Apolonia, Apolonia crowned Best Film at IDFA Awards

The captivating portrait of French figurative painter Apolonia Sokol filmed over 13 years, was produced by Sidsel Lønvig Siersted for Danish Documentary, with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond among others.

Read our interview with Lea Glob: CLICK HERE.

"This film has characters who breathe life and take us on a journey, opening us up to the worlds of culture and art, of business and politics, of the mechanics of a success story. It is infused with love,” said the jurors of the IDFA International Competition consisting of Pirjo Honkasalo, Yousry Nasrallah, Vanja Kaludjercic, Mary Stephen and Yoshihiko Yatabe.

Apolonia, Apolonia was co-produced by Poland’s Staron Films, with co-financing from DR, SVT, YLE, VGTV, HBO Max, and Arte. Cats & Docs handles sales.

Meanwhile Finland picked up a Special Mention from the IDFA Competition Youth Documentary section for Jasmin Two Homes co-directed by Inka Achté and Hanna Karppinen.

The 14-minute film follows the young Jasmin who goes through a life-changing process when she has to move from Finland to her father’s native Somaliland with her family.

The jurors of the Youth Documentary section-Ulla Haestrup, Eef Hilgers, and Edwin Mingard said in their statement: “We decided to award the Special Mention in the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary to a film that invites us to adopt another perspective on home and identity, employing a light-hearted and tender approach while emphasising the agency of the young protagonist and making sure we hear their voice and see the world in the way they do.”

The film was produced by Liisa Karpo for Napafilms, in co-production with Shine Global, support from the Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, Yle and Lyfta.

For the full list of winners, CLICK HERE.