Pernilla August's social drama "Beyond", starring Noomi Rapace, has won the NDR Award for Best Feature Film, endowed with 12,500 euros, at the 52nd Nordic Film Days Lübeck. The adaptation of the bestselling novel by Susanne Alakoski about the difficult childhood of a refugee girl in 1970s Sweden convinced the jury "on account of its topicality and its radical intensity." "Beyond" marks the directing debut by Pernilla August, who became famous as an actress in the films of Ingmar Bergman.
The Icelandic tragicomedy "The Good Heart" by director Dagur Kári was awarded the LN Audience Prize of the 52nd Nordic Film Days Lübeck, which is endowed with 5,000 euros. The festival audience chose the story of a friendship between a grumpy bar-owner and a homeless adolescent as their favourite film. The Baltic Films Prize went to "Sound of Noise" by Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson from Sweden. The jury felt that the musical comedy encourages the audience to "oppose the dictates of routine in contradiction with our instincts." The Interfilm Church Prize went to the Swedish tragic drama "Between Two Fires" by Agnieszka Lukasiak. The jury stated that the director "and her lead actress Magda Poplawska have succeeded in treating the issue of seeking asylum in an authentic and multi-faceted manner." The prize is endowed with 2,500 euros. The Documentary Film Prize went to "Steam of Life" by Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen. According to the jury the sauna documentary shows "the joys and sorrows of people with different fates. Not only do the latters' pores become unblocked in the sauna, but their innermost feelings also come to the surface."
The Swedish youth film "Sebbe" by Babak Najafi won the Children's and Youth Film Prize of the 52nd Nordic Film Days Lübeck, endowed with 2,500 euros. According to the jury the story of a 15-year-old who struggles with poverty and an alcoholic mother, is "a provocative social drama of hopelessness with a lasting effect on its audience." The Prize of the Children's Jury, endowed with 5,000 euros, went to the Norwegian contribution "East End Angels" by Lars Berg, a crime story for children, whose main focus was considered by the children's jury to centre on "the solidarity of three girlfriends who won't be discouraged by adult prejudices."
The Cinegate-Prize went to "Go Bash!" by Stefan Eckel and Stefan Prehn from Germany. The jury stated that the "entertaining and provocative short film satirizes the pursuit and commercialization of ever-new youth trends by the media."
Jan Göransson from the Swedish Film Institute with the NDR Award for Best Feature Film for "Beyond" and the Children's and Youth Film Prize for "Sebbe" / Foto: Turné
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