'OUTSIDE' WINS THE JAPAN PRIZE AWARD OF HONOR

Exciting news! Olha Zhurba’s Outside (2022) wins the Award of Honor in the Lifelong Learning Division of the 2023 Japan Prize. The goal of the prize is to contribute to the quality of educational content worldwide, and it honors works that inspire people to learn.

‘Outside’ is a documentary film about 13-year-old Roma, a street kid turned poster boy for the Ukranian Revolution in 2014. At age 18 he struggles with the challenges of facing a future that might already have been decided for him. The film is produced by Moon Man and co-produced by Tangerine Tree and Final Cut for Real.

All award winners are invited to Tokyo to present their works on The Japan Prize Festival that will run this November 20th-23rd.

If you haven’t watched the film yet, you’ll get the chance on Wednesday when Danish TV channel DR2 is broadcasting it.

'A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS' NOMINATED FOR FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD

We are so proud that Simon Lereng Wilmont’s film ‘A House Made of Splinters’ has been nominated at the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary.

‘A House Made of Splinters’ is directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont and produced by Monica Hellström.
The film follows three children at a temporary shelter, as war-torn Ukraine leaves devastating and enduring marks on the population. Through the eyes of kids, the film depicts a personal, tender, and simultaneously tragic and hopeful story about lives in limbo. Gorgeous, patient camerawork respects the children's vulnerability but expertly detects the unmistakable normalisation of violence in their desperate play, temporary friendships and fragile family connections.

The 38th annual award ceremony is set to return Saturday, March 4, 2023.

You can find the other nominees in the category here.

'OUTSIDE' WINS HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL BERLIN COMPETITION

We are very proud to announce that the film ‘Outside’ directed by Olha Zhurba has won the Willy Brandt Documentary Film Prize at Human Rights Film Festival Berlin!
The film is produced by Darya Bassel and Viktoria Khomenko at Moon Man, in co-production with Anne Köhncke and Monica Hellström from Final Cut for Real and Willem Baptist and Nienke Korthof from Tangerine Tree.

The jury’s motivation is as follows:
”This film is bringing someone from the outside of society into the center. The film is also about loneliness, about lostness and about a neglected boy who turns into a young man in Ukraine. His story touched us in a deeply emotional way. His story stayed in our minds; we could not escape it. We were asking ourselves questions, some of them uncomfortable ones. Why are there people and groups of people, who seem to always stay outside the doors of their societies? How personal can a filmmaker’s relationship with her protagonist get? Is there a red line? But isn’t it precious that these films raise such important questions?
We think yes, absolutely.
Moreover, we would like to praise not only the storyline but the whole art of directing of the filmmaker, that lives up to the high standards of documentary filmmaking. The access to the main character and his family members is incredible, the camera is nearly forgotten.”

Click here to see the rest of the award winners.

'A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS' AND 'THE KILLING OF A JOURNALIST' AT DOCNYC

This years DOCNYC is right around the corner, and we are happy to announce that we have ‘A House Made Of Splinters’ and ‘The Killing Of A Journalist’ screening at the festival.

The Killing of a Journalist is directed by Matt Sarnecki and produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen, editing is by Janus Billeskov Jansen, and music by Kristian Eidness. The film is co-produced with GotFat Productions in Aarhus, Denmark, and Frame Films in Czech Republic, with support from the West Danish Film Fund and Czech Film Fund. The Killing of a Journalist premiered at HotDocs 2022, screened at Karlovy Vary Int FF, and recently won the TRUTH DOX award at DokuFest.

A House Made of Splinters is directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont, and produced by Monica Hellström, edited by Michael Aaglund, sound design by Heikki Kossi, Pietu Korhorhonen, Peter Albrectsen & Sune Kaarsberg, music by Uno Helmersson. The film is co-produced by Story in Sweden, Donkey Hotel in Finland, Moon Man in Ukraine and MDR in collaboration with Arte (GER/FR), with support from The Danish Film Institute, Danish Film Directors, The Swedish Film Institute, The Finnish Film Institute, AVEK, Nordic Film & Tv Fond & Creative Europe: TV Programming. A House Made of Splinters premiered at Sundance 2022, winning the Best Directing Award, and went on to also receive the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary at Gothenburg Film Festival as well as the Politiken:DOX Award at CPH:DOX and two awards at Thessaloniki IFF.

