Butterfly takes Norwegian Critics’ Award as Norwegian Grandmonster wins Best Pitch in Haugesund

The award winners of the 54th Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund have been unveiled, with Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s Butterfly taking the Norwegian Critics’ Award and Norwegian zombie-comedy project Grandmonster scooping the Best Pitch Award at the Nordic Co-Production Market.

Seven prizes were handed out across the festival and its New Nordic Films industry platform, encompassing audience and critics’ honours alongside awards for projects in development and emerging Nordic filmmakers.

Butterfly is Søimer Guttormsen’s follow-up to Gritt. Starring Renate Reinsve and Helene Bjørneby as estranged half-sisters returning to Gran Canaria following their mother’s death, the film was praised by the jury as both “immensely entertaining and deeply moving”, with particular emphasis placed on its visual flair, sense of place and ensemble performances. Butterfly is supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond (NFTVF).

The Audience Award, presented by the Norwegian International Film Festival in collaboration with Haugesunds Avis, went to Anthony Maras’ period drama Pressure. Centred on the crucial weather forecasts preceding D-Day, the film stars Andrew Scott as meteorologist James Stagg and Brendan Fraser as General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The jury highlighted its lead performance and audiovisual craftsmanship, as well as its ability to sustain tension despite the historical outcome being known in advance.

Andrew Patterson’s The Rivals of Amziah King, led by Matthew McConaughey, received the Ray of Sunshine Award, intended for the film that generates the greatest sense of joy among audiences. The jury praised the picture’s blend of humour, warmth and darker dramatic turns, as well as its acting, cinematography, music, and editing.

Meanwhile, New Nordic Films’ Nordic Co-Production Market yielded three project awards. Vegard Dahle’s Norwegian zombie comedy Grandmonster won Best Pitch, an accolade which includes an invitation to take part in the Producers Network at Cannes’ Marché du Film. The jury singled out the project’s irreverent combination of ageing, horror and humour, as well as the confidence of the pitching team.

Grandmonster, produced by Jon Vatne for Syden Pictures, follows a young dropout whose attempt to save her grandmother from dementia inadvertently triggers a zombie outbreak at a Norwegian nursing home.

The MIDPOINT Talent Award went to Finnish director Elisa Kujala’s Elektra, produced by Nora Kuusisto for Dionysos Films. The prize provides digital script-development guidance from a MIDPOINT Institute mentor. The jury praised the project’s treatment of ambition, power and inequality, its female protagonist, and its use of a gaming environment to blur the boundaries between reality and the world she creates.

The Storyline Production Award, recognising a Co-Production Market project with strong international potential, was bestowed upon Anathema, from directing duo Ea Johanne Sandberg and Alpha Nord. The jury highlighted the project’s exploration of belonging, communal rules and the extremes to which a society may go to preserve its idea of happiness.

In the Next Nordic Generation competition, which showcases graduation films from Nordic film schools, the NOK 20,000 award went to Clara Vida’s Groupies, from the Norwegian Film School at the University of Inland Norway. The jury commended its distinctive backstage world, non-linear storytelling and unusually coherent artistic vision across writing, acting, cinematography, production design, editing, and sound. Meanwhile, Swedish André Vaara’s Sister of Mine (Syster min) received an honourable mention.

The festival’s closing film is Norwegian Ingvild Søderlind’s The Murder of Benjamin (Drapet på Benjamin Hermansen), produced by Thomas Robsahm. Set 25 years after the racist murder of Benjamin Hermansen, the film examines the vulnerability of young boys searching for belonging and the devastating consequences of hatred.

Haugesund’s New Nordic Films is supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Here is the full list of this year’s festival award winners:

Audience Award
Pressure – Anthony Maras (UK/France)

Ray of Sunshine Award
The Rivals of Amziah King – Andrew Patterson (USA)

Norwegian Critics’ Award
Butterfly – Itonje Søimer Guttormsen (Norway/UK/Germany/Sweden)

Best Pitch Award
Grandmonster – Vegard Dahle (Norway)

MIDPOINT Talent Award
Elektra – Elisa Kujala (Finland)

Storyline Production Award
Anathema – Ea Johanne Sandberg, Alpha Nord (Denmark/Norway/Germany)

Next Nordic Generation Award
Groupies – Clara Vida (Norway)

Honourable mention
Sister of Mine – André Vaara (Sweden)