As expected Joachim Trier's excellent Reprise - supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond - was the big winner of this year's Amanda Awards, scooping three top awards for Best Norwegian Film, Best Director and Best Script during last Friday's awards ceremony in Haugesund.
Trier's feature debut co-written with Eskil Vogt has been collecting awards at international film festivals over the last year, since its successful launch at Karlovy Vary 2006, and was sold to over 25 territories by Nordisk Film International Sales. The film produced by Karin Julsrud for 4½ Production is currently playing theatrically in Germany (MFA Film Distribution), the Netherlands (A Film) with the UK to follow on September 7 (Diffusion Pictures).
Norwegian audiences who last year flocked into local cinemas to see Roar Uthaug's chiller Cold Prey (Fritt Vilt), gave it the People's Amanda or Audience Award, electing Ingrid Bolsø Berdal Best Actress. Henrik Mestad deservedly won an Amanda for Best Supporting Actor for his difficult part as a paedophile in Sons (Sønner), the feature debut of Erik Richter Strand produced by TordenFilm with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond. The Amanda for Best Actor went to Raouf Saraj for his role as a Kurdish refugee who makes an arranged marriage in Hisham Zaman's featurette Winterland.
Hanne Myren's documentary Girls (Jenter) directed by Hanne Myren won both Best Children and Youth Audience Award and Best Documentary Feature. The film was produced by Øyvind Rostad (Medieoperatørne) with Denmark's Cosmo Film, and Sweden's Story AB, with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
Full list of Amanda Awards 2007:
People's Amanda
Cold Prey by Roar Uthaug, produced by Fante Film
Best Norwegian Film
Reprise by Joachim Trier, produced by Karin Julsrud (4½ Production)
Best Director
Joachim Trier, Reprise
Best Actor
Raouf Saraj, Winterland, produced by Turid Øversveen (4½ Production)
Best Actress
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Cold Prey
Best Supporting Actor
Henrik Mestad, Sons, produced by Torden Film
Best Script
Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, Reprise
Best Film for Children and Youth Audience
Girls by Hanne Myren, produced by Medieoperatørene
Best Short Film
Janus by Linda Fagerli Sæthren
Best Documentary Film
Girls by Hanne Myren
Best Foreign Film
The Departed, Martin Scorsese (Sandrew Metronome Norge)
Best Film straight to DVD
Lady Vengeance by Park Chan-Wook (Star Media Entertainment)
Amanda Committee Gullkapper Award
Aslaug Holm
Amanda Committee Honorary Award
Knut Andersen
Norwegian International Film Festival and Liv Ullmann's Honorary Award
Lauren Bacall