See the full program for DOCNYC here

'A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS' WINS AUDIENCE AWARD

We are super excited to announce that 'A House Made Of Splinters’ directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont has won the City of Malmö’s Audience Award at Nordisk Panorama Film Festival.

‘A House Made Of Splinters’ follows three children at a temporary shelter where a small group of strong-willed social workers work tirelessly to create an almost magical safe space for the kids to live in, as war-torn Ukraine leaves devastating and enduring marks on the population. Through the eyes of kids, the movie depicts a personal, tender, and simultaneously tragic and hopeful story about lives in limbo.

The film is produced by Monica Hellström for Final Cut for Real, and co-produced by Tobias Janson (STORY, Sweden), Sami Jahnukainen (Donkey Hotel, Finland) and Darya Bassel & Viktoriia Khomenko (Moon Man, Ukraine).

You can see the full list of winning films at Nordisk Panorama Film Festival, if you click on the link right here.

'BOY FROM HEAVEN' IS SWEDEN'S OSCAR SUBMISSION

We are very proud to announce that Tarik Saleh’s film 'Boy From Heaven' has been chosen as Sweden’s submission for the 2022-23 Academy Awards Best International Feature Film category.

The political thriller won the best screenplay award at Cannes earlier this year, as well as the François Chalais Prize.

‘Boy From Heaven’ is produced by Kristina Åberg at Atmo Sweden, in co-production with Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen from Final Cut for Real, Memento Film, Bufo, Arte France and Film i Väst.
The film is supported in Denmark by The Danish Film Institute and DR.

Click here to see the full list of contenders in the category.

BOY FROM HEAVEN WINS BEST SCREENPLAY AT festival de CANNES

We are very excited to announce that ‘Boy From Heaven’ directed by Tarik Saleh has won Best Screenplay at the 75th Festival de Cannes. The film is produced by Kristina Åberg at Atmo Sweden, in co-production with Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen from Final Cut for Real, Memento Film, Bufo, Arte France and Film i Väst. ‘Boy From Heaven’ further won the Francois Chalais Prize – an award dedicated to the values of life affirmation and journalism.

The film reunites Saleh with the top creative team from ‘The Nile Hilton Incident’ (Saleh’s first film exploring the modern Arabic world) including Swedish actor Fares Fares, production designer Roger Rosenberg, French cinematographer Pierre Aïm, Danish editor Theis Schmidt and VFX specialist Peter Hjorth, VFX producer Mikael Windelin and editing consultant Janus Billeskov Jansen. For 'Boy From Heaven' the Danish team has been expanded with the Danish actor Hassan El Sayed.

The film is supported in Denmark by The Danish Film Institute and DR.

The Cannes Film Festival 2022 took place on the 17th May to the 28th May. The Festival is organised in various sections, where ‘Boy From Heaven’ was presented in Competition, the category displaying films that are representative of “arthouse cinema with a wide audience appeal”.

To read more about the Festival de Cannes click here.

'HE'S MY BROTHER' AND 'PRESIDENT' SELECTED FOR POV LINEUP

We are proud and happy to announce that He’s My Brother directed by Cille Hannibal and co-director Christine Hanberg and produced by Monica Hellström and President directed by Camilla Nielsson and produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen and Joslyn Barnes has been selected for the 35th Season Lineup at POV.

POV is the longest-running series for independent documentaries on television and launches on July 11th. As is tradition, the series will program social issues films topics including environmental justice, immigration and systemic inequity.

Read more about the 35th POV lineup here.

