'THE KILLING OF A JOURNALIST' WINS CZECH AWARD

Matt Sarnecki has been awarded a Jury Award: Power of the Powerless by The Czech Film and Television Association FITES for his 2022 The Killing of a Journalist. The award acknowledges Sarnecki’s contribution to civil society, and he receives it for his writing and directing.

‘The Killing of a Journalist’ is a film about how the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová has inspired protests and influenced politics in Slovakia.

The jury note that “Sarnecki from a distance has deciphered the story of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová, placing the act in previously unknown societal context of the intersection between the mafia and Slovak politics.” They further notice that “The use of unique materials from the villa of the main suspect, businessman Marian Kočner, adds significant value to the documentary.”

'VINTERSAGA' NOMINATED FOR GULDBAGGE AWARD

We’re thrilled that Vintersaga, directed by Carl Olsson, has received a Guldbagge Award nomination (The Golden Scarab) for Best Documentary Film.

The Guldbagge Awards, Sweden's equivalent of the Academy Awards, have recognized achievements in the country's film industry since 1964. The awards gala ceremony is set to take place in Stockholm on January 15, 2024.

Vintersaga is a song-structured ode to the melancholy of Sweden. It was produced in 2023 by Cinestra Film in co-production with Final Cut for Real.

LANDSFORENINGEN SPOR INVITES TO SCREENINGS OF WONDERFULLY RECEIVED ‘A SILENT STORY’

We are extremely thankful and proud of how Anders Skovbjerg Jepsen's A Silent Story has been received, both since its’ CPH:DOX premiere in March, and after it was broadcasted on Danish TV channel TV2 last month. A nationwide impact campaign has been launched, aimed at both individuals and people working with children and youth, and the mental health sector. The film will continue to inspire people in the years to come.

The film is an encouragement to break the silence, and puts constructive, de-tabooing light on the fact that a large part of sexual abuse of children is committed by other children. “I have missed a story like mine, which I could recognise myself in, which could help me to understand that this kind of abuse between children is actually something that happens,” director Anders Skovbjerg Jepsen says about ‘A Silent Story’.   

If you are in Denmark, you can catch the feature length version of the film when Landsforeningen Spor invites to free screenings and debates five Mondays in a row. The screenings will take place in: Kolding, Aarhus, Aalborg, Copenhagen and Odense between October 30 and November 27, and you can find more info about the events here. You can also see the shorter version of the film on TV2 Play.

’PRESIDENT’ RELEASED IN JAPAN

More news from Japan! Last week we could announce that Olha Zhurba’s ‘Outside’ has won a Japan Prize of Honor. This time we are thrilled to share that Camilla Nielsson’s 2021 film President has now been released in Japan. Several cinemas are taking up the film, and still counting.

In ‘President’ Zimbabwe is facing the 2018 election which will be an ultimate test for the two opposing sides, and which will determine the future of the country in a post Mugabe era. Nelson Chamisa, new leader of the opposition party, MDC, is challenging the old guard, ZANU-PF, represented by acting president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

’President’ premiered on Sundance Festival in January 2021. We are happy that more countries are releasing the film – most recently Japan.

'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 SILENT STORY' IN COMPETITION AT ZÜRICH FILM FESTIVAL

Last week Zürich Film Festival announced their program for this year. We are thrilled to share, that Anders Skovbjerg Jepsen’s A Silent Story has been selected for the documentary competition.

The Documentary Film Competition is one of three main categories at Zürich Film Festival, and A Silent Story will be competing for the “Golden Eye” alongside 13 other documentary films.

We are happy for the attention and feedback that A silent Story has been receiving lately and will follow closely as the festival takes place in Zürich from 28. September – 08. October 2023.

'A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS' NOMINATED FOR GRIERSON AWARD

Simon Lereng Wilmont’s documentary film A House Made of Splinters has been nominated for a Grierson Award in the category ‘Best Single Documentary – International’.

This years’ Grierson Awards is the 51st of its’ kind, and it will take place in London on the 9th of November. The awards, also known as British Documentary Awards, commemorate Scottish documentary filmmaker John Grierson (1898 – 1972) and are given to documentaries that “have made a significant contribution to the genre and that demonstrate quality, integrity, creativity, originality and overall excellence.”

