Here are this year’s award winning films and the juries’ statements – and remember you can watch them all
on our digital platform until June 23rd (within Norway only):
THE GOLDEN CHAIR:
BEST NORWEGIAN SHORT FILM
HOMAGE AU PAIR, directed by Kari Holtan
Between just three people in just one room there can be a near-infinite network of connections, resentments and
misunderstandings. Our winning film turns a wry, observant eye on one such room, with a sense of mischief that gives
a playful, absurdist edge to even its most cutting insights. As it pivots unexpectedly from one register to another,
this expertly sculpted short film becomes a lever prising open a whole pandora’s box of class and cultural dynamics
as a domestic setting is also revealed to be a workplace in which our expressively deadpan heroine is not quite a servant,
but also not quite a guest.
The Golden Chair goes to Kari Holtan for her witty, surprising, sharp-eyed Homage Au Pair.
*Honorable mention and the Amanda Award shortlisting goes to CUCUMBER, directed by Harald Furuholmen.*
THE GOLDEN CHAIR:
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM
THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE FOREST, directed by Szymon Ruczynski
The Golden Chair goes to a film which provides a warning against the rising tide of cruelty and inhumanity in the world,
yet is also a paean to those who make a stand and find the strength to help their fellow humans. With a style that is
deceptively simple, with affecting moments of triumph and tragedy emphasized through visuals alone, the film lays bare
the scale of a current humanitarian crisis with poignancy as its skillfully realized aesthetic allows the audience
to focus on the subject. The Golden Chair goes to the animation There Are People in the Forest by Szymon Ruczynski.
*Honorable Mention goes to Sylvia Homawoo for her role in The Distance Between Us, directed by Leo Fontaine.*
THE GOLDEN CHAIR:
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
UNDER LAND, directed by Sebastián Duque R. 
The jury was bewitched by this formally eloquent and layered story of inherited toxicity that finds two women of a small
community pitted against each other over a wall. The filmmaker captures with great skill the sinister forces at play
that permeate the story on and off screen, while at the same time providing insight on the greater cultural and religious context.
The Golden Chair for Best Short Documentary goes to Under Land, directed by Sebastián Duque R.
*Honorable Mention goes to The Sketch, directed by Tomas Cali.*
THE GOLDEN CHAIR:
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
AVANTI – Honningbarna, directed by Sander August Dahl.
The winner of this year’s Golden Chair goes to a music video that hits you like a punch in the gut both musically and visually,
and the video successfully conveys the energy of the music, and the temperament of the lyrics. The timing and inspired use
of framing draws you into the experience. It elevates a depressingly familiar scenario and adds vitality to it.
The award goes to Avanti – Honningbarna, directed by Sander August Dahl.
*Honorable Mention goes to Blindspot of a Seed – Colin John, directed by Colin John Åsdam.*
THE TERJE VIGEN AWARD
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE CT#2, directed by Thomas Østbye
Telling an urgent story in a gripping yet disciplined way, this long short film moves so rapidly that it feels about half its length,
documenting a movement that is both highly visible and frequently misunderstood, right from its frontlines.
Although the climate crisis is the key global challenge of our time, it is rarely portrayed with this much dramatic intelligence
and storytelling skills. Out of a multitude of characters and many protest actions and events, a sobering, but inspiring portrait
emerges, of a generation fighting, on the streets and in the courtrooms, for a future that ought to have been their birthright.
The Terje Vigen Award goes to Thomas Østbye’s Civil Disobedience CT#2.
THE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL’S YOUTH AWARD
PISKO THE CRAB CHILD IS IN LOVE, directed by Makoto Nagahisa
The Youth Award goes to a short film that explores contemporary themes such as identity, love, and self-acceptance.
The film places great emphasis on the circumstances one is born with in life and how these affect one’s own life.
We believe this resonates with youth, while being crabtastically fun!
The Short Film Festival’s Youth Award 2024 goes to Pisko the Crab Child is in Love, directed by Makoto Nagahisa!
THE NORWEGIAN FILM CRITICS’ AWARD
PROJECT DAD, directed by Camilla Stefanie Jämting
A film with exceptional characters that combines lightness and humour with heartfelt emotion, depth and complexity,
applying a variety of stylistic approaches – yet with impressive coherency. A story of differences, the yearning to be seen
and acknowledged by our most beloved ones, and an investigation into the complex political structures defining both our
society and close relationships. An intimate and personal story reaching far beyond the private and self-centred – although
self-centeredness certainly is one of the topics of this both charming and deeply moving documentary by an emerging new talent.
The Film Critics’ Award goes to Project Dad, directed by Camilla Stefanie Jämting
*Special Mention goes to Warrior Heart, directed by Marianne Ulrichsen.*
THE NORWEGIAN FILM WORKERS’ ASSOCIATION’S
TECHNICAL AWARD
Production Designer Madeleine Kinney for CUCUMBER
The Norwegian Film Workers Association’s Technical Award goes to someone who has significantly distinguished
themselves through their detailed and atmospheric use of space and color in the film. The production design in this film
is not only aesthetically pleasing, but it’s also narratively precise. Through it, we become acquainted with the protagonist’s
lonely existence, making his emotional development all the more compelling.
The Technical Award goes to production designer Madeleine Kinney for Cucumber, directed by Harald Furuholmen.
THE HOURGLASS AWARD
THE SPARK AWARD
PROJECT DAD, directed by Camilla Stefanie Jämting
For the sixth year running, Altibox has the pleasure of handing out the Spark Award to a filmmaker here in Grimstad.
We look for creative, playful, brave, and original filmmaking. Good storytellers who can say something essential about our time.
This year’s program has many brave and original voices, but for us one stood out in particular:
This filmmaker turns a deeply personal story into something that is also universal: the need to understand and connect
with one’s parents. Her brave and artistically daring portrayal of an untraditional father is brimming with creativity and authenticity.
The audience becomes involved in the emotional stakes in this father-daughter relationship, with both in search for mutual love.
The Spark Award goes to Camilla Stefanie Jämting for Project Dad.