FOUR FILMS PRESENTED IN HOTDOCS' NORDIC PROGRAMME

It is our great pleasure to announce that we have four films screening at the HotDocs film festival, all of which will be part of the Nordic Bridges programme. These include: “A House Made of Splinters” directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont; “The Killing of a Journalist” directed by Matt Sarnecki; “Our Memory Belongs to Us” directed by Rami Farah; and “Outside” directed by Olha Zhurba. You can read more about each of them, including tickets and streaming info, below:

‘A House Made of Splinters,’ directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont and produced by Monica Hellström, follows three children at a temporary shelter, as war-torn Ukraine leaves devastating and enduring marks on the population. Through the eyes of kids, the film depicts a personal, tender, and simultaneously tragic and hopeful story about lives in limbo. Gorgeous, patient camerawork respects the children's vulnerability but expertly detects the unmistakable normalisation of violence in their desperate play, temporary friendships and fragile family connections. 

‘The Killing of a Journalist’, directed by Matt Sarnecki and produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen, explores the brutal murder of the Slovakian investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírova. Their deaths inspire the biggest protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism. When prosecution efforts turn up honey-pot schemes, paid assassins and dubious political appointees instead of delivering justice, democracy itself may not survive in one of the European Union's most jaw-dropping corruption scandals

“Our Memory Belongs to Us” directed by Syrian filmmaker Rami Farah and produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen, Liana Saleh and Anne Köhncke, reunites citizen journalists Yadan, Odai and Rani in an empty theatre to watch smuggled footage on the big screen nearly 10 years after the beginning of the Syrian revolution. Together, they revisit the events, people and places that changed the trajectory of their lives. How does one survive - by forgetting or by remembering? Building to a shattering crescendo, this collective memory exercise provides a corrective history and chronology for the revolution that was reframed as a civil war by a dictator who preferred to displace over six million people rather than be deposed — and is confirmation that people must tell their own stories.

“Outside” directed by Olha Zhurba, produced by Darya Bassell and Viktoria Khomenko for Moon Man and co-produced by Anne Köhncke and Monica Hellström for Final Cut for Real, follows 13-year old Roma, an abandoned street kid adopted by random soldiers in Kyiv’s Independence Square during Ukraine’s Maidan Uprising. But when the media and military encampments cleared out, he was again discarded, this time to an orphanage. At 18, with just a knife and a lighter in his pocket, can he possibly take control of his life? Security footage, heartbreaking phone calls and chance meetings populate this expertly layered study of a lost soul who belongs to no one and has nowhere to go.

The Nordic Bridges programme is a year-long initiative led by Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre fostering cultural exchange between the Nordic Region and Canada. Working with partners across Canada, Nordic Bridges presents multidisciplinary contemporary art, culture and ideas throughout the year. 

To read more about the HotDocs film festival, online streaming or how to secure a ticket, click here.

WORLD PREMIERE AND SELECTION FOR MAIN COMPETITION AT HOTDOCS

The HotDocs film festival is just around the corner, and we are happy to announce that we have two films selected for the main competition this year.

‘The Killing of a Journalist,’ directed by Matt Sarnecki and produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen, will have its world premiere on May 1st 2022. The film explores the brutal murder of a young Slovakian investigative journalist and his fiancée. Their deaths inspire the biggest protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism. The story takes an unexpected turn when a source leaks the secret murder case file to the murdered journalist’s colleagues which includes the computers and encrypted communications of the assassination’s alleged mastermind, a businessman closely connected to the country’s ruling party. Trawling these encrypted messages, journalists discover that their country has been captured by corrupt oligarchs, judges and law enforcement officials. A reckoning awaits.

Also screening in the main competition is ‘Outside’, directed by Olha Zhurba, and produced by Darya Bassell and Viktoria Khomenko for Moon Man. Anne Köhncke and Monica Hellström have co-produced for Final Cut for Real. In ‘Outside’, Roma, a 13-year old street kid neglected by his family and the state, becomes a poster boy for the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014. His story traverses the years he spent on the streets of revolutionary Kyiv and after his release from the orphanage, left to face the outside world with nothing. As Roma sets out to build an adult life, it seems that his future has already been decided. Through a series of phone calls with the film’s director he reflects on one main question: can you ever escape your childhood?

Outside had its world premiere at CPH:DOX in March, where it was selected for the main competition. 