Director Simon Lereng Wilmont explains, that “On the surface it (A House Made of Splinters, red.) is a story about neglect, but on a deeper level it is just as much an uplifting and universal story about hope and about children’s ability to survive and find the magic in life despite tragic circumstances.”

We are excited that A House Made of Splinters has been nominated, and we will follow the British Documentary Awards closely, as winners are revealed on November 9th. You can find out more about the awards and all the films that have been nominated here.

'A SILENT STORY' AND 'VINTERSAGA' NOMINATED AT NORDISK PANORAMA

We are excited to announce that Anders Skovbjerg Jepsen’s A Silent Story is in competition for ‘The New Nordic Voice Award’ at the film festival Nordisk Panorama in Malmö. 

In A Silent Story film director Anders Skovbjerg Jepsen contacts his seven years older childhood friend, who sexually abused him when they were both children. Together they seek to recollect and understand how and why it happened. We are happy and proud of the attention that this important film is receiving, and we will follow it closely at the festival alongside all the other fantastic films that are nominated.

We are also happy to announce that Carl Olsson's Vintersaga, produced by Ginestra Film in co-production with Final Cut for Real, is competing in the ‘Best Nordic Documentary’ category. In Olsson's distinctive visual language, Vintersaga is essentially an ode to the melancholy of Sweden.

At Final Cut for Real we look forward to the 21st of September, when the 34th edition of Nordisk Panorama will start. You can find out more about the festival here.

‘PATRIMONIUM’ AND ‘DREAMING MURAKAMI’ SELECTED FOR THE 14TH MAKEDOX FESTIVAL

Two Final Cut for Real productions have been selected for this year’s MakeDox film festival: Patrimonium and Dreaming Murakami.

This year Denmark has been chosen as the “country in focus” for the festival. As MakeDox explain on their Instagram, the Danish focus is meant as a way to “cool down in the hot Skopje evenings”. At Final Cut for Real we are thrilled that two of our movies are being represented there.

Starting today the 14th MakeDox festival is taking place in Skopje, North Macedonia. MakeDox is a platform of creativity and documentary films, and their weeklong festival is showing a broad selection of exactly that.

On Saturday evening Carl Olsson’s 2019 Patrimonium will be shown at the festival. The movie examines time by questioning the borders between history and modern world.

The second of our movies selected, Nitesh Anjaan’s 2017 Dreaming Murakami, will be shown on Monday evening. It explores the world of Japanese author Haruki Murakami through the life and works of translator Mette Holm. Anjaan is going to Skopje to experience the festival himself.

You can read more about The MakeDox Festival on their website. We look forward to following the festival from Denmark.

'A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS' AT THE OSCARS

We will be forever grateful that the team behind A House Made of Splinters last week suddenly found themselves in Hollywood for the 95th Academy Awards, celebrating the film’s nomination for Best Feature Documentary.

Although we did not take home the little golden statue, just being there was the greatest experience and also meant that this very international team were able to spend some lovely days together - we were especially grateful that our lovely protagonists Margarita and Olga joined us, and were celebrated as the stars that they are.

The film continues to screen around the world and to change lives and hearts forever.

'PRESIDENT' FINALIST AT SIMA 2023 - SOCIAL IMPACT MEDIA AWARDS

Amazing news! Camilla Nielsson’s President was selected as one of the 14 finalists for the Social Impact Media Awards 2023!

SIMA works to advance global awareness, social justice, human rights and education by supporting independent content creators and media artists on the front-lines of social change and bringing their work into communities and classrooms around the globe.

The SIMA Awards honors eye-opening documentary filmmaking and XR/Interactive experiences that exemplify excellence in their potential to inspire social change. Each year, projects are selected from over 140 countries around the world.

For this year’s finalists the SIMA Awards team are highlighting the battle to fight back the shadows that encroach on us: “What is great art but a reminder that the challenges our world faces will not be resolved by simply elevating higher consciousness to all that is light; they will find their resolution by our society radically reclaiming sovereignty over our collective shadows. What this year’s SIMA 2023 finalists capture is just that; the illumination of a world cycling through a seemingly endless and chaotic rhapsody of light and dark as it exposes its shadows to dismantle all that no longer serves its peace.”

See the full list of finalists and read more about SIMA here