The Finnish/Swedish film produced by Compartment no 6’s Aamu Film Company was handed out Saturday evening the €12,500 NDR Film Prize.

Kouvo’s debut feature Family Time (Mummola) was competing against 13 other Nordic and Baltic films for best native feature, Cologne-based The Match Factory handles sales.

Another female debut director - Sweden’s Mika Gustafson impressed with her drama Paradise is Burning (Paradiset brinner) which won both the €5,000 Interfilm Church Prize and €5,000 Youth Jury Prize. The film produced by Hobab continues its successful festival career after its double wins at Venice’s Orizzonti and Sutherland Award for best debut at the London Film Festival. Intramovies handles sales.

The Swedish short animation documentary George-Peterland (Gösta Peter-Lan) by Christer Wahlberg and Sebastian Rudolph Jensen scooped best Nordic or Baltic short film, while Iceland’s Fár by Gunni Martinsdóttir Schlüter added a Lübeck honourable mention to its Cannes special mention.

Denmark brought home the €5,000 Baltic film prize best Nordic film for the beautifully crafted semi-autobiographical The Quiet Migration (Stille liv) directed by Malene Choi, as well as the €5,000 Documentary film prize of the North DGB District for Mrs Hansen & The Bad Companions (Inger & det dårlige selskab) by Jella Bethmann.

Norway’s Sámi-revolt set Let the River Flow (Ellos eatnu-La elva leve) directed by the experienced Ole Giæver was handed out the €5,000 Lübecker Nachrichten Prize, while three Norwegian first features with inspiring stories for kids & youth were also distinguished:

  • Dancing Queen by Aurora Goss garnered the €5,000 Children’s Jury Prize
  • Listen Up! (Hør her') by Kaveh Tehrani the €5,000 Children’s and Youth Film Award of the Gemeinnützige Sparkassenstiftung
  • Practice (Å øve) by Laurens Pérol the €7,500 Friends of the NFL Prize for Best First Feature.

More than 180 films screened at the 65th Lübeck Nordic Film Days which closed November 5.