Competitions

Tempo hosts several competitions in film and radio, both national and international. The prizes are awarded by our partners for the various competitions.

Stefan Jarl International Documentary Award, for best international documentary, Tempo Documentary Award, for best international feature length documentary. Tempo Short Award for best Swedish short documentary, Tempo Sound Award for best sound in a short film. New Doc for newly established filmmakers, Tempo Pitch for best pitch and Short Dox Radio for best radio documentary in short format.

Read more about the competitions and this years winners below.

Photos by Hedda Axelsson.

Stefan Jarl International Documentary Award

The Stefan Jarl International Documentary Award is named after the renowned Swedish documentary filmmaker, known for iconic films such as They Call Us Misfits (Dom kallar oss mods) and A Respectable Life (Ett anständigt liv). Established in 2012, the award aims to recognize the best international documentaries from the past year, with the winner receiving a prize of €3,000. The award is presented with the support of The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.

Tempo Documentary Award

Tempo Documentary Award is Sweden’s largest documentary film competition, offering a grand prize of 100,000 SEK to the winning director, along with an additional 50,000 SEK technology grant from Dagsljus. The award is presented with support from the Swedish Film Institute.

Tempo Short Award

The Tempo Short Award is a competition for the best Swedish short documentary, with the winning director receiving a prize of 40,000 SEK, along with an additional 10,000 SEK technology grant from Dagsljus. The award is presented with support from the Swedish Film Institute.

New Doc

New Doc is an award given to a promising new Swedish documentary film director, with a prize of 50,000 SEK, funded collectively by regional film bodies and cultural organizations, including Region Gävleborg, Region Värmland, Region Västmanland, Region Uppsala, BoostHBG, Film Stockholm, Region Halland, Region Gotland, Film i Dalarna, Region Östergötland – Film i Öst, FilmCloud – Kulturförvaltningen Västra Götalandsregionen, Filmregion Sydost and Scenkonst Sörmland – Film i Sörmland.

Tempo Sound Award

The Tempo Sound Award was introduced in 2019 and is presented to the short film, among the entries in the Tempo Short Award competition, that showcases the most thoughtful and creative use of sound. The prize consists of 60,000 SEK for use at Momento Studio, equivalent to approximately two weeks in the studio with a sound designer. 

Short Dox Radio

In the Short Dox Radio competition, ten three-minute radio documentaries compete for a prize of 5,000 SEK. The winning entry also qualifies to participate in the Nordic Shortdox competition, which takes place in Denmark later in the spring. Since 2019, the prize has been upgraded through a collaboration with the production company Munck, offering the winner studio time and a producer for their next audio documentary. The award was established by Bengt Bok, professor of radio production at the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. 

Tempo Pitch

Tempo Pitch is a competition where film directors and producers present their new projects in front of a jury and audience. The award consists of 90,000 SEK to be invested in the project. Tempo Pitch is arranged in collaboration with, and financed by, SVT Dokumentär, The Swedish Film Institute and Film Stockholm AB.