Hilmar Oddsson’s black comedy took home both the €20,000 Grand Prix, and the Best Original Score at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
Veteran writer/director Oddsson’s Driving Mum (Á ferð með mömmu) tells of a man’s late coming of age, as he drives across Iceland with the dressed corpse of his mother in his backseat car and his dog Brésnef by his side, to honour his mum’s last wish.
In the starring roles are Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson (Fractures, White Night Wedding), Kristbjörg Kjeld (Mamma Gógó, Sparrows), Hera Hilmar (The Oath, Life in a Fishbowl) and Tómas Lemarquis (Noi Albinoi).
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The jury of the official selection competition said about the film: “during this last week, we have seen a wide, wildly different range of films. Among them we found one, which charmed us all with its transparent, simple but bold film language, with its graceful sense of humour, with its unpretentious way of speaking about burning questions of personal life. A film which tells us that it is never too late.”
The film was produced by Hlin Johannesdóttir of Iceland’s Ursus Parvus, in co-production with Estonia’s Alexandra Film, support from the Icelandic Film Centre and Nordisk Film & TV Fond among others.
Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits was distinguished for his score, described by the jury as a “distinctive, sensitive, in-depth musical journey…The intelligent and well-proportioned use of the score is paired with fine artistry, nuanced yet precise instrumentation and the power of the human voice.”
The film will premiere domestically February 17, 2023 via Sena, with Scanbox handling the rest of the Nordics. French-UK company Alief handles sales.
Other Nordic winners at the major film festival include Norway’s Everything at Once by Henrik Dyb Zwart, named Best Short Film. The 8-minute film screened earlier at Venice’s Orizzonti section. Zwart served as assistant director to Harald Zwart on the film The Mortal Instruments and to Erik Richter Strand on the series Valkyrien. Everything at Once produced by Bacon OSL is his first short film as a director.
For the full list of Tallinn awards, check: www.poff.ee
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