As In Heaven Wins Göteborg Dragon Award
As In Heaven (Du som er i himlen), the directorial feature debut by Tea Lindeburg, has been crowned winner of the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the 45th Göteborg Film Festival against fierce competition from So Damn Easy Going, Compartment No.6, Maya Nilo (Laura), Excess Will Save Us, The Innocents, Heartbeast and Lamb.
Set at the end of the 1800s, As In Heaven follows 14-year-old Lise whose life is changed forever. She is the eldest of her siblings, the first in her family to go to school and full of hope and confidence in life. But when her mother goes into labor, Lise begins to realise that a day that began in childhood might end with her becoming the woman of the house.
The jury said in their deliberation: “This powerful and engaging film takes us into a brutal landscape filled with blood, dirt and life changing decisions. It is a character driven film that tells a story about hope, superstition and obedience, where we follow a young woman’s transition from being free to feeling the suffocating weight of responsibility.”
“Giving birth is a natural part of life, something that has to do with us all – and still we have rarely seen this phenomena depicted with such an insisting and painfully raw quality in a film before. We hope this award encourages the director to continue pursuing her cinematic language, giving us these rarely seen, but important perspectives.”
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