Nordic Talents 2026 awards to Jakob Hardeberg and Clara Vida, both from the Norwegian Film School

The winners of this year’s edition of Nordic Talents were just announced by the Nordic Talents jury at the National Film School of Denmark. The 2026 jury consists of British creator, screenwriter and playwright David Farr; Danish documentary producer Helle Faber; Norwegian fiction producer Synnøve Hørsdal; Icelandic actor and writer Aníta Briem; Finnish MTV’s Commissioning Manager Janne Vakio; and Swedish Head of TV Drama Vision of Göteborg Film Festival Cia Edström. Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s (NFTVF) CEO Liselott Forsman welcomed the jury on stage and joined them for the announcement of this year’s winners.

“Its been a privilege to see all the films and hear the pitches. You have all been selected already, and you are all stars. We were amazed by the storytellers’ engagement and the high quality and unique perspectives of the projects. Its been difficult and joyful to work in the jury, but we did manage to find winners among winners,” Hørsdal said on behalf of the jury.

Out of ten pitches, two were awarded. The Norwegian director Jakob Hardeberg from the Norwegian Film School - University of Inland Norway, was awarded the NOK 250,000 Pitch Prize 2026, for the documentary In Between (Brytningstid), with the following motivation:

“The winner is a beautifully intimate film about friendship. The film is surprising, physical, funny, and wonderfully accidental. There is nothing self-conscious, but everything authentic. We love the narrowness of its focus. As a feature we believe it can develop further, while keeping that focus and purity. We want it to grow, not to change. You can’t make up these characters, and you didn’t.”

The 2026 Special Mention went to the Swedish director/scriptwriter Clara Vida, from the same school, and her film project The Whores (Horene), with this motivation:

“The Special Mention goes to a pitch that we found fearless and bold. In her short film, this director has already displayed an intense and memorable visual style. In her new project she is broaching an important subject matter with energy and urgency. This film feels like a much-needed burst of rage and love.”

Both prizes are development grants funded by NFTVF.

Before the award ceremony, the day consisted of the pitches and a networking lunch, followed by an industry afternoon. Nordic production companies introduced their current strategies, and two successful branding cases were presented, one by Ingunn Rensel (Anti) and one by Anttu Harlin (Gigglebug). The other Nordic producers on stage were: Claudia Saginario (Uma Film), Stinna Lassen (Uma Film), Minna Haapkylä (Rabbit Films), Dyveke Bjørkly Graver (Eye Eye Pictures), Vilje Kathrine Hagen (Motlys), and Martin Persson (Anagram).

NFTVF’s 2026 theme year title is Branding & Distribution, which was also highlighted at Nordic Talents industry afternoon when Tine Fischer, CEO of the Danish Film Institute, and Elina Pohjola, Executive Producer, Yle, discussed the international positioning of Nordic titles with Cornelia Klimkeit, Head of Film Sales Support at European Film Promotion.

The event was moderated by NFTVF’s Cecilie Aspenes and Ove Rishøj Jensen.

The other projects pitched were:

• Memorial by Lova Nygren
• TJ28 by Yasmin Najjar
• Harmless by Kristin Heien
• Be Better by Hanna Hulda Hafþórsdóttir and Álfheiður Richter
• The End of August by Erik Lysåker
• Exchange by Roosa Vuokkola
• Maria by Nadja Josephson
• Blossom by Helga Springgard

To read about the projects: CLICK HERE.

The winners will be interviewed in the upcoming newsletter.

The industry conference M:brane also selected In Between to be pitched at the children and youth festival in Malmö. All Nordic Talents pitchers are also welcomed to Stockholm International Film School, and to apply for their Nordic Wave-competition.