At the 21st European Film Awards ceremony to be held for the first time in the Scandinavian region, in Copenhagen, on December 6, Dogma founders Søren Kragh Jacobsen, Kristrian Levring, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg will receive an Honorary Award from the European Film Academy, in "recognition of a unique impulse to the world of film" and to honour their "dedication to European filmmaking."
In its official statement issued on Wednesday, the European Film Academy used an extract from the book ‘Projections 5', published by Faber & Faber: "Coming from Denmark, the Dogma movement has changed the way we look at film: In 1995, a group of Danish filmmakers rocked the film world, establishing a revolutionary set of rules for filmmaking, and invading film festivals and cinema screens with a distinctive, rough and not always comfortable look. Thus Dogma was born... without doubt it has exerted a strong influence on filmmaking and has set an astonishing example for filmmakers all over the world, demonstrating that it is possible to make successful films on a low budget, in a small film nation, and without a tripod."
In an earlier press statement, the European Film Academy announced that five Nordic films have been shortlisted for the nominations of the 2008 European Film Awards. Denmark has two candidates: Ole Christian Madsen's Flame & Citron (Nimbus Film) and Ole Bornedal's Just Another Love Story (Thura Film); Sweden is represented by Jens Jonsson's directorial debut The King of Ping Pong (Bob Film Sweden); Finland by Black Ice directed by Petri Kotwica (Making Movies), and Norway by Bent Hamer's O'Horten.
A total of 44 films from 27 countries are short-listed for the European Film Awards, including the 2008 French Palme d'or winner The Class, and Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky. In the coming weeks, the 1,800 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations that will be officially announced on November 8 at the Sevilla European Film Festival in Spain. All Nordic films pre-selected for a European Film Awards nomination, were granted support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.