iceland)
Om Gud vill, inspired debut placed in Stockholm in the 1970s, directed by Amir Chamdin (Sweden)
Matti – Hell is for Heroes, a portrait of a living sports legend on a down slope, directed by Aleksi Mäkelä (Finland)
Izzat, hardboiled story from Oslo’s underworld, directed by Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen (Norway)
We Shall Overcome (Drømmen) a story of a struggle against unjust authorities directed by Niels Arden Oplev (Denmark)
Little Trip to Heaven, a film noir transforming Reykjavík into Hastings, Minnesota, directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Iceland)


For further information please contact Åsa Larsson or at +46 31-339 30 12 / +46 707-61 38 01.