This year the Startsladden Award was won by Johannes Nyholm with his celebrated and acclaimed short film Las Palmas. From more than 400 submissions eight are now selected to compete for the 2012 Startsladden prize. The winner will be announced at an award gala at the Göteborg International Film Festival.

Göteborg International Film Festival is the largest arena for Swedish short film. The number of submissions has increased over the years, more than 400 short films have been submitted to the 2012 festival. Each year, the festival screens over one hundred new short films during the eleven day festival. The Startsladden-nominated films are some of the festival's most popular, their screenings are sold out every year.

Among the nominated films from last year, we find several of Sweden's most acclaimed short films. Among last year's eight nominees three are now selected for competition at the Sundance Film Festival (Las Palmas, Girl and Fungus) and Las Palmas has toured worldwide at festivals after its premiere in Göteborg and the film has been seen by more than 13 million people on YouTube.

Startsladden is one of the world's largest short film prizes with a prize amount of about EUR 95 000 (SEK 900,000) in cash and film technology. Behind the prize are The Resource companies for Film and Television in Sweden, the Swedish Film Institute, Swedish Television, Film Stockholm-Mälardalen Region, Folkets Bio, SF, Film i Väst, Film i Skåne and Filmpool North.

The eight nominated films are:

Astrid
Astrid, 11 years old, rebels against her mother and gets an unexpected problem she has to deal with.

Directed by Fijona Jonuzi
Fijona Jonuzi was born in 1977 in Eslöv, Sweden. She works as a scriptwriter and director, educated at the School of Film in Gothenburg. Last year, she competed in Startsladden with her film Girl and 2007 her graduation film was nominated for Guldbagge Award.

Baggy
Baggy is not really accepted by his friends at a New Year's party, which he becomes brutally aware of when the party gets out of control.

Director: Anders Hazelius
Anders Hazelius was born in 1984 in Sigtuna, Sweden. He studied film, philosophy and art history and was educated at the School of Film in Gothenburg. Last year, his graduation film Pura Vida was screened at the Göteborg International Film Festival. He also works as a B-photographer, scripta and casting director for commercials and television series.

Dinner
About a woman that has everything except perhaps the most important thing.

Directed by Stefan Constantinescu
Stefan Constantinescu was born in 1968 in Bucharest, Romania. He is an artist and film director. He has a Master of Fine Arts from the Royal Art Academy in Stockholm and a Bachelor of Art from Romanian Art Academy in Bucharest. In 2009, he represented Romania at the Venice Biennale with the film Troleibuzul 92, also shown at the Göteborg International Film Festival 2011.

Shivers
An internal drama unfolds when a man is both distant and close to his new role as father.

Director: Jonas Eskilsson
Jonas Eskilsson was born in 1982 in Helsingborg, Sweden. He was educated at the School of Film in Gothenburg, where he currently works as project coordinator. 2009 The Göteborg International Film Festival screened his graduation film Maxim.

Next door letters
It starts as cruel joke, but leads to an important turning point in the actors' lives.

Directed by: Sascha Fülscher
Sascha Fülscher was born in 1983 in Basel, Switzerland. She was educated at the Stockholm Dramatic Institute and Next door letters is her graduation film from the education. She works as a part of the film collective Råfilm.

The wheel is spinning but the hamster is dead: prequel
Agnes longs for to be held, but is frustratingly aware of her loneliness.

Director: Maciej Kalymon
Maciej Kalymon was born in 1977 in Poland. He has worked on television productions both in Sweden and the United States, and has been writing radio plays for the Swedish Radio. In addition to his own production company Empire Film he works as a film teacher. Last year he participated at the Göteborg International Film Festival with his short film Muhammad.

Dance music now
A neurotic studio production releases cascades of emotions.

Director: Johan Jonason
Johan Jonason was born in 1970 in Stockholm. He studied at Chelsea College of Art in London and the Royal Art Academy in Stockholm. He has previously made the Guldbagge-nominated short film Terrible Boy and the feature film debut in 2009 with the critically acclaimed The treatment, which had its premiere at the Göteborg International Film Festival in 2010.

The photographer
In the meeting between man and the camera the film captures a state rather than a story.

Director: Vanja Sandell Billström
Vanja Sandell Billström was born in 1983 in Stockholm. She now studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. She also works as a set designer and props, and was one of the people who started Tangram Film in Malmö.