The Deminer produced by Hirori’s Lolav Media and Ginestra Film’s Antonio Russo Merenda is a nerve-wracking portrait of a Kurdish colonel who disarms thousands of roadside bombs and mines only with his courage and a pair of write cutters.

The jury said in a statement: “The Best Nordic Documentary Award goes to a film which displayed incredible risk-taking in following a character who put his life on the line every day, also putting the filmmaker in great danger. Throughout the documentary, the viewer faces a fear for the character as he goes about his work, creating a level of suspense which is rarely faced, and made we the Jury feel we’re in the hands of a skilled filmmaker as well as a brave documentarian.”

The Deminer had its world premiere at IDFA last November where it won the Special Jury Prize.

Broadcasters who co-financed the film include SVT, DR, Yle. Dogwoof negotiated sales with several other broadcasters including French/German Arte, the BBC for the UK, VGTV for Norway, VPRO for The Netherlands, VRT for Belgium and Movistar+ for Spain.

Check our interview with director Hogir Hirory: CLICK HERE.

Other winners at Nordisk Panorama are the following:
  • Honorary Mention Best Nordic Documentary to Raghu Rai-An Unframed Portrait by Avani Rai (Finland, India, Norway) 
  • Best Nordic Short Documentary (€7,000) to Shadow Animals by Jerry Carlsson (Sweden) 
  • Honorary Mention Best Short Film to The Green Valley by Ellen Ugelstad (Norway) 
  • Nordisk Panorama Audience Award (€2,500) to The Distant Barking of Dogs by Silo Lereng Wilmont (Denmark) 
  • Children’s Choice Award to Shadow Boxer by Andreas Bøggild Monies (Denmark). 

The Deminer and The Distant Barking of Dogs were supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Nearly 60 films screened at Nordisk Panorama (September 20-25, 2018), attended by 750 industry guests. Another 45 projects looking for co-financiers and co-producers were introduced at the industry sidebar Nordisk Panorama Forum.