The Last Resort Wins the Festival’s Main Prize
Maria Sødahl’s ‘The Last Resort’ has won the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film – the main prize at the Göteborg Film Festival. The award includes 400,000 Swedish kronor, making it one of the world’s largest film prizes.
The jury highlights the film’s uncompromising look on some of the most pressing moral and political issues of our time and praises the performances, the screenplay, and the film’s unsentimental approach. According to the jury, The Last Resort shows how repeated cruelty towards those outside the community can become normalised – and how this gradually erodes our relationships and our humanity.
The jury consisted of Joshua Oppenheimer (Chair), Fabrice Aragno, Lia Boysen, Sanna Lenken, and Gergely Pálos. Read the jury’s full statement here.
About the Film
In The Last Resort, Danica Curcic and Esben Smed star as parents in a family on a dream holiday at a luxury resort. When they encounter a man in acute distress, their desire to help is put to the test. The line between compassion and fear begins to blur, and the family must decide how far they are willing to go – and what it may cost them.
The film is produced by Thomas Robsahm and Helena Danielsson for Nordisk Film and will have its Danish theatrical release on 5 March.
Two Awards for Weightless
Emilie Thalund’s debut feature ‘Weightless’ receives the FIPRESCI Critics’ Award. The jury praises the film’s empathetic portrayal of body ideals, friendship, and abuse, and particularly highlights the lead performance and the film’s authenticity.
The FIPRESCI jury consisted of Jenni Zylka, Janet Baris, and Jean-Max Méjean. Read the jury’s full statement here.
In addition, the film’s cinematographer, Louise McLaughlin, wins the Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award. The jury cites the film’s minimalist and intimate visual style, which with great precision offers insight into the characters’ hidden longings and makes the invisible visible. The award includes 50,000 Swedish kronor.
The jury for this award was the same as for the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film. Read the jury’s full statement here.
About the Film
‘Weightless’ follows 15-year-old Lea, who is set to spend the summer at a health camp. There she befriends the spontaneous and self-confident Sasha, whom Lea both admires and mirrors herself in. While Sasha seeks attention from local boys, Lea becomes infatuated with the adult educator Rune. The story centres on friendship, fascination, and boundaries.
Supported by the Danish Film Institute’s talent scheme New Danish Screen, the film had its world premiere at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September, where it won the main prize in the debut competition programme New Directors.
‘Weightless’ is produced by Anna Dammegaard Søllested and Clara Jantzen Kreinøe for Snowglobe and will have its Danish theatrical release on 26 February.
