Team Festival Award Partners
Official Selection 2024 Winners 2023 Winners 2022 Winners 2021 Winners 2020 Winners 2019 Winners 2018 Winners 2017 Winners 2016 Winners 2015

Winners 2024

 

Best Nordic Feature - Elskling

Best Documentary Feature - The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

Best Nordic Short - The Remaining Ones

Best Documentary Short - The League, a Future for Freeskiing

Best International Short - Trapped

Best Director - Isa Schieche, The Robbers

Best Cinematography - Simon Bendroth & Jonah Pinny, The League, a Future for Freeskiing

Best Lead Performance - Helga Guren, Elskling

Best Supporting Performance - Sarah Juel Werner, The Idiot

Honorable Mention - Evaleena Vuorenmaa, Fat Dance

Spirit of Positive Change - Fat Dance

Nordic Impact Award - Lasse Hallström

Sprit of Positive Change Award

Instated 2024 in collaboration between Presenting Partner Absolut and NIFF.

The Spirit of Positive Change Award recognizes filmmakers who strive for progression and positive change in the film industry by promoting diversity, highlighting underrepresented voices and challenging stereotypes.

“It’s an “Absolut” privilege to present Kirsikka Saari and Fat Dance with The Spirit of Positive Change Award, recognizing their bold strides in reshaping the film industry. At Absolut, we’ve always believed that the most inspired creations come from mixing – ideas, identities, perspectives, and, of course, drinks. When we mix, we make magic. The work at NIFF’s 10th anniversary festival brought a much-needed splash of diversity to the filmmaking canvas, and with our shared vision of driving inclusion and representation forward, this partnership wasn’t just natural – it was inevitable.”
— Deb Dasgupta, Global Marketing VP at Absolut Vodka

Want to take a long, hard look at yourself?

Click the button for the images from NIFF 2024. Share, tag and credit the photographer!

NIFF 2023

NIFF 2023 trailer

NIFF 2022 trailer

Welcome VENÜ Magazine - Official Media Partner of NIFF10!

Read the wonderful interview with our Founder Linnea Larsdotter Mikkelä here.

Where Nordic Stars align

“Two years ago as we were working on one our festivals, everyone was feeling a little fatigued. I acknowledged that it takes a lot of hard work to put on the festival but I said, think about it. We get to do this. We get to make these filmmakers’ dreams come true. And thanks to us, in a few days some of them will call themselves award winning filmmakers. We make a difference. Yes. it’s hard work, but it’s also all about heart and passion. Doing what you love is a very rare gift, indeed. And to be a part of helping people do what they love makes it even better.”
— Linnea for VENÜ Magazine

VENÜ is a publication that’s carefully crafted, coveted, collected and cherished for its exceptional design and alluring composition. VENÜ offers its readers an eclectic blend of editorial. We are your resource for the latest in art; architecture & design, fashion, film, gourmet food, wine, sustainable lifestyle, technology, travel, yachting and so much more. VENÜ is the leading voice that showcases provocative profiles and exposés of taste-makers and urbane influencers.

Please welcome your host - Angel Pai

How do we best describe Angel Pai? Well, Angel is an actress, producer, host, fine artist, jewelry designer, nonprofit founder, entrepreneur, public speaker, and fashion model. Throughout her career, Angel has seamlessly woven her humanitarian ethos into every facet of her work. Her recent segments for NYC VIBE aires on PBS All Arts, where she focuses on covering humanitarian efforts and stories in the fields of art, fashion, and entertainment.

 

Focus

  • We are proud to be a film festival for filmmakers by filmmakers. We are renowned for our great programming, and active effort in supporting our participating filmmakers in furthering their career.

  • NIFF was the first festival in the world to carbon compensate for all filmmakers flying in to attend the festival. Our products are made from exclusively recycled, or recyclable materials.

    We serve only plant-based food and snacks, and we encourage a pre-loved look for our Red Carpet.

