The film prize was awarded to Denmark, the music prize to Finland, the environmental prize to Sweden and the literature prizes went to Iceland and Sweden. Fæbrik struck by Swedish recycling During the ceremonial award ceremony at the Opera House in Oslo, the Norwegian crown prince and crown princess handed out the first award of the evening. In the category for the Nordic Council’s environmental award, the Norwegian ladies in the sewing and recycling company Fæbrik were also nominated, but they had to see themselves beaten by the Swedes in Renewcell, which works to recover and reuse textile waste. A press photo from Swedish Renewcell shows a pile of denim clothes ready for recycling at the factory. Photo: Alexander Donka/Renewcell According to the jury, the company is the first in the world to adopt a large-scale industrial process that turns old textiles into a fiber mass – which in turn can create new clothes and products. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit present the Nordic Council’s Environmental Prize 2023 to the Swedish company Renewcell. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB “Explosive, strong and versatile” The Sami musician Kajsa Balto presented the music prize, which this year went to the Finnish folk musician, singer and songwriter Maija Kauhanen. The jury calls the winner an “explosive, strong and versatile musician, who has created a significant international career for himself in a short time”. They point out that Kauhanen both masters traditional music styles, but that she also mixes them with new effects and sounds. The Nordic Council’s music prize 2023 is awarded by musician Kajsa Balto to Finnish Maija Kauhanen. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Kauhanen is a virtuoso on the old Finnish string instrument kantele, which is widely used in Finnish folk music. Children’s book about volcanic eruptions won literature prize The Nordic Council’s prize for children’s and youth literature went to the book “Eldgos” by the illustrator and author Rán Flygenring from Iceland. Flygenring was born in Norway, but grew up and now lives in Iceland. In 2014–2015, she completed part of her education at the University of the Arts in Oslo. The jury calls “Eldgos” an “explosive visual picture book”. Photo: Rán Flygenring/Eldgos The book “Eldgos” is about a mother, a son and a group of tourists’ close contact with a volcano during an eruption. The jury says it shows how “a wild and uncontrollable nature affects people. Images and text are woven together into a playful and humorous narrative that bursts with power.” In the book, all people are drawn in black and white, while nature shines in colour. The Nordic Council writes about the book that the action gives rise to thoughts about prejudice, foolishness, dangers and fear, and about the importance of taking responsibility for oneself in the face of nature. The Nordic Council’s children’s and youth literature prize 2023 is awarded by author Maja Lunde to the Icelandic author Rán Flygenring. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB During the award ceremony at the Opera, it was the Norwegian writer Maja Lunde who presented the award to Flygenring. “An unusually clear vision” Actress Maria Bonnevie had the honor of presenting the Nordic Council’s film prize for 2023 to the Danes behind the film “Viften”. It is about Denmark’s time as a colonial power in the West Indian islands. The film is full of absurd humor about the social conditions that the film deals with, and is written based on real events. The film “Viften” deals with Danish colonial history in the West Indies. Photo: SF Studios The jury writes that they receive the award for “a film that is so sure and carefully thought out in every single detail, and where in every frame it shines through what an unusually clear vision the filmmakers have had”. The Nordic Council’s film prize 2023 went to the Danish film “Viften” by director Frederikke Aspöck and screenwriter Anna Neye. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Jewish family history in drawings The last prize of the evening that was handed out was the Nordic Council’s literature prize, which this year went to the author and illustrator Joanna Rubin Dranger from Sweden for the graphic novel “Husk oss til lifet”. In the book, Dranger draws and writes about his own Jewish family’s history, about the search for what happened to them because no one talked about it. Excerpt from the book “Remember us for life” by Joanna Rubin Dranger. Illustration: Joanna Rubin Dranger Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery presented the award at the Opera on Tuesday. The jury justifies the award with the fact that the work is “overwhelming and important”. They further write that it gestalts how wordless trauma can be encountered and how the silence is finally broken. “The dead come to life when we remember them, say their names and draw their photographs”. The Nordic Council’s Literature Prize 2023 is awarded by Norway’s Minister of Culture Lubna Jaffery to Sweden’s Johanna Rubin Dranger. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Stavanger Aftenblad’s reviewer called the book “a masterpiece”, while Dagbladet’s reviewer thought it was “horribly topical”. More Norwegian nominations Several Norwegian entries were on the nomination list at this year’s award ceremony. Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus were nominated in the category for best children’s and youth literature for the book “Ikke!”. Ingrid Z. Aanestad and Sunniva Sunde Krogseth were also on the nomination list for the book “Berre mor og Ellinor”. The Norwegian film “Krigsseileren” was nominated, but did not receive an award during this year’s awards ceremony at the Opera in Oslo. Photo: Marc Cassar / Marc Cassar/Mer Film “Krigsseileren” was also nominated for the Nordic Council’s film prize, while “Fæbrik” consisting of Jenny Skavlan, Mari Norden, Ingrid Vik Lysne and Ingrid Bergtun was nominated for the Nordic Council’s environmental prize. For the music award, the well-known Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós was also among the nominees. There was also the Norwegian folk singer Berit Opheim and pianist Håvard Gimse. Read more about the nominees here. Will draw attention to the Nordic countries The Nordic Council’s five awards are presented each year. The purpose is to draw attention to the literature, language, music and film of the Nordic countries. A total of 54 works, initiatives and artists from all the Nordic countries were on the nomination list before the evening’s award ceremony, which was chaired by actor Kåre Conradi and musician Ingrid Bjørnov. The winners receive the “Nordlys” statuette and a sum of money of 300,000 Danish kroner, and the awarding takes place in connection with the Nordic Council’s annual meeting. Prestigious awards Last year, the Norwegian author Nora Dåsnes won the award for best children’s and youth literature. Among previous Norwegian winners of the five prizes, you will also find Jon Fosse, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature at the beginning of October. “Unanswered call” by Nora Dåsnes won last year’s prize in the children’s and youth literature category. Photo: Nora Dåsnes/Aschehoug The awards from the Nordic Council are considered among the most prestigious in the Nordic region. The literature prize is the oldest, and was awarded for the first time in 1962. The music prize (1965), the environment prize (1995), the film prize (2002) and the children’s and youth literature prize (2013) followed later.
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The Nordic Council’s awards for textile recycling, a children’s book about volcanic eruptions and a film about Danish slavery – news Culture and entertainment
