A piece of history was made at the 37^th edition of the Norwegian national film awards, the Amanda ceremony, which took place as usual on the opening night of the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund. The winner in the Best Norwegian Feature Film category turned out to be the first documentary to snag the trophy since 2002, when Even Benestad’s All About My Father got the honour. This time around, top medallist The Painter and the Thief [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Benjamin Ree
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Having premiered at Sundance this January and originally planned as a short by director Benjamin Ree, The Painter and the Thief chronicles the aftermath of the theft of two paintings at an art gallery, after which the robber and the robbed unexpectedly form a deep friendship spanning the years to come. The film has seen solid festival success, has been sold to 45 territories and was shortlisted for the 93^rd Academy Awards. To boot, the friendship between painter Barbora Kysilkova and thief Karl-Bertil Nordland (now going straight) still endures.

This year’s top contender in terms of the number of nominations, the drama-comedy Ninjababy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kristine Kujath Thorp
intervista: Yngvild Sve Flikke
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The Amanda Awards are voted for and chosen by 15 appointed representatives of the Norwegian film industry. The host of this year’s ceremony was comedian-actor Odd-Magnus Williamson.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Norwegian Feature Film
The Painter and the Thief [+leggi anche:
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Best Director
Yngvild Sve Flikke – Ninjababy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kristine Kujath Thorp
intervista: Yngvild Sve Flikke
scheda film] (Norway)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Kristine Kujath Thorp – Ninjababy

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Jakob Oftebro – Betrayed [+leggi anche:
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Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Pia Halvorsen – Betrayed

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nader Khademi – Ninjababy

Best Screenplay
Johan Fasting, Yngvild Sve Flikke and Inga H Sætre – Ninjababy

Best Cinematography
Egil Håskjold Larsen and Victor Kossakovsky – Gunda [+leggi anche:
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Best Editing
Robert Stengård – The Painter and the Thief

Best Documentary
The Painter and the Thief - Benjamin Ree

Best Children’s Film
Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers – Silje Salomonsen and Arild Østin Ommundsen (Norway)

Best Short Film
What Is a Woman – Marin Håskjold (Norway)

Best Foreign-language Film
Another Round [+leggi anche:
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Best Sound Design
Alexander Dudarev – Gunda

Best Original Score
Thomas Dybdahl – Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers

Best Costumes
Ingjerd Meland, Marianne Stranger, Itonje Søimer Guttormsen, Birgitte Larsen and Nina Buer Brun – Gritt [+leggi anche:
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Best Make-up
Maria Bjørnnes Hermansen and Fie Baro – Projekt Z (Norway)

Best Production Design
Ulrika Axén and Tobias Eiving – Betrayed

Best Visual Effects
Dennis Kleyn and Peer Lemmers – Dragon Girl (Norway)

The People’s Amanda (Audience Award)
Generation Utøya [+leggi anche:
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The Amanda Committee Honorary Award
Director-screenwriter-producer Oddvar Bull Tuhus