Hot Docs was founded in 1993 by the Documentary Organization of Canada, a national association of independent documentary filmmakers and continues to be one of the most prestigious documentary film festivals, always focusing on promoting excellence in documentary production. Each year, Hot Docs presents over 200 cutting edge films from around the world.

To read more about the HotDocs 2022 programme click here.

TEAM 'FLEE' GOES TO THE OSCARS

It has been a week since the team behind ‘Flee’ directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen went to the Oscars, and what a week it’s been! While we left the Dolby Theatre empty-handed, the Flee journey has truly been one for the books, and we are so grateful for all the amazing and inspiriting moments that it has brought along. We are moreover simultaneously humbled and proud for the way it has been received all across the world from people of completely different paths of life. And not to forget – Thank you to Amin, whose bravery and generosity in sharing his story has demonstrated the brutal and inhumane, but nevertheless ultimately beautiful, complicated and courageous reality for millions of refugees scattered around the globe.

‘Flee’ is produced by Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen for Final Cut for Real and Charlotte de la Gournerie for Sun Creature.

‘Flee’ tells the extraordinary true story of Amin who, on the verge of marriage, is compelled to uncover his past for the first time – one that he has kept secret for over twenty years and which has continuously threatened the life he has built for himself since making the journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to Denmark. Told mostly through animation, ‘Flee’ weaves together a stunning tapestry of images and memories which tell the affecting story of a young man grappling with his traumatic past in order to discover his true self and the meaning of home.

The Oscars ceremony was held on the 28th of March 2022. To read more about the ceremony click here.

'A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS' WINS POLITIKEN: DOX AWARD

We are very happy and proud to announce that ‘A House Made of Splinters’ by Simon Lereng Wilmont and produced by Monica Hellström has receives the Politiken: DOX Award! The prize is awarded by Politiken's film critics, who choose a winner among the nominated films from this year's festival programme and the ceremony was held on April 1st 2022.

‘A House Made of Splinters’ follows three children at a temporary shelter, as war-torn Ukraine leaves devastating and enduring marks on the population. Through the eyes of kids, the movie depicts a personal, tender, and simultaneously tragic and hopeful story about lives in limbo.

To read more about the other winners and nominees of this year’s CPH: DOX click here.

'A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS' WINS GOLDEN ALEXANDER AND FIprESCI AWARD AT THESSALONIKI DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL

We are very happy to announce that ‘A House Made of Splinters’ directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont has won the grand prize for Best Documentary of the International Competition as well as the FIPRESCI award at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival! The award for Best Documentary was one among two under the International Competition awards - A joint jury reasoning for the selection was thus given for ‘A House Made of Splinters’ and ‘Young Plato’ by Declan McGrath & Neasa Ní Chianáin:

“There are two films that stood out for us. Two profoundly moving and intricate films that, in many ways, struck us as companion pieces, and that deserve to be seen together. The Special Jury Award goes to a film that can only give us hope in future generations and their capacity to make the world a better place. The award goes to Young Plato. The Golden Alexander Award goes to an unforgettable film that shines a light on the burden carried by children for the horrors and mistakes perpetrated by the world of the adults who should be caring for them. The Golden Alexander Award goes to A House Made of Splinters”.

‘A House Made of Splinters’ follows three children at a temporary shelter, as war-torn Ukraine leaves devastating and enduring marks on the population. Through the eyes of kids, the movie depicts a personal, tender, and simultaneously tragic and hopeful story about lives in limbo.

To read more about the 24th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, click here.

'FLEE' WINS BEST DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY AT THE BODIL AWARDS

We are very proud to announce that ‘FLEE’ directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen won the category for Best Documentary at the Bodil Awards this saturday!

‘Flee’ is produced by Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen for Final Cut for Real and Charlotte de la Gournerie for Sun Creature.

‘Flee’ tells the extraordinary true story of Amin who, on the verge of marriage, is compelled to uncover his past for the first time – one that he has kept secret for over twenty years and which has continuously threatened the life he has built for himself since making the journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to Denmark. Told mostly through animation, ‘Flee’ weaves together a stunning tapestry of images and memories which tell the affecting story of a young man grappling with his traumatic past in order to discover his true self and the meaning of home.

