DAE Talent Encouragement Award

For the second year, in partnership with the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) we are happy to present the DAE Talent Encouragement Award—an initiative designed to uplift bold, emerging voices in the documentary field.

Nominated are the directors of our 5 Wildcard projects, as well as directors who are pitching their first or second feature as a single director at this year’s Nordisk Panorama Forum.

In addition to a personalised mentoring session with a documentary expert, the awardee will receive a one-year membership to DAE, granting access to a wide range of benefits including online sessions, discounted festival passes, and a variety of valuable professional development opportunities tailored for documentary filmmakers.

The 2026 nominated projects are:

Featherlight

selected by the Finnish Film Foundation

Directed by Mina Laamo
Produced by Mina Laamo & Sini Hormio (Koko Production)

Knots

Directed by Maria Tórgarð
Produced by Maria Tórgarð & Gustav Ahnelöv (ÍMYND Film)

License to Clean

Directed by Kasimir Högnäs
Produced by Outi Rousu & Markku Flink (Pystymetsä)

Lost at Sea

selected by the Danish Film Institute

Directed by Ejner Benedict Seidelin
Produced by Claes Hedlund (Paloma Productions)

Migration Solutions

selected by the Swedish Film Institute

Directed by Dennis Harvey
Produced by Elin Lilleman Eriksson (MDEMC)

Monday All Year

selected by the Norwegian Film Institute

Directed by Mats Muri
Produced by Ingvil Giske (Medieoperatørene)

My Sister In Law, the Prime Minister

Directed by Lexi Leban
Produced by Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir (Krumma Films)

Oceancraft

Directed by Jørgen Neshamar-Asmussen
Produced by Jón Hammer (Outlier Projects)

Rimmugýgur — Life of Modern Vikings

selected by the Icelandic Film Centre

Directed by Heimir Freyr Hlöðversson
Produced by Karolina Stefansdóttir (Rökkur Films)

 

The Juror for the DAE Talent Encouragement Award is:
Producer at Indie Film Bergen & DAE Representative Thorvald Nilsen