Alma Pöysti - Dragon Award Best Acting

For the fifth consecutive year, Göteborg Film Festival presented the Dragon Award Best Acting. The award is gender neutral, and all the actors in the films competing in the Nordic Competition are nominated.

Dragon Award Best Acting 2023 went to Alma Pöysti for her acting performance as Juulia in Four Little Adults.

The Jury's motivation:

Actors are the spirits of cinema, bringing life, pain, humour and emotions to the screen, they invite us on an inner journey to get to know ourselves better.

Considering the huge range of professionalism and dedicated actors of this year’s Nordic selection, the jury is grateful to honour an actor without limitations. Who gives us an impressive performance with a large range of emotion, empathy, braveness and strength to portray a touching modern character with no borders. And who moves effortlessly between the dramatic and the humorous, in a performance which is mesmerising, witty and intelligent.

The Jury for Dragon Award Best Acting is the same as for Dragon Award Best Nordic Film.

Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award

The Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award went to Jacob Møller for Copenhagen Does Not Exist. 

The Jury's motivation:

The great Orson Welles says: A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet. Cinema is the most powerful art to imitate dreams. The cinema has no boundary, it is a ribbon of dreams. A good cinematographer is a magician, is a dancer, is a listener. The one who puts the words into the images, who uses his technics to transfer the emotions but through his/her eyes. We congratulate the brave and creative technical storytelling of the winning cinematographer and thank him for making us dream.  

All cinematographers in the Nordic Competition are nominated for the Award and the prize consists of SEK 50 000. The award is presented in cooperation with the Sven Nykvist Cinematography Foundation.

The Jury for the Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award is the same as for Dragon Award Best Nordic Film.

The award was accepted by the director of Copenhagen Does Not Exist, Martin Skovbjerg. 

FIPRESCI Award

The film critic's award, FIPRESCI, went to Ellos Eatnu – Let the River Flow, by Ole Giæver. The award is handed out by The International Federation of Film Critics and goes to one of the films in the Nordic Competition.

The Jury's motivation: 

The story takes us up to the most northern part of Europe, where some 40 years ago, Norwegian national history was written. Those events raised the consciousness of Norwegian society and led to the modern Sámi awakening. The strong and well-balanced script of the film tells a story about a universal issue that is impressively manifested in the performance of a young Sámi woman played by non-professional Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen in her first screen appearance. The movie masterfully conveys the sorrowful mood caused by the threat of a disappearing culture, a loss of identity, language and family ties.

The 2023 FIPRESCI Jury: Beat Glur, critic, Switzerland, Britt Sørensen, critic, Norway, Teréz Vincze, critic, Hungary.

The award was accepted by the film's co-producer, Lizette Jonjic.

Audience Dragon Award Best Nordic Film

This year's Audience Dragon Award Best Nordic Film went to Ellos Eatnu – Let the River Flow by Ole Giæver. 

Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary

This year's Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary went to Apolonia, Apolonia by Lea Glob. Presenting partner of the award and the prize sum of SEK 250 000 in services from Edisen.

The Jury's motivation:

The winner is a multilayered film that takes us deep into the life of the main character. Every creative choice in the making of this film is taken from real life experiences that all of us can relate to. The story is not just about the character who struggles to reach her dream. It’s about the journey. A story about not giving up. A story about hope. A beautiful film about female friendship.

The 2023 Nordic Documentary Competition Jury: Veton Nurkollari, artistic director, Kosovo, Nahid Persson, director, Sweden, Morgane Dziurla-Petit, director, France.

The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award

The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award went to Runner by Marian Mathias. The award is presented together with The Bergman Foundations, i.e. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation, The Bergman Estate and Bergman Center on Fårö.

The award consists of a stay at The Bergman Estate on Fårö and a visit to Ingmar Bergman's personal archive in Stockholm.

Motivation of the jury:

The winner is a film with a clear vision, integrity and unique sense of visual narration. Originating with the end of life, the picture is at the same time a catalyst for the beginning of a new life. Every frame of this minimalist masterpiece is a cinematic experience and every character is carefully depicted. Behind this film there is a true artist and a wonderful promise for the future of cinema.

The 2023 Ingmar Bergman Competition Jury: Gizem Erdogan, actor, Sweden, Susanna Nicchiarelli, director, Italy, Kasia Syty, artistic director, Sweden. 

Dragon Award Best International Film

For the sixth consecutive time, Dragon Award Best International Film is handed out. This year's audience award for Best International Film went to The Blue Caftan by Maryam Touzani.

The prize consists of SEK 50 000, and presenting partner for the award is Göteborgs-Posten.

The award was accepted by Birgitta Sollenberg (in the photo) and Sara Fohrman from Folkets Bio. 

Draken Film Award

For the second year, the Draken Film Award is awarded to a Swedish short film in the festival's programme that excels in its form, and artistic level or by challenging and expanding the narrative in the short format.

The Draken Film Award 2023 went to After Mourners by Hanna Högstedt. 

The Jury's motivation:

The winner is a minimalistic film, with a high level of craftmanship, an incomprehensible trauma. Grief has many shapes, and new generations are often forced to inherit the black, heavy burden, which remains in the soul after loosing a child. After Mourners portrays our worst fears in a distinctive and deeply poetic way. Which made the three hardened film workers in the jury break down in tears. 

The Draken Film Award 2023 goes to After Mourners by Hanna Högstedt.

The prize consists of SEK 10 000 and online distribution at Draken Film.

The 2023 Draken Film Award Jury: Christer Wahlberg, director, Lova Lilliemarck, producer, and Oscar Westerholm, film critic. 

Mai Zetterling Grant

The Mai Zetterling Grant went to the director Mårten Nilsson.

Awards already presented during the festival

Nordic Honorary Dragon Award was awarded to Jan Troell.

Dragon Award Best Swedish Short went to Madden by Malin Ingrid Johansson.

Audience Choice Award for Best Swedish Short went to Container Scanning by Edvin Hallberg och Anton Hellström.

Angelo Award, the Swedish Church’s award worth SEK 50,000, went to Annika Fredriksson for Love You Bye. All Swedish feature-length films at the festival were nominated for the Award.

The drama series screenwriting award, Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, went to Kenneth Karlstad for Kids in Crime.

46th Göteborg Film Festival
Jan 27–Feb 27 2023