Christian Tafdrup's "Parents" was announced Tuesday as one of the five nominated films for the Nordic Council Film Prize, awarded this year for the 14th time.
Each of the five films is elected by a national jury, and from Denmark, film critics Per Juul Carlsen, Jacob Wendt Jensen and Eva Novrup Redvall motivate their choice of Tafdrup's drama:
"Danish film seldom acknowledges its roots in Nordic mythology and Hans Christian Andersen, and rarely explores the supernatural. Christian Tafdrup remedies this in his debut feature, 'Parents,' in which a middle-aged couple wake up to find themselves young again. It sounds crazy, silly and far out – but like all good fantasy, it strikes a familiar chord. Bodil Jørgensen and Søren Malling are unforgettable as the rejuvenated couple."
"Parents" made its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival and has screened at a great number of festivals, winning the Silver Mèliés at the Neuchatel Fantastic Film Festival in July last year. The film is produced by Thomas Heinesen for Nordisk Film with support from the Danish Film Institute's talent scheme New Danish Screen.
"Parents" will be competing with "Little Wing" by Selma Vilhunen (Finland), "Heartstone" by Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson (Iceland), "Hunting Flies" by Izer Aliu (Norway) and "Sami Blood" by Amanda Kernell (Sweden).
To raise interest in Nordic films
Previous Danish winners include: "Manslaughter" by Per Fly (2005), "The Art of Crying" by Peter Schønau Fog (2007), "Antichrist" by Lars von Trier (2009), "Submarino" by Thomas Vinterberg (2010) and finally "The Hunt" by Vinterberg (2013).
The purpose of the prize is to raise interest in the Nordic film community and to recognise outstanding artistic achievements. Each film is nominated because af its deep roots in Nordic culture, its artistic quality and originality, and for the way it combines the many elements of film into a compelling work of art.
The DKK 350,000 prize (EUR 47,000) will be shared equally among the screenwriter, director and producer, underscoring how film as an art form is the result of a collective endeavour. In the case of "Parents," the recipients would be Christian Tafdrup as director-screenwriter and Thomas Heinesen as producer.
The winning film will be announced on 1 November during the Session of the Nordic Council in Helsingfors.
Previous winners
Previous winners are: Joachim Trier for "Louder Than Bombs" (2016), Dagur Kári for "Virgin Mountain" (2015), Benedikt Erlingsson for "Of Horses and Men" (2014), Thomas Vinterberg for "The Hunt" (2013), Ruben Östlund for "Play" (2012), Pernilla August for "Beyond" (2011), Thomas Vinterberg for "Submarino" (2010), Lars von Trier for "Antichrist" (2009), Roy Andersson for "You, the Living" (2008), Peter Schønau Fog for "The Art of Crying" (2007), Josef Fares for "Zozo" (2006), Per Fly for "Manslaughter" (2005) and Aki Kaurismäki for "The Man without a Past" (2002).
Read press release from Nordisk Film & TV Fond
Parents
When their son Esben moves out, Kjeld and Vibeke decide to relocate to a smaller home. They discover that the apartment they lived in back when they were students is up for sale and agree to buy it and make a new start. Kjeld furnishes the apartment the way it was back then, and for a while the two relive their sweet days of youth.
