The winners of the various contests at the Tempo Documentary Festival’s twenty-third edition have been selected. During Saturday night, the winners in nine competition categories received their awards at a prize ceremony.
Here are the names of the winners and those who received an honourable mention, including the motivation of the jury for the respective prizes:
TEMPO DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Tempo Documentary Award is one of Sweden’s largest documentary film competitions. The prize of SEK 75,000 goes to the film’s director. The competition is organised with the support of the Swedish Film Institute.
Winner
The Scars of Ali Boulala by Max Eriksson
Motivation of the jury: Good documentaries can make us see well-known people and events with new eyes. But good documentaries can also give us access to places and contexts we barely knew existed. This year’s winner is one such film. It’s a film about friendship and madness. About life as literally one long party. About the great emptiness when the party abruptly ends. And about how short the distance can be between euphoria and total darkness.
STEFAN JARL INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY AWARD
The Stefan Jarl International Documentary Award is for the best international documentary. The prize is EUR 2,000. The competition is organised with the support of the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
Winner
Courage by Aliaksei Paluyan
Motivation of the jury: A film about the importance and power of cultural expressions. In surprising ways, the director manages to convey the feeling of the whole movement against Alexander Lukashenko. Also giving voice to the everyday man, this documentary depicts a diverse movement for freedom and freedom of expression. A brave film in all aspects of the word.
Honourable mention:
There will be no more night by Éléonore Weber
Motivation of the jury: A strong and beautifully made film, that left the jury mesmerised and impressed by the vast research and the bold choices made by the director. Highly relevant, this film also makes the brave choice of staying in silence, without adding music or sound effects. It is exceptionally well made and utterly powerful. When the film ends you are left in total darkness with nowhere to hide.
TEMPO SHORT AWARD
Tempo Short Award is the competition for the best documentary in short format. The prize of SEK 25,000 goes to the film’s director. The competition is organised with the support of the Swedish Film Institute.
Winner
Dansa min docka by Jasmijn Kooijman
Motivation of the jury: A creative and warm film that touches us with its craftsmanship, sense of detail and tragi-comic grip. Beautiful image compositions, elaborate environments and skilful lighting elevate the film and leaves us wanting more. Despite a subject portrayed before, this well-made film surprises us with new gripping angles, nuanced characters and unexpected twists.
Honourable mention
Jag ville ha en familj by Irene Lopez
NEW DOC
The prize is SEK 40,000 and is awarded to a new promising director for an upcoming film project. The prize is awarded in collaboration with Film Stockholm, BoostHBG, Film i Öst, FilmCloud/ Förvaltningen för kulturutveckling, Film i Dalarna, Film i Sörmland, Kultur i Halland – Film and Filmregion Sydost.
Winner
Pink Rider by Daniel Aguirre Montoya
Motivation of the jry: With music, capriciousness and uncompromising storytelling style, this year’s New Doc depicts the working conditions in the neoliberal society. Through a personal story, a thought-provoking film unfolds that makes the invisible visible without moralising.
Honourable mention
Powernapper’s paradise by Samir Arabzadeh
TEMPO SOUND AWARD
This prize is awarded to the short film, among the competition films in the Tempo Short Award, which has the most thoughtful and creative soundscape. The prize consists of SEK 60,000 to be used in Momento Studio, corresponding to about two weeks in the studio with a sound designer.
Winner
Nadir by Amin Zouiten
Sound designer: Anne Gry Friis Kristensen
Motivation of the jury: With the city as the main character and the sound as the narrative, this film takes us on a beautifully portrayed journey through the city’s different rooms and colours.
SHORT DOX RADIO
In Short Dox Radio, ten radio documentaries of a maximum three minutes’ length compete for SEK 5,000. The winning documentary will also take part in the Short Dox Nordic competition. The prize is a collaboration with the production company Munck, which offers studio time and a producer to help create the winner’s next audio documentary. The award was founded by Bengt Bok, professor of radio production at Stockholms Dramatiska Högskola.
Winner
Sailor by Petra Koppla Dahlberg
Honourable mention
Min sliding doors woman by Astrid Mohlin
TEMPO PITCH
Tempo Pitch is the competition for new documentary film ideas. The prize consists of SEK 90,000 in development funds. The competition is arranged in collaboration with SVT Dokumentär and The Swedish Film Institute’s documentary film consultants.
Winner
KATWE (working title) by Nima Shirali
Motivation of the jury: The director approaches a tragic fate and a complex situation with a considerate treatment in strong visual scenes. The main characters get to say straight to the point about how they have become victims of circumstances they themselves do not control. The hope is placed on domestic politicians and foreign companies with new investment promises – what else can our main characters hope for?
BETTAN’S FUND
SEK 30,000 kronor fom Bettan’s fund. The fund aims to support and encourage creative work in showing documentaries in cinemas.
Winner
Folkets Bio, Lund/Kino
ANNA PRIZE
The Anna Prize is a scholarship awarded annually to a person with a film project on women’s rights.
Winner
Ett meddelande till Ernestina by Jonelle Twum
Congratulations to all the winners!
