Foto: Motlys
At Saturday’s awards ceremony during the Berlin Film Festival, Dag Johan Haugerud’s film Dreams received the Golden Bear. This marks the first time a Norwegian feature film has won this prize.
"Never before has a Norwegian film received this honor. That it is now happening with Dreams is a fantastic recognition of Dag Johan Haugerud as a filmmaker and a powerful conclusion to the launch of the trilogy Sex, Dreams, Love, all of which have reached international audiences at major festivals," says Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute.
A project as artistically ambitious as this trilogy, exploring queer love and sexuality, has now proven to have a profound impact far beyond Norway’s borders. We know these are stories that could not have been made just anywhere, yet they are now set to meet audiences across the world—with one of the most prestigious film trophies in hand. That is truly remarkable," says Kjersti Mo.
With Dreams, Dag Johan Haugerud and his filmmaking team returned to Berlin, where Sex—the first film in the trilogy—had its world premiere in February 2024. In the meantime, the third film in the trilogy, Kjærlighet, was featured in the main competition in Venice.
"We are overwhelmed by the reception of DRØMMER here in Berlin. Winning the Golden Bear, in addition to the FIPRESCI Prize from the international critics and the German arthouse cinema award earlier today, feels insanely good. The trilogy began its international journey here in Berlin with SEX last year, KJÆRLIGHET was in the main competition in Venice, and now closing the circle by winning the Golden Bear feels absolutely perfect," say Motlys producers Yngