Awards

The jury was unanimous in its favor for one film, and for this year's award for best short documentary we chose a film that has simplicity at its heart, in means as well as form. In between the funny, razor-sharp, harsh lines of text, wrapped and constructed along poetic, subjective images and interesting sounds, dooms the filmmaker's vulnerability and fear over yet again something so seemingly simple: his own signature.

Unanimously.

Sarajevo

Berlin

Unanimously.

This award goes to a film that deeply moved and captivated us. A portrait of young, stranded men in despair, who are forced to cross all boundaries to maintain their dream and perspective of a safe life in Europe. We are drawn into a world that is both tender and cruel, relentlessly raw and heartbreakingly human. We were captivated by the precision and warmth of the performances, the accurate narration of this gripping story, and the artistically outstanding achievements of all departments. We are very pleased to present the CineCoPro Award to the producers of TO A LAND UNKNOWN. Congratulations.

How can you approach a place that was supposed to be your home, when you had to leave it many years ago. Especially if it is a Palestinian refugee camp in Libanon. Where do you go in a world that does not belong to you? Old traces blend together with present life and the wide horizon of history evolves from the personal story of the visitor. In his own voice and with great dignity, humor and compassion the filmmaker leads us through his world and is able to offer a new perspective on the conflict in the Middle East.

The filmmaker organically presents an extremely personal conflict and has managed to amplify it into a universal dialogue. It deals with contemporary freedom of being on different levels. This film shows us how the short film format can distillate a relevant topic to express an artistic vision.

We live our realities through convenient systems of recording, remembering, and reminiscing. Or rather, we are only able to survive by plastering ourselves with false memories. This work is the story and record of a painstaking attempt to record in order to embrace one's life and subsistence, love, friendship, family, and longing for survival. The film depicts the sorrows and suffering of the Palestinian people, who are forced to live as refugees under an overwhelming unjust Israeli occupation-a human tragedy and history of genocide, oppression, and poverty at risk of being forgotten. At the same time, this film is a deep and expansive indictment of our forgetful memory.

"A World Not Ours" is one of those rare, hospitable films. The house we are invited into is full of pain and frustration, but because of the filmmaker and his family's and friends' great hospitality and courage to show their real faces we get to feel some of the joys and sorrows of this refugee camp for Palestinians in Lebanon. Due to the humanity and humor of the people behind and in front of the camera we get a unique chance to experience the mind-blowing complexity and desperation of living in a permanent state of homelessness. "A World Not Ours" in its own bleak way is a beautiful and very poetic film that opens doors to other worlds instead of closing them."

Mention Spéciale

This year, Nordisk Panorama has with the category New Nordic Voices, offered a wide range of high quality films with a great diversity in the filmmaker's approaches of storytelling and subject matters. The jury has been taken on an enjoyable journey from realism to magical realism, from original concepts to documentaries based on unique access to previously undiscovered grounds. We have seen intriguing and strong films made by promising directors that will be exciting to follow in the years to come. One film, however, stands out. The winning film is deeply personal, yet very universal. It's political, yet poetic. It's heart-rending and tragic, yet funny and inspiring. It takes on one of our time's most central and deplorable conflicts. The filmmaker is using unique footage and archive material to tell his extraordinary story in a confident way. The director focuses on individuals, and widens the perspective by telling a story of their shared destiny. The film deals with an important question, that is, which effect it has on people not to have a country to belong to. The answer is disheartening, but the film is not. When the art of cinema is greatest, it makes us look at the world anew. And this renewed perspective is a prerequisite for real change. This year's winner does all that outstandingly. The New Nordic Voices Award 2013 goes to A WORLD NOT OURS by Mahdi Fleifel.

A field of 4000 candidates for this year's festival was narrowed down to 40 by the selectors - from which we have had the tough task of choosing just a single winner. The entire jury was deeply impressed by the special, intimate proximity between the director and his protagonist, in a film which immerses the viewer in a crowded tableau - vivant and thus brings to life the claustrophobic and nurturing extremes of a unique community. It is an experience of life told from the inside, touching on some of the most important issues of our increasingly turbulent times. The Grand Prize goes to A Man Returned by Mahdi Fleifel.

Special Mention of the Jury: He keeps looking, he keeps filming, he keeps asking questions. Cinema as politics and as a means of communication inform this director's filmmaking. It also keeps making us think, discuss and ask questions. The Special Mention goes to 3 Logical Exits by Mahdi Fleifel.

With surprising insight into unseen worlds, this film delivers an authentic portrait of a man trapped in a personal conflict.

The jury believes that in just 15 minutes the film is able to bring about a growing conflict, such as the reality of immigrants and refugees arriving in Europe, the supposed "promised land". In a clear, simple and humanizing point of view, the main character reveals the harsh reality that thousands of people are faced with and also slides a collection of uncomfortable but necessary questions: where do they flee to when they flee? How much humanity do they find on the other side of the Mediterranean? How much are saved by those who do not drown on the way? The film is emotional, invites to reflection and manages to produce a feeling of empathy from which it is impossible to avoid.

Jury Statement: This exploration of the stark realities facing young Palestinan refugees and workers in Lebanon asks important questions about the representation of violence and vulnerability in documentary work. Filmed over ten years, the filmmaker showed a deep engagement with the subject, carefully handling the interplay between the personal and political with a strikingly cinematic approach and thoughtfully crafted narrative.

Won a 'Special Mention'

For the segment 20 Handshakes For Peace

Jury Statement: A truly original storytelling, requiring all our attention to catch all the shades of a subtle and powerful sociopolitical analysis built during an only apparently ordinary morning call between two friends. A short yet thorough essay about oppression.