The Finnish-Swedish Christmas drama “Family Time” (“Mummola”) by Tia Kouvo won the NDR Film Prize, at 12,500 euros, the award with the highest cash prize, at the 65th Nordic Film Days Lübeck.

The jury of the INTERFILM Church Prize went to the Swedish-Danish-Finnish film “Paradise is Burning” (“Paradiset Brinner”), directed by Mika Gustafson. The Baltic Film Prize for a Nordic film went to Malene Choi for her autobiographic Danish production “The Quiet Migration” (“Stille Liv”) and Ole Gæver garnered the Lübecker Nachrichten prize for “Let the River Flow” (“Ellos eatnu – La elva leve”).

The films in the Documentary section were in the running for the trade unions’ prize was won by Jella Bethmann’s ‘portrait of a generous woman’ (as the jury said), “Mrs Hansen & the Bad Companions” (“Inger & det dårlige selskab”) from Denmark.

Outside of festival program awards, the honorary president of the festival, Liv Ullmann, awarded the Prize for Best Narrative Debut to director Laurens Perol and lead actor Kornelia Melsæter for their musical road trip “Practice” (“Å Øve”). Laurens Perol, like his on-screen protagonist, hitchhiked to Oslo for an audition.

The Swedish-Danish-Finnish film “Paradise is Burning” (“Paradiset Brinner”) by Mika Gustafson took home the Youth jury prize.

The winners and honorable mentions at the 65th Nordische Filmtage Lübeck:

NDR Film Prize
Family Time | Mummola, Finland, Sweden
Dir: Tia Kouvo

Interfilm Church Prize
Paradise Is Burning | Paradiset Brinner, Sweden, Denmark, Finland
Dir: Mika Gustafson

Baltic Film Prize for a Nordic Film
The Quiet Migration | Stille Liv, Denmark
Dir: Malene Choi

Lübecker Nachrichten Prize
Let the River Flow | Ellos eatnu – La elva leve, Norway, Sweden, Finland
Dir: Ole Giæver

Documentary Film Prize of The North DGB District
Mrs Hansen & The Bad Companions | Inger & det dårlige selskab, Denmark
Dir: Jella Bethmann

CineStar Prize
*(in)visible Night, Germany
Dir: Iwidobo Kollektiv: Naomi Kelechi Odhiambo, Maximilian Mundt, Jasmin Luu

Honourable Mention:
Was wir wollen | Of Kisses and Capes, Germany
Dir: Elena Weiss

Children’s And Youth Film Award of the Gemeinnützige Sparkassenstiftung
Listen Up!, |Hør her’a!, Norway
Dir: Kaveh Tehrani

Children’s Jury prize
Dancing Queen, Norway
Dir: Aurora Gossé

Prize for Best Nordic or Baltic Short Film
George-Peterland | Gösta Petter-land, Sweden
Dir: Christer Wahlberg, Sebastian Rudolph Jensen

Honourable Mention:
Fár, Iceland
Dir: Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter

Friends of the NFL Prize for Best First Feature
Practice | Å Øve, Norway, Germany
Dir: Laurens Pérol

Youth Jury Prize:
Paradise Is Burning | Paradiset Brinner, Sweden, Denmark, Finland
Dir: Mika Gustafson