The new prize, Politiken’s Talent Award, is presented in collaboration with Politiken Film & TV to honor new local filmmakers with a distinct style that will help form the future of Danish cinema. Six debuting directors were nominated for the award - Isabella Eklöf (Holiday), Josefine Kirkeskov (Lifeboat), Kasper Kalle (Christian IV), Laurits Flensted-Jensen (Neon Heart), Martin Skovbjerg Jensen (Sticks & Stones) and Rasmus Kloster Bro (Cutterhead).
The award was handed out by Kristoffer Hegnsvad, Film Editor at Politiken Film & TV, who gave the following motivation:
“The strong performances and the aesthetic is impressive, but that was not the only reason we were confident in our choice. It was the merciless brutality that captures the emotions of its time without leaning into easy solutions or simplified explanations. Isabella Eklöf’s talent is not underway, it is already in full bloom - and the art of cinema is crystal clear and speaks for itself in this year’s winning film: Holiday.”
About Isabella Eklöf
Isabella Eklöf was born in Sweden in 1978. She holds a bachelor in Film Directing from the University of Gothenburg from 2007 and graduated as director from The National Film School of Denmark in 2011 with the film 'Notes From Underground' for which she won the Bisballe Award.
In 2018 she debuted with her first feature 'Holiday', which premiered as part of the international competition at Sundance Film Festival. She co-wrote the screenplay for Un Certain Regard-winner 'Border' along with the film's director Ali Abbasi.
PIX Audience Award
True to tradition audiences have had the opportunity to vote for their favorite film among 10 nominees throughout the first 10 days of the festival.
The audience has spoken and this year’s winner of the PIX Audience Award and 3000€ to support Danish distribution is Boots Riley’s political comedy ‘Sorry to Bother You’.
Chinese ‘An Elephant Sitting Still’ by Hu Bo and Argentinian ‘El Ángel’ by Luis Ortega came in a close second and third place.
Among the festival’s other winners are Tuva Novotny, who won the main award New Talent Grand PIX for ‘Blind Spot’ and Anders Walter’s ‘I Kill Giants’ that was awarded the prize for Best Children’s Film. These were announced earlier this week.
The CPH PIX festival continues in Copenhagen until October 10th, closing with Alfonso Cuarón's 'Roma’.
‘Holiday’ has its final festival screening on October 8th at Empire and opens in theatres from October 11th onward.
Winners at CPH PIX 2018:
This year’s nominees for Politiken’s Talent Award:
The nominees for PIX Audience Award:
