Nominees For 2020 Nordic Council Film Prize

On Tuesday, five nominees were announced for the 17th Nordic Council Film Prize, which Denmark won last year with Queen Of Hearts directed by May el-Toukhy.

The Nordic Council Film Prize aims to raise interest in the Nordic cultural community and recognise outstanding artistic initiatives. Its nominees must have deep roots in Nordic culture, be of high artistic quality, and distinguish themselves by their artistic originality.

The winning entry, to be announced on 27th October 2020 in Reykjavik, will receive DKK 350,000 to be shared equally between the screenwriter, director and producer, underlining how film as an art form is a collaborative effort.

The nominees for the 2020 Nordic Council Film Prize are…

DENMARK
Uncle (Onkel) by Frelle Petersen
Kris lives with her partly disabled uncle in rural Denmark and together they run a small farm. In their quirky yet loving relationship, built upon daily routines, words aren’t necessary. Kris is the dominant workhorse and she has taken on a motherly and overprotecting role towards her uncle. When Kris saves a calf during a complicated birth, her interest in the veterinary field is reawakened. She develops a friendship with the chatty veterinarian Johannes and slowly experiences life outside the farm. As love crosses her path, and a possible life-changing question emerges.

FINLAND
Dogs Don’t Wear Pants (Koirat eivät käytä housuja) by Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää
Juha has lost his wife in a drowning accident. Years after he still feels numb and unable to connect with people. Meeting Mona, a dominatrix, changes everything. A darkly humorous story of loss, love and the sweet pain of being.

ICELAND
Echo (Bergmál) by Rúnar Rúnarsson
Iceland, Christmas time. As everyone prepares for the holidays, a peculiar atmosphere falls upon the country revealing emotions of both excitement and concern. In the middle of the countryside, an abandoned farm is burning. In a school, a children’s choir is singing Christmas carols. In a slaughterhouse, chickens are parading along a rail. In a museum, a mother is arguing with her ex-husband on the phone. In a living room, a young girl is making her grandmother try on her new virtual reality headset… Through 56 scenes, Echo draws a biting and tender portrait of modern society.

NORWAY
Beware Of Children (Barn) by Dag Johan Haugerud
This film traces the dramatic aftermath of a tragic event in a middle-class suburb of Oslo. During a break in school 13-year old Lykke, the daughter of a prominent Labour Party member, seriously injures her classmate Jamie, the son of a high-profile right-wing politician. When Jamie later dies in hospital, contradicting versions of what actually happened risks making a difficult situation worse. Liv, the school’s principal and the secret lover of Jamie’s father, confronts the community in distress and her own conflicted emotions.

SWEDEN
Charter by Amanda Kernell
After a recent and difficult divorce, Stockholm-based Alice hasn’t seen her children in two months, as her ex-husband who lives in Northern Sweden with them, has barred her from seeing them. While waiting for the final custody verdict, she gets a phone call in the middle of the night, from her distressed son Vincent. She rushes to Northern Sweden to see him and his sister Elina. When her hopes of reconciliation with her children are dashed upon arrival, she abducts them and embarks on an illicit trip to Tenerife to try to reconnect with them.