2024 Competition Titles and Opening Films
MALMÖ, Sweden — Nordisk Panorama Film Festival unveils the competition titles and opening films for its 35th edition, running from 19–24 September. Out of 529 submissions, a total of 57 films have been selected, including several award-winning titles from the world’s biggest film festivals. This year’s selection will feature 21 documentaries and 36 short films, with a total sum of 25.000€ to be awarded across the entire competition programme.
Today’s announcement reveals the Opening Night Gala films for this year’s festival. The animated short film Maybe Elephants (directed by Academy Award winner Torill Kove), a Norwegian/Canadian co-production, will be followed by the intimate Danish documentary Echo of You (directed by Zara Zerny), which tenderly explores themes of love and ageing. Both films have received great attention at prestigious film festivals such as Annecy Festival, ZagrebDox, and Hot Docs.
Competition Programme
57 films compete for awards in five categories: Best Nordic Documentary, Best Nordic Short Film, New Nordic Voice, Young Nordic, and the City of Malmö’s Audience Award. The winners will be announced on the festival’s final day, 24 September.
Below is a list of all the nominated films and information about the competition categories.
Best Nordic Documentary
The Best Nordic Documentary Award is presented to one of the 15 films selected for the competition. The award goes to the director(s) of the winning film.
The cash award of 11.000€ is sponsored by the Nordic public broadcasters DR, NRK, RUV, SVT and YLE.
“The films we have chosen have moved us, made us laugh or changed our perspective on important matters. Simply put, they have impressed us in different, wonderful ways.”
Cecilia Lidin & Manolo Diaz Rämö, programmers
Competition Films
Balomania (Balomania), Sissel Morell Dargis, 94 min, Denmark/Spain, 2024
Belonging (Belonging), Kreshnik Jonuzi & Sævar Guðmundsson, 88 min, Iceland/USA, 2023
Civil Disobedience (Sivil ulydighet), Thomas A. Østbye, 47 min, Norway, 2023
Echo of You (Ekko af Kærlighed), Zara Zerny, 76 min, Denmark, 2023
fifteen zero three nineteenth of january two thousand sixteen (femton noll tre nittonde januari två tusen sexton), Petra Bauer & Marius Dybwad Brandrud, 62 min, Sweden, 2024
Geri’s Wish (Gerin haave), Tonislav Hristov, 83 min, Finland/Bulgaria, 2024
Hard to Break (Hard to Break), Anna-Maija Heinonen & Krista Moisio, 81 min, Finland, 2024
Homecoming (Máhccan), Suvi West & Anssi Kömi, 77 min, Finland/Norway, 2023
Land of Dreams (Efter sagolandet), Kirsi Nevanti, 96 min, Sweden/Finland, 2024
Life is Beautiful (Al Haya Helwa), Mohamed Jabaly, 93 min, Norway/Palestine/Qatar, 2023
Megaheartz (Megaheartz), Emily Norling, 82 min, Sweden/Norway, 2023
The Day Iceland Stood Still (The Day Iceland Stood Still), Pamela Hogan, 71 min, Iceland/USA, 2024
The Monk (Munken), Mira Jargil & Christian Sønderby Jepsen, 88 min, Denmark/Netherlands, 2023
The Renaissance Prince (Renessanseprinsen), Emily Louisa Millan Eide, 89 min, Norway, 2024
The Tunnel (Göngin), Björgvin Sigurðarson & Hallur Örn Árnason, 76 min, Iceland, 2024
Land of Dreams by Kirsi Nevanti will have its world premiere at Nordisk Panorama Film Festival
Photo: Nevanti Film AB
Best Nordic Short Film
The Best Nordic Short Film Award is presented to one of the 19 films in competition. The award goes to the director(s) of the winning film. The prize-winning film will qualify for consideration in the Short Film Category of the annual Academy Awards.
The cash award of 5.000€ is sponsored by the Association of Danish Film Directors and Swedish Film Directors.
“One of the many joys that comes with curating the Nordisk Panorama short film programme is getting a broader sense of the cultural essence of the Nordic countries – discovering shared traits, distinct intricacies and unique nuances.”
Lucile Bourliaud & Sam Groves, programmers
Competition Films
All Around (Allt um kring), Birna Ketilsdóttir Schram, 6 min, Denmark, 2023
Bright White Light (Bright White Light), Henna Välkky & Eesu Lehtola, 13 min, Finland, 2024
Container Scanning (Jörgen Hyltes svåger), Anton Hellström & Edvin Hallberg, 13 min, Sweden, 2023
Flower Show (Flower Show), Elli Vuorinen, 9 min, Finland, 2024
Fragments of the Attempt (Brot af atvikinu), Steiní Kristinsson, 6 min, Iceland, 2024
How to Please (How to Please), Elina Talvensaari, 28 min, Finland, 2023
Into the Blue (Into the Blue), Ömer Sami, 28 min, Denmark, 2023
Iris (Iris), Jon Vatne, 15 min, Norway, 2024
Magnifica: Passive Intruder (Magnifica: Kutsumaton vieras), Ville Koskinen, 21 min, Finland/Sweden, 2024
Maybe Elephants (Kanskje det var elefanter), Torill Kove, 18 min, Norway/Canada, 2024
Morning Has Broken, Yet It Is Night (Aamu on tullut, mutta silti on yö), Iivo Korhonen, 16 min, Finland, 2023
My Gig in Sweden (My Gig in Sweden), Simon Vahlne, 15 min, Sweden, 2023
One & the Same (To alen, ét stykke), Mikkel Bjørn Kehlert, 25 min, Denmark, 2024
Pena’s Special Hauling (Pena’s Special Hauling), Anssi Kasitonni, 12 min, Finland, 2024
Queen of the Forest (Skovens Dronning), Magnus Hippe Brun, 22 min, Denmark, 2024
The Building and Burning of a Refugee Camp (The Building and Burning of a Refugee Camp), Dennis Harvey, 21 min, Sweden, 2024
The Green Country (Trekkfugler), Silvia Rossi, 21 min, Norway, 2024
The Lovers (The Lovers), Carolina Sandvik, 14 min, Sweden, 2023
Trees Painted in Tar (Træer Malet i Tjære), Casper Rudolf, 15 min, Denmark/France, 2024
Iris by Jon Vatne Photo: Syden Pictures AS
New Nordic Voice
The New Nordic Voice competition introduces promising Nordic filmmakers whose works are among their first releases or filmmakers who have shifted their filmmaking format.
The cash award of 5.000€ is sponsored by AVEK and Film i Skåne.
“It’s been an absolute thrill to see the explosion of filmmaking talent coming through this year. From personal documentaries to captivating dramas, the New Nordic Voice programmes embody bold and invigorating filmmaking, promising an exciting future for Nordic cinema.”
Lucile Bourliaud & Sam Groves, programmers
Competition Films
Documentary
As the Tide Comes In (Før Stormen), Juan Palacios & Sofie Husum Johannesen, 89 min, Denmark, 2023
Death of a Saint (Englemord), Patricia Bbaale Bandak, 92 min, Denmark, 2024
G – 21 scenes from Gottsunda (G – 21 scener fråm Gottsunda), Loran Batti, 81 min, Sweden/Denmark, 2024
My Reality (My Reality), Milja-Liina Moilanen, 69 min, Finland, 2024
Ping Pong Family (Ping Pong Family), Åsmund Hasli, 60 min, Norway, 2023
Punishment (Straff), Øystein Mamen, 108 min, Norway, 2024
Short Film
A Beauty Odyssey (A Beauty Odyssey), Rosaliina Paavilainen, 14 min, Finland, 2024
All Has Been Said (Lämnad), Natanael Westerberg Andersson, 8 min, Sweden, 2023
Lovesick (Sygt forelsket), Alexander Saul, 20 min, Denmark, 2024
Roxanne (Roxanne), Petter Solberg Heum, 21 min, Norway, 2024
Their Hair Shined in the Sun (Deras hår glänste i solen), Alva Qi Törnqvist, 13 min, Sweden, 2024
Together (Sjoppa), Ísak Hinriksson, 8 min, Iceland, 2023
Constructing an Island (Att skapa en ö), Ebba Gustafsson, 17 min, Sweden, 2024
Growing Pains (Vokseværk), Mikkel Kruse, 33 min, Denmark, 2023
Project Dad (Projekt Pappa), Camilla Jämting, 28 min, Norway, 2023
Death of a Saint by Patricia Bbaale Bandak Photo: Troels Rasmus N’koya-Jensen
Young Nordic
The 9 films in the Young Nordic programme compete for the love of our most critical viewers. We ask our youngest festival audience to tell us which film they like the best and award the winner with the Young Nordic Award.
The cash award of 1.500€ is sponsored by Nordisk Panorama Film Festival.
“Challenge the social rules or stick to them? Hide or grasp that extended hand? With young people in focus, the chosen programme for this year’s Young Nordic competition includes different perspectives of being a good human, a team player, a friend and a neighbour.”
Daniel Lundquist & Susanne Månsson Kandell, programmers
Competition Films
Be Yourself, Enough! (Vær deg selv, nok!), Ola Martin Fjeld, 17 min, Norway, 2023
Dream on Nykvarn (Dream on Nykvarn), Vera Hamnebo & Sofia Edén, 12 min, Sweden, 2024
Game Rules (Spelregler), Christian Zetterberg, 12 min, Sweden, 2024
Iris (Iris), Jon Vatne, 15 min, Norway, 2024
Krampuss (Þið kannist við…), Guðni Líndal Benediktsson, 8 min, Iceland, 2023
The Raid (Attentat), Johannes Persson, 15 min, Sweden/Norway, 2024
The Smell of Human (Lukten av menneske), Johanne Helgeland, 9 min, Norway, 2024
Warrior Heart (Smerteterskel), Marianne Olsen Ulrichsen, 18 min, Norway, 2024
Wild Child (Wild Child), Sif Lina Lambæk, 24 min, Denmark, 2023
Game Rules by Christian Zetterberg Photo: Gråklippan HB
City of Malmö’s Audience Award
All 57 competition titles are also in contention for the City of Malmö’s Audience Award. As its name suggests, only the film most revered by the public is awarded.
The cash award of 2.500€ is sponsored by the City of Malmö.
Photo: Rodrigo Diaz