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November 12 – 2023
Over 22,000 visits at Noordelijk Film Festival
The 43rd edition of the Noordelijk Film Festival counted over 22,000 visits from film lovers. Spread over five days, more than 100 screenings were programmed. ‘One Life’ was the closing film at Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie on Sunday night.
Hester Simons, director of the umbrella foundation Film in Friesland, speaks of a “fantastic edition”. ,,I want to thank you as visitors for coming. For your enthusiasm and fun. We have had great reactions,” she told the audience in the main hall of Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie in her closing remarks.
“What stands out is that Dutch-made films have done incredibly well,” she concludes. ,,Sometimes you still hear that something was ‘pretty good by Dutch standards’, but we have passed that stage now. We can be proud of what’s produced here.”
The new programme lines also caught on well, Simons said. ,,We had many specials, such as Sound & Cinema, Film & Food and Memmetaal. That last line is really unique and we want to see if we can expand it further.”
That desire is also there for the industry programme, the programme component for filmmakers with workshops and master classes. ,,In that, we have made a nice step. We are finding that there is increasing interest in that.”
Audience award for Arctic Mirage
Traditionally, several prizes were awarded on the final day. Thus, the audience award went to Arctic Mirage by guitarist Tristan Visser and filmmaker Jeroen van de Bovenkamp. The latter accepted the award from Marrit Greidanus of the programme team.
Arctic Mirage premiered on Friday. The screening was enhanced by a live performance and received a standing ovation afterwards. Visitors rated the film with a 9.7. Shortly behind it was ‘Vogels kan je niet melken’, the documentary about a farming family De Boer from Tjerkwerd.
Noorderkroon-Awards
Also a tradition on the last festival day: the presentation of the Noorderkroon Awards. The best feature film was Zomervacht elected, with an honourable mention for Kiddo. Best feature-length documentary, according to the three-member jury, was Het leven is niet kort genoeg and in the short fiction category aardappeleterswas crowned as the winner. Warffum Danst received the award for best short docu and, among the student films, the jury found Silent Waters the finest. Skuld won in the ‘amateur films’ category. The biggest talent among filmmakers was also chosen. That honour went to Igor de Boer of the film Joram Krol: Quid pro quo.
Finally, the winner in the Filmkick Competition was announced for the tenth time. Tobias van Raaij will receive ten thousand euros to implement his plan. Vastelander .
Award for Aki Kaurismäki
On Saturday afternoon, the Award for Special Contribution to Northern Cinema was awarded to Aki Kaurismäki. His newest film, Fallen Leaves, was the opening film of the festival on Wednesday night. The award is an antique compass that symbolises the festival and filmmaker’s focus on the North, near and far. “With this award, we honour him for his unique contribution to Northern cinema,” said programmer Harmen Huizenga.
Next year’s festival will be from 13 to 17 November.