This year's ISBJØRNEN awards have been announced!

This evening, the Nordisk Film Foundation awarded its three annual honorary prizes at the ISBJØRNEN awards ceremony. At the same time, the Foundation awarded the Balling Special Prize to a popular filmmaker to mark the 100th birthday of Erik Balling. The evening was celebrated at a gala event for the Danish film industry at Nordisk Film's studios in Valby with Ellen Hillingsø as this year's host. The awards ceremony demonstrated how, after more than 30 years, the Nordisk Film Foundation is still developing world-class film talent.

This year's award winners are: Film director and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen, who received the Balling Special Prize of DKK 75,000. Documentary film director Roja Pakari, who received the 2024 Nordisk Film Prize of DKK 118,000 (DKK 1,000 times the age of Nordisk Film). Actor Sofie Torp, who received the Ove Sprogøe Prize 2024 of DKK 75,000. Director and screenwriter Christian Andersen, who received the Erik Balling Travel Grant 2024 of DKK 75,000.

Balling Special Prize goes to Anders Thomas Jensen

Last year, when Nordisk Film's streaming service Nordisk Film+ surveyed Danes' favorite Danish films, no less than five films directed and/or written by Anders Thomas Jensen were in the top 10 - including “Blinkende Lygter” (2000) in first place, ahead of Erik Balling's “Olsen Gang” films, among others.
 

The self-taught Anders Thomas Jensen, who won an Oscar in 1999 for the short film 'Valgaften', has written and directed a string of more than 50 films He made his feature film debut as a director with “Blinkende Lygter”, which is the Danes' absolute favorite Danish film, and has since been behind classics such as “De grønne slagtere” (2003), “Adams æbler” (2005), “Mænd og Høns” (2015) and “Retfærdighedens Ryttere” (2020). As a screenwriter, he has worked with Susanne Bier, Lone Scherfig, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, Nikolaj Arcel and others, and is the author or co-writer of films such as “Mifune's sidste sang” (1999), “I Kina spiser de hunde” (1999), “Solkongen” (2005), “Sprængfarlige bombe” (2006), “Alle for to” (2013), “The Salvation” (2014), “Skammerens datter” (2015), “The Dark Tower” (2017), “Ser du månen, Daniel?' (2019), 'Bastarden' (2023) as well as Susanne Bier's Oscar winner 'Hævnen' (2010) and her Oscar-nominated 'Efter brylluppet' (2006) He is currently preparing his sixth feature film, 'Den sidste viking, which is being produced by Zentropa.

For the award committee, there was no doubt that it was Anders Thomas Jensen who should receive the Balling Special Prize, which is awarded extraordinarily this year, when Erik Balling would have turned 100, and goes to a “popular filmmaker who makes stories that connect, change and transform”.

“You have given us Arne, Stefan, Peter and Torkild and all the other characters who, like Egon, Benny and Keld, have crawled right under our skin. So we smile big and get moist in the corner of our eyes at the same time, so we mirror our own lives in the story, and so we become wiser about our fellow human beings and the society we are part of,” as actor and director Paprika Steen put it in the award committee's motivation.

Nordisk Film Prize 2024 goes to Roja Pakari

In 2017, documentary filmmaker Roja Pakari was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer at the age of 37. At the time, her son Oskar was just two months old. During the long illness, as she struggled to live and watch her son grow up, Roja Pakari chose to turn the camera on herself. The result is the poignant and award-winning documentary “Min arv bor i dig” (2024), which is a kind of love letter to Oskar and has won the Nordic:Dox Award at this year's Cph:Dox festival.

Rola Pakari was born in 1981 in Bandar Abbas, Iran. She came to Denmark and was granted asylum with her family at the age of four. She graduated as a documentary film director from the National Film School of Denmark in 2015 with her graduation film “Zayesh”, about the artist Hamraz Bayan.

Marianne Moritzen, member of the award committee, said the following in her motivation speech to Roja Pakari:

“You are an artist, mother, woman and the coolest person. You have created a gifted, insightful cinematic work where you are the director, the parent of a vulnerable participant, and play the lead role all at the same time. You've done this - for six years - in the midst of a life crisis diagnosed with a chronic illness. It requires energy, talent and wisdom and is a feat of strength that knows no comparison, but is based on enormous human strength.”

Previous recipients of the Nordisk Film Prize include Lars von Trier, Anders Thomas Jensen, Danica Curcic, May el-Toukhy, Gustav Möller, Malou Reymann, Amalie Næsby Fick and last year's winner Lea Glob.

Ove Sprogøe Award 2024 goes to Sofie Torp

Sofie Torp's talent ranges widely. From the comical in Hella Joof's “Meter i sekundet” (2023), where she plays Marie, who moves to West Jutland and tries to settle in as a new mother and letterbox editor, to the hard-boiled in “Den grænseløse” (2024), where she goes undercover as Rose in a religious sect.