The prestigious Bodil statuettes have been given out yearly by the Association of Danish Film Critics since the first Bodil award ceremony in 1948. This year the award ceremony took place on the 19th of March in Folketeatret, Copenhagen.

To see the full list of winners and nominees for this year's Bodil, visit: www.bodilprisen.dk (in Danish)

'FLEE' IS NOMINATED FOR THREE OSCARS

For the very first time in Oscar history, a documentary has been nominated in three categories – And we are absolutely thrilled to announce that the well-deserved honour is all ‘Flee’ directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen and produced by Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen. A huge congratulations to the whole team behind the film and everyone who made it possible.

‘Flee’ tells the extraordinary true story of Amin who, on the verge of marriage, is compelled to uncover his past for the first time – one that he has kept secret for over twenty years and which has continuously threatened the life he has built for himself since making the journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to Denmark. Told mostly through animation, ‘Flee’ weaves together a stunning tapestry of images and memories which tell the affecting story of a young man grappling with his traumatic past in order to discover his true self and the meaning of home.

The award ceremony will be held on the 27th of March 2022.

To see the full list of nominees, go to oscars.org

PRODUCER MONICA HELLSTROM WINS IB AWARD AT ROBERT AWARDS 2022

A huge congratulations to producer Monica Hellström for winning the Ib Award at this year’s Robert Awards! The Ib Award is an external award occasionally delegated by Danish Film Directors to “brave, innovative, risk-taking, anarchic – and incredibly tenacious – entrepreneurs, with no fear of unpopularity, and most of all, with a great beating heart for films and the whole difficult gang of self-inflated egos that necessitate films.” (Danish-English translation from the official description on robertprisen.dk).

The award ceremony was held on the 5th of February 2022.

To see more information about the Robert Awards, go to robertprisen.dk

'FLEE' WINS A GULDBAGGE FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

Pictured is producer Monica Hellström and Co-Producer Charlotte Most

A big congratulations to the ‘Flee’ team for winning the Guldbagge award in the category of Best international Feature Film last night! 

‘Flee’ is directed by Jonas Poher Rasmusssen and tells the extraordinary true story of Amin who, on the verge of marriage, is compelled to uncover his past for the first time – one that he has kept secret for over twenty years and which has continuously threatened the life he has built for himself since making the journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to Denmark. Told mostly through animation, ‘Flee’ weaves together a stunning tapestry of images and memories which tell the affecting story of a young man grappling with his traumatic past in order to discover his true self and the meaning of home.

The Guldbagge Awards are Sweden’s leading film awards and have been presented since 1964 for outstanding contributions to Swedish film over the past year.

The award ceremony was held January 24th 2022.

To see the full list of nominees, go to filminstitutet.se

'FLEE' SHORTLISTED FOR FEATURE DOCUMENTARY AND INTERNATIONAL FEATURE ACADEMY AWARDS

We are so very honoured that Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary film Flee has been shortlisted for both the Feature Documentary and International Feature Film Academy Awards.

The shortlist for both awards contains 15 films, which will be narrowed down to 5 nominated films on February 8, 2022, and the 94th Academy Awards Ceremony will take place on March 27, 2022.

So we’ll keep our fingers crossed for the next couple of months!

Flee is produced by Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen for Final Cut for Real, and Charlotte de la Gournerie for Sun Creature Studios. The film is co-produced by Charlotte Most for Most Films (SE), Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film (NO) and Mathieu Courtois and Jean-François Le Corre for Vivement Lundi.

Executive Producers are Philippa Kowarsky (Cinephil), Danny Gabai, Natalie Farrey & Jannat Gargi (VICE Studios) and Hayley Pappas & Matt Ippolito (RYOT Films).

The film is produced with the support of the Danish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Norwegian Film Institute, Nordic Film and TV Fond, West Danish Film Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Région Bretagne, Région Hauts De France/Pictanovo, CNC, Procirep + Angoa, DR, SVT, YLE, The Animation Workshop, Fritt Ord, Movistar+, I Wonder Pictures, ERR, RTV Slo.

Click here to see the full shortlist announcement