  • NIFF follows its Official Selection statistics to make sure we can be a tipping scale towards any gendered under representation between male and female filmmakers.

  • NIFF works actively to seek out filmmakers and stories from a diverse background to feature in its Official Selection. The Nordic region is not a monolith, and we strive to have our Official Selection be a true representation of that.

  • NIFF is a place for everyone, and we want to host our events at accessible venues. We also keep statistics over our Official Selection to see how differently abled filmmakers are represented.

  • Every year carries a silent theme that is connected to a situation that affects us globally.

    Past themes:

    The Nordic atmosphere - 2015

    Women in Film - 2016

    The Refugee Crisis - 2017

    Breaking Boundaries - 2018

    Climate Change - 2019

    Black Lives Matters - 2020

    Unity - 2021

    Resilience - 2022

Gallery

Newsletter

Network and chill

 

This year’s 10th anniversary NIFF Filmmaker Lounge is hosted by Messy Stars Productions. Take time between films to meet and mingle with filmmakers, NYC-based production teams, and NIFF partners.

Come take photos at the Smuk som et Stjerneskud photo booth, chat with your fellow NIFF selected filmmakers, and immerse yourself in the NIFF experience – all while enjoying food and beverage provided by Björk Café & Bistro, Icelandic Glacial Water, and apple cider from Red Jacket Orchard.

Did you know that if you buy a ticket to any screening at Scandinavia House you have the chance of winning a Producer Kit, courtesy of NIFF?

Saturday, October 19th

Friday, October 18th

You asked, we listened

We are bringing our panels and talkbacks back!

SATURDAY -

11am

Panel: Danielle Earle and Blayze Teicher will join us for a panel discussion, chatting with us about their journey on this career path, how they’ve navigated challenges in their fields, and answer questions from the audience!

SATURDAY

3:45PM - 4:45PM

Breaking the Algorithmic Bias

This year, our Presenting Partner Absolut decided to address the inherent bias in AI-generated fashion images. Together with Copy Lab, Absolut's in-house creative agency, The Mix, generated a portfolio of diverse and inclusive fashion images, free for all to use at image bank Unsplash. The goal is to spark conversations about representation and inspire people to challenge the AI prompting process.

Join us for a discussion and a closer look behind this process.

SATURDAY -

12pm

Meisner Demonstration: Isaac James Byrne presents a Meisner demonstration on Saturday October 19th at 12pm! NYC Acting teacher and 2-time NYIT Award-winning director Isaac James Byrne will briefly explain and demonstrate the technique developed by Sanford Meisner, and how to use it as a director to bring out the best performance in your actors on set. 

A New York Minute

FRAUHAUS is very excited to announce our new competition “A New York Minute”, open to talented filmmakers from all over the world who are interested in filming in New York City. The winner will have their film produced and screened in New York City in the spring of 2025.

Interested in meeting the team behind A New York Minute and maybe even pitch your idea to us in person?

Please visit Frauhaus.nyc/NewYorkMinute for more information.

Have you ever wondered if and if so how all NIFF films are connected? Click the button and loose yourself in our Official Selection.

Messy Stars Productions was founded by Caycee Black, J.D. Brookshire + Haley Rice with the mission to create environments where creativity can bloom. With every project they take on, they strive to manage it with fun, fairness, and freedom. Their first short Filling the Void (2022) won best comedy at Portland Comedy Film Festival and was selected for Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, San Diego International Film Awards, London Indie Short Festival, Austin International Art Festival. Their next project This is Love!? written by Tom Hausher is set to release in January 2025. MSP is NYC-based and actively looking to collaborate with other like-minded artists. 

Please welcome your hosts

“MSP was delighted to connect with NIFF for their 10th anniversary— they’ve been attending the festival for years, and love how this festival empowers and connects filmmakers from all over the world.

They’re honored to host the Filmmaker Lounge 2024 to bring artists together and join the NIFF family!”
— Caycee, J.D. and Haley