Sofie Torp graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen in 2016 and in recent years has had prominent roles in films such as “Ser du månen, Daniel?” (2019), “Marco Effekten” (2021), “Lykkelige omstændigheder” (2022), “Meter i sekundet” (2023), “Hygge” (2023), “Synkefri” (2023) and “Den grænseløse” (2024).

The chair of the award committee and producer at Nordisk Film Production, Mikael Rieks, paid tribute to Sofie Torp in his motivational speech:

“Sofie, you approach every character like a warrior who must conquer a dragon. You are unfiltered and fearless in your approach to creating a character.At the same time, you have your feet firmly planted in the soil of Jutland. The down-to-earth, the present, is strongly represented in everything you do.You create complex characters that you wish you could be friends with in real life - and that's saying something,” he said.

The Ove Sprogøe Award is an acting prize of DKK 75,000, which is awarded for the 19th time this year. The award has previously been given to Lene Maria Christensen, Mia Lyhne, Cecilie Stenspil, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Pilou Asbæk, Danica Curcic, Ulrich Thomsen, Johanne Louise Schmidt, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Katrine Greis-Rosenthal, Esben Smed, Mille Dinesen, Nicolai Jørgensen, Josephine Park and last year's recipient Jacob Lohmann.

Erik Balling Travel Grant 2024 goes to Christian Andersen

The Erik Balling Travel Grant was established by the Nordisk Film Foundation in 2006.

The prize is worth DKK 75,000 and is awarded as a travel grant because Erik Balling, together with his colleague Henning Bahs, demonstrated for many years that “travel promotes inspiration and creativity - and gives strength for new efforts”.

Christian Andersen made his debut in 2020 with the thriller “Ingen skal sove”.Less than a year ago, he released the feature film “Synkefri” (2023), a personal, dramatic and critically acclaimed story about events in 1981 when a fishing boat and the FR2 lifeboat sank at Hirtshals Harbor and a total of nine men lost their lives. When the authorities place responsibility for the accident on the helmsman of the lifeboat, his son Henrik sets out to investigate the real cause of the accident and clear his father's name.

Christian Andersen lives in Skødstrup and holds a degree in political science from Aarhus and Copenhagen University. In 2017, he founded the production company Swulli Film with his wife Hanna Rosland and both are now employed at Wasabi Film in Aarhus. Alongside his film projects, Christian Andersen works on other productions, produces commercials and teaches at colleges and educational institutions.

In her motivational speech to Christian Andersen, Mette Høst Hansen, chairperson of the award committee and producer at Nordisk Film Production, said

“The movie shows how going against the current requires character and resilience. Qualities that you yourself have also demonstrated in the realization of “Synkefri”. Against stiff headwinds, you have succeeded in creating a strong, moving and very personal film about your own origins, which has also been a success in cinemas across the country with more than 180,000 tickets sold. That's an impressive achievement.”

Previous recipients of the Erik Balling Travel Grant include Susanne Bier, Martin Zandvliet, Ask Hasselbalch, Sabine Hviid, Ditte & Louise, Louise McLaughlin, Lisa Jespersen, Sara Jønsson, Frelle Petersen and last year's recipient Mette Heeno.

I sin motivationstale til Christian Andersen sagde Mette Høst Hansen, forperson for prisudvalget og producer i Nordisk Film Production:

”Filmen viser, hvordan det at gå mod strømmen kræver karakter og ukuelighed. Kvaliteter, som du også selv har udvist i realiseringen af ”Synkefri”. I stiv modvind er det lykkedes dig at skabe en stærk, bevægende og meget personlig film om dit eget ophav, der samtidig har gået sin sejrsgang i biografer landet over med mere end 180.000 solgte billetter. Det er en imponerende bedrift.” 

Tidligere modtagere af Erik Ballings Rejselegat er bl.a. Susanne Bier, Martin Zandvliet, Ask Hasselbalch, Sabine Hviid, Ditte & Louise, Louise McLaughlin, Lisa Jespersen, Sara Jønsson, Frelle Petersen samt sidste års prismodtager Mette Heeno.            

About the Nordisk Film Foundation

• The Nordisk Film Foundation has contributed to the development of the Danish film industry for more than 30 years. Our current focus is to strengthen film storytelling for the future by developing and highlighting world-class film talent.The Nordisk Film Foundation helps young talents out into the world with the Great Polar Bear and Little Polar Bear grants. Through the Polar Bear Project Grant Scheme and Signature Projects, we initiate and support activities that contribute to innovation and high-quality film talent.

• The Nordisk Film Foundation is behind the annual conference Picture This, an initiative to inspire Danish filmmakers to use technology to strengthen the continued development of the cinematic art form. The Foundation also supports the association programs Super16 in Copenhagen, Super8 in Aarhus and 18Frames in Odense, VIZARTS Lab I & II at Aalborg University and the Screenplay School for Children's Fiction.

• The Nordisk Film Foundation is the only non-profit foundation in Denmark aimed at the Danish film industry and has an annual grant of DKK 7 million.