Ninjababy leads Norwegian Amanda film nominations

Nominated in 11 categories, Yngvild Sve Flikke’s film is running for Best Film against the documentaries The Painter and the Thief and Generation Utøya.

Sve Flikke’s quirky dramedy Ninjababy produced by Motlys is also vying in top categories such as best director, actress, actor, screenplay, while novelist/animator Inga H. Sætre gets a chance to win an Amanda statuette for Best Visual Effects. The film screened at the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus and Austin’s SXSW Film Festival.

The second most nominated film with nine accolades is the Holocaust drama Betrayed directed by Eirik Svensson for production outfit Fantefilm. Among the nominees are Jacob Oftebro for Best Actor, Pia Halvorsen for Best Supporting Actress, Michalis Koutsogiannakis for Best Supporting Actor and three times Amanda winning composer Johan Söderqvist.

In third position with nine nominations is Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s debut feature and festival hit Gritt, which screened in Göteborg, Rotterdam and won Best Film-Best Actress at the Vilnius Film festival. The film was produced by Mer Film.

Reflecting the trailer-blazing success in recent years of Norwegian documentaries, two titles are competing both for Best Film and Best Documentary: Aslaug Holm and Sigve Endresen’s Generation Utøya (Motlys), and Benjamin Ree’s The Painter and the Thief (Medieoperatørene), vying for 5 Amandas in total. The film has won a dozen international awards including a Special Jury Prize at Sundance.

Meanwhile Line Hatland’s first feature length documentary Kid’s Cup is vying for Best Children’s Film, Victor Kossakovky’s global hit Gunda for Best Cinematography and Best Sound Design.

Merethe Offerdal Tveit’s Villagers & Vagabonds which won Best Norwegian Documentary in Bergen last fall, gets a chance to double her win.

The Amanda awards ceremony will be held on August 21^st in Haugesund, as part of the Norwegian Film Festival (August 21-27) and streamed live on NRK.no. It will also be broadcast on NRK2 and P2.

Full list of Amanda nominations.

• Best Film
  The Painter and the Thief by Benjamin Ree, producer Ingvil Giske
  Generation Utøya by Aslaug Holm and Sigve Endresen, producer Tore Buvarp)
  Ninjababy by Yngvild Sve Flikke, producer Yngve Sæther
• Best Director
  Benjamin Ree for The Painter and the Thief
  Silje Salomonsen and Arild Østin Ommundsen for Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers
  Yngvild Sve Flikke for Ninjababy
• Best Actor
  Arthur Berning for Ninjababy
  Jakob Oftebro for Betrayed
  Pål Sverre Hagen for Diana’s Wedding
• Best Actress
  Birgitte Larsen for Gritt
  Kathrine Thorborg Johansen for Oslo – København
  Kristine Kujath Thorp for Ninjababy
• Best Supporting Actor
  Nader Khademi for Ninjababy
  Dennis Storhøi for Project Z
  Michalis Koutsogiannakis for Betrayed
• Best Supporting Actress
  Pia Halvorsen for Betrayed
  Marte Magnusdotter Solem for Him
  Marte Wexelsen Goksøyr for Gritt
• Best Children’s Film
  Kids’Cup by Line Hatland
  Two Buddies and a Badger-The Great Big Beast by Gunhild Enger and Rune Spaans
  Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers by Silje Salomonsen and Arild Østin Ommundsen
• Best Documentary
  Generation Utoya by Aslaug Holm and Sigve Endresen
  The Painter and the Thief by Benjamin Ree
  Villagers and Vagabonds by Merethe Offerdal Tveit
• Best Screenplay
  Benjamin Ree and Robert Stengård for The Painter and the Thief
  Itonje Søimer Guttormsen for Gritt
  Johan Fasting, co-writers Yngvild Sve Flikke and Inga H. Sætre for Ninjababy
• Best Foreign Language Film
  Another Round by Thomas Vinterberg (Arthaus)
  The Father by Florian Zeller (Storytelling Media)
  Promising Young Woman by Emerald Fennell (UIP)
• Best Short Film
  Greetings from Myanmar Sunniva Sundby and Andreas J. Riiser
  Sju Mil Eilif Bremer Landsem
  What is a Woman Marin Håskjold
• Best Original Score
  Johan Söderqvist for Betrayed
  Kåre Chr. Vestrheim for Ninjababy
  Thomas Dybdahl for Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers
• Best Production Design
  Nina Buer Brun, Marianne Stranger and Ann Kristin Talleraas for Gritt
  Olve Askim for Two Buddies and a Badger-The Great Big Beast
  Ulrika Axén and Tobias Eiving for Betrayed
• Best Sound Design
  Alexander Dudarev for Gunda
  Erik Ljunggren for Gritt
  Hugo Ekornesand Gisle Tveito for Ninjababy
• Best Make-up
  Grethe Gunn Solberg Hansen for Diana’s Wedding
  Maria Bjørnnes Hermansen and Fie Baro for Prosjekt Z
  Sara Klänge for Betrayed
• Best Cinematography
  Egil Håskjold Larsen and Victor Kossakovsky for Gunda
  Marianne Bakke for Ninjababy
  Patrik Säfström and Egil Håskjold Larsen for Gritt
• Best Visual Effects
  Dennis Kleyn and Peer Lemmers for Dragon Girl
  Inga H. Sætre for Ninjababy
  Lars Erik Hansen for Betrayed
• Beste Editing
  Christian Siebenherz and Elise Solberg for «Betrayed»
  Karen Gravås for Ninjababy
  Robert Stengård for The Painter and the Thief
• Best Costume
  Anna Pedersen for Betrayed
  Ida Toft for Diana’s Wedding
  Ingjerd Meland, Marianne Stranger, Itonje Søimer Guttormsen, Birgitte Larsen and Nina Buer Brun for Gritt

Check here for further details: https://filmfestivalen.no/amanda-2/amandanominasjonene-2021/