This year’s jury comprises director Grethe Bøe Wall (Operation Arctic), film critic Kalle Løchen, and the Norwegian Film Festival’s assistant programmer Cathrine Holme Nielsen.

For the first time documentary graduation films will also be able to compete, alongside fiction and animation films.

The candidates vying for the NOK 10,000 award are:

  • Saras intime betroelser (Sara’s Intimate Beliefs’) by Emilie Blichfeldt (Norwegian Film School) 
  • The Culture by Ernst de Geer (The Norwegian Film School) 
  • Leve Løten (Long Live Leo) by Teresia Fant (The Norwegian Film School) 
  • The 99 Steps Left From The Square by Sevgi Eker (Aalto University) 
  • Puppet Master by Hanna Bergholm (Aalto University) 
  • Bellboy by Terhi Kokkonen (Aalto University) 
  • The Sausage Plate by Niels Elmvig Bruhn (The National Film School of Denmark) 
  • The Messenger by Lowe Haak (The National Film School of Denmark) 
  • Wallrider by Klaus True Madsen (The National Film School of Denmark) 
  • The Ruthless by Rikke Gregersen (Westerdals ACT, Norway)

The Norwegian Film School of Lillehammer will celebrate in Haugesund the 20th anniversary of its bachelor’s programme, as well as the opening in the fall of new premises at Myrens Verksted in Oslo for its Master’s programme. Three graduation films from the new Documentary filmmaking division will also be introduced in Haugesund.