The jury summarises its choice of winner: "Lars von Trier's Antichrist is a wild, visually beautiful and shockingly violent film about sorrow, rage and guilt. Disturbing and moving at the same time it explores the chaos that invades the two characters' lives following the death of their young son. It is a passionate account of the irrational forces of emotions and nature, which neither reason nor cognitive therapy can master. It breaks down the boundaries between inner and outer realities, as it digs deep into the innermost beings of its protagonists."
ANTICHRIST had its premiere in Cannes 2009, where it competed in the main feature films competition, and in which Charlotte Gainsbourg won the prize for the best actress. The film which has since taken part in festivals around the world had its Danish premiere in May 2009 with subsequent premieres in Italy, Poland, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Switzerland, Great Britain, Spain, Germany and Belgium. ANTICHRIST has its premiere in the USA on 23 October and after that it will open in Holland and Austria, amongst others.
The film's producer Meta Foldager said "It is with a great sense of pride, pleasure and honour on behalf of the film that I thank the Nordic Council for this recognition for Antichrist. I also want to thank all the brave and sound investors, institutions and people who have helped bring Lars von Trier's Antichrist into the world."
The Nordic Council Film Prize is awarded to a feature film of cultural value produced in the Nordic countries and is divided equally between the film's director, scriptwriter and producer, which underlines that film as an art form is the result of close co-operation between these three main functions. The prize is worth DKK 350,000 and will be presented in conjunction with the Nordic Council's Session in Stockholm on 27 October.
The Nordic Council Film Prize Jury 2009: Senior lecturer Anne Jerslev (Denmark), editor Johanna Grönqvist (Finland), author Sjon (Iceland), film critic Le LD Nguyen (Norway), film critic Eva af Geijerstam (Sweden).
The film prize was awarded for the first time in conjunction with the Council's 50th anniversary in 2002 and went to the Aki Kaurismäki for the Finnish film THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST. The Nordic Film Prize has been an annual recurring event since 2005 and has gone to Per Fly (2005) for the Danish film MANSLAUGHTER, Josef Fares (2006) for the Swedish film ZOZO, Peter Schønau Fog (2007) for the Danish film THE ART OF CRYING, and was awarded last year to Roy Andersson for the Swedish film YOU, THE LIVING.
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