Stockholm Film Festival announces 2016 Award Winners

The jury of the 27th Stockholm International Film Festival has made their decisions. Bulgarian director Ralitza Petrova received the Bronze Horse at the award ceremony on Friday evening. Below are all the winners who were awarded at the Stockholm International Film Festival Award Ceremony. 

This year’s Stockholm XXVII Competition jury is producer Annika Rogell, directors Roland Vranik, Wayne Roberts and Frida Kempff, and actress Julia Ragnarsson. The jury for the Stockholm Impact Award includes directors Sofia Exarchou, Alankrita Shrivastava and Mohammed Hammad. For the Stockholm Documentary Competition the jury members are directors Göran Olsson, Nahid Persson and Anna Persson. The Stockholm XXVII Short Film Competition jury consists of directors Malin Erixon, Xander Robin and Michael O’Shea. And for the FIPRESCI, Bettina Hirsch, Mihai Fulger and Murat Emir Eren.

Best film: Godless by Ralitza Petrova
The prize for Best Film goes to an astonishing masterpiece. This is filmmaking of the highest order and marks the arrival of a new great within cinema. A film that will forever live in the hearts and minds of viewers. It is a true work of art and, simply put, is one of the finest films ever made. Best film goes to Ralitza Petrova’s Godless.

Best first film: Sand Storm by Elite Zexer
An important film told with great authenticity and compassion, cinema and the world at large has a new and exciting voice with this film maker. The prize for Best First Film goes to Elite Zexer for her wonderful and wildly poignant Sand Storm.

Best director: Johnny Ma for Old Stone
In the wildly engaging and painfully relevant film, talent of the highest order is shown in full display. The prize for Best Director goes to Johnny Ma for Old Stone.

Best script: Johnny Ma for Old Stone
This script with marked intelligence, one man’s descent brilliantly unfolds in this important and terse moral thriller. The prize for Best Script goes to Johnny Ma for Old Stone.

Best cinematography: Andrei Butica for Dogs
Photographed with incredible restraint and a clear mastery of both artistry and craft, the Director of Photography clearly delivers some of cinema’s finest cinematography. The prize for Best Cinematography goes to Andrei Butica for his cinematography of Dogs. 

Best actress: Irena Ivanova, Godless
In this beautiful portray of a struggling woman we follow all her moves with suspense. The actress makes an incredible interpretation, which leaves the viewer almost thinking that she is living the life of her character for real, and we believe every expression that she gives us. Thanks to the her performance, we get a greater insight into the life of a vulnarable person in a corrupt society. The prize for Best Actress goes to Irena Ivanova for her work in Godless.

Best actor: Kévin Azaïs, A Taste of Ink
In this great debut film, we follow a remarkable portray of a young man’s struggle of finding peace with his father. This actor dares to show his most fragile sides in a vulnerable and clear way. He shines in all frames och carries the film through and through. This is an actor we want to see more of. The prize for Best Actor goes to Kévin Azaïs for his incredible work in A Taste of Ink.

Best documentary: Hooligan Sparrow by Nanfu Wang
Not long ago, filmmaking was exclusive for the privileged. Thanks to new technology some few rare talent are able cross the barrier of the establishment and create a fantastic film. In a world speeding into nationalism and corruption we have an opportunity to meet a daring group of women standing up against a system that perpetuate sexual abuse on women and children. With a organic closeness and compassion to subject, seldom seen in the art of film, we are happy to reward Best Documentary to the remarkable achievement of Nanfu Wang with the fantastic film Hooligan Sparrow.

Stockholm Impact Award: Wayne Roberts for Katie Says Goodbye
Katie Says Goodbye is a sensitive, layered and complex, coming of age story of a young American girl. The film displays a clearly female sensitive gaze, without sensationalizing Katie’s heart breaking story. It shows us the complexity of human nature and people and relationships, be they women or men, without judgment. The cinematic style of the film is fresh and subtle, and the performance of Olivia Cooke as Katie is compelling. It leaves you experiencing the innocence, the darkness, the vulnerability and the strength of the lovable Katie. It is a startlingly brave portrayal of a young woman. Through its sensitive handling of the politics of what it means for a woman to have agency over her own body, it challenges age old stereotypes of women.

Best short film: Imago by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez
For the main prize, the film that stood out was for its raw fly-on-the-wall imagery, gripping story, and its roller coaster sense of morality. This film showed us a world we had never seen before, and some of its shocking imagery will stay with us for a long time. The winner of this year's short film competition is: Imago by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez.

Stockholm Rising Star: Filip Berg
Rising Star 2016 is awarded to a young actor that can easily connect with the audience. He portrays his characters with openness, vulnerability and curiosity – his competence impresses, which has been perceived by the audience in his home country as well as internationally. A ”sharp” actor, with a clear bright future at the screen.

FIPRESCI best film: American Honey by Andrea Arnold
A depiction of being young amongst a mid-western society. With an incredible soundtrack the film perfectly captures hope amongst hopelessness. This years International Critics Prize goes to American Honey by Andrea Arnold. 

Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award: Francis Ford Coppola
This year’s Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award winner is one of the greatest directors of our time. His films encapsulate their own era with perfect authenticity, yet remain equally relevant today. From Don Corleone’s epic and corrupt family enterprise, through the dangers of the surveillance society to the apocalyptic wars of the west, his prophetic images and powerful stories have defined cinema for generations. Forever will they provide a common language and inspiration for cinephiles all over the world.

Stockholm Visionary Award: François Ozon
This year’s winner of the Stockholm Visionary Award is the subversive and distinctly poetic François Ozon. With stylistic flair and precision, Ozon is a true master at looking into our inner, always with his trademark dark satire and an introspective looking glass that is passed on to the audience during the course of the film. The 2016 Stockholm Visionary Award goes to François Ozon.

1 km film-scholarship: Frida Kempff, Dear Kid
This year’s 1 km film scholarship goes to a director who believes in the power of the image, her scenes achieve a fine balance between mystery and emotion. Small details in her film bear great importance, the observant viewer is rewarded with complex characters undergoing a stormy inner drama.

iFestival Award: Trial and Error by Antje Heyn
Voted for by the 2015 Stockholm Film Festival audience.

Press images of the award winners:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BzOcsvKpMijBZC1VX0xVUUlOZWM?usp=sharing

Press contact

Susanne Wallin, press manager                          
Tel: +468-677 50 25 / +4673-513 31 36                    
press@stockholmfilmfestival.se           

Andreas Jonsson, press assistant                                  
Tel: +468-677 50 25 / +4672-700 80 46
pressassistent@stockholmfilmfestival.se           

The 27th Stockholm International Film Festival, November 9-20, 2016

The Stockholm International Film Festival started in 1990 and is today one of the leading competitive film festivals in Europe. The festival takes place every year in November with more than 200 films from more than 60 countries. 

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