Flee Wins Nordic Council Film Prize 2021
Denmark’s submission for the 94th Academy Awards Flee (Flugt), written and directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, has been awarded the Nordic Council Film Prize 2021 against fierce competition from Any Day Now by Hamy Ramezan, Alma by Kristín Jóhannesdóttir, Gunda by Victor Kossakovsky and Tigers by Ronnie Sandahl.
Flee is the extraordinary true story of Amin, on the verge of a marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time. This secret that he has been hiding for over twenty years threatens to ruin the life he has built for himself which began with a dramatic journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to Denmark.
The jury said in their deliberation: “It is rare that the aesthetic, political and human dimensions merge in such a sublime, artistic unity as in Flee. It poses concrete and disturbing questions pertaining to the current refugee debate, and at the same time it is easy for the audience to relate to Amin’s existential insecurity, which the film substantiates with a well-thought-out and sometimes humorous sense of detail and setting.”
“The animation brilliantly solves the two practical challenges of anonymity and lack of imagery. At the same time, the stylish execution elevates the narrative to a sensuous experience, from the depiction of a happy childhood in Afghanistan to his brutal flight to Europe. He ends up in Denmark, where he tries to find security and to feel at home.”
“We believe that Flee tells a necessary, relevant and touching story that all people, regardless of ethnicity, age or sexual orientation, have the right to a happy childhood and a safe place that can be called home. The film was made before many Afghans recently had to flee the civil war, and since then it has only become more relevant.”
FLEE TRAILER: