Line Verndal, best known in Norway for her role in the popular TV series Himmelblå, has proven her talents in the film world as well after winning the award for best actress at the annual Amandaprisen ceremony in Haugesund, the Norwegian equivalent of the Academy Awards in Hollywood.
Verndal, age 39, won for her role in director Maria Sødahl’s film Limbo, about life in an international oil community in Trinidad in the 1970s. Sødahl’s film also attracted the most nominations, and co-star Lena Endre also won the Amanda for best supporting actress. Manuel Alberto Claro of the Limbo crew won for best photography, Nils Sejer for best production design and Hugo Ekornes for best sound.
The film wasn’t nominated, however in the “best Norwegian cinema film” category, which was won by Kongen av Bastøy, a drama about conditions at a boys’ prison in the 1900s and a dangerous escape effort. It also won for best music and its male co-star, Trond Nilssen, won for best supporting actor.
The Amanda award for best actor went to Henrik Rafaelsen of the film Sykt lykkelig (Happy, Happy), which has won widespread acclaim including the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for its young director Anne Sewitsky. The film is also being distributed internationally, including in the US, and is in the running to be Norway’s candidate for the Academy Awards’ best foreign film.
The best director award went to Erik Skjoldbjærg for Nokas, and the Amanda lifetime achievement award went to Bjørn Floberg.
The People’s Prize for best film at the Amanda Awards went to the low-budget but wildly popular film about a troll hunter in Norway, Trolljegeren. It has also caught the attention of filmmakers in the US, where its producers have been negotiating a re-make in Hollywood.
Views and News staff
