Flee bags Best Doc, Best Animated Film, Ninjababy Best Comedy at EFA Awards

Nordic films and talents brought home a total of nine awards at Saturday’s 34th European Film Academy awards ceremony held both online and onsite in Berlin.

After last year’s triumph of Thomas Vinterberg who won four major EFA awards for Another Round, Denmark brought home Best Documentary and Best Animated Film with Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s film Flee.

Speaking from home in a live-streaming session, Rasmussen first paid tribute to Israeli director Ari Folman, also was nominated this year for Best European Animated Feature with Where is Anne Frank. “I didn’t even know that there was something called ‘animated documentary ‘before,” said Rasmussen, in reference to Folman’s Oscar nominated film Waltz with Bashir. “So thanks for paving the way,” said the Danish-born director.

Rasmussen went on naming all creative and financial partners - including the European funding bodies and public stations “for taking the risk” with him. He mentioned his ‘powerful’ producers from Final Cut for Real-Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen and ultimately his friend Amin whose story as an Afghan refugee now living in Denmark and about to marry his long-time boyfriend, is featured in Flee. “Thank you for your generosity and your courage,” said Rasmussen to Amin.

Flee was also a recipient of the European University Film Award, announced December 8.

This year’s Nordic Council Film Prize winner is eligible for consideration in the Animation, Documentary and International Feature Oscars shortlists, to be announced December 21.

FLEE TRAILER

Meanwhile Norway’s comedy drama Ninjababy by Yngvild Sve Flikke was voted Best European Comedy, a cherry on the cake for the Motlys film which has collected numerous kudos since its world premiere earlier this year at the Berlinale’s Generation14 Plus.

“It’s been overwhelming to see this little Norwegian film resonate with such a broad international audience at festivals…and now this!” said Flikke from a live video link. “I wanted to make a funny and liberating film about parenthood, gender, expectation, and I think humour is a good way to create hope and tolerance toward people and yourself,” she said. Flikke’s long thank you list included producer Yngver Sæther and her husband-Norwegian composer Kåre Vestrheim who wrote the score for Ninjababy.

Other Nordic films which received EFA distinctions -announced earlier- include:

• Iceland’s Lamb - Best European Visual Effects - to Peter Hjorth and Fredrik Nord
• Norway’s The Innocents, Best European Sound - to Gisle Tveito and Gustav Berger
• Norway’s The Crossing, Best European Young Audience Award.
  

Among the few guests physically present in Berlin, Norwegian producer Maria Ekerhovd, took centre stage to receive this year’s Eurimages Co-production Award. The founder of Mer Film paid tribute to producer Axel Helgeland “who taught us to look beyond Norway to find partners and financiers.”

As for Danish star director Susanne Bier, recipient of the European Achievement in World Cinema 2021, she said it meant a lot for her to be in Berlin- her father’s birthplace, and thanked the crew on all her films.

Nordisk Film & TV Fond was associated to the winning films Flee, Ninjababy, Lamb and The Innocents.

This year’s biggest EFA winner was Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida? Which won Best European Film, Best Director and Best Actress (Jasna Đuričić). The film about a woman’s fight to save her family during the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica was co-produced by Norway’s Tordenfilm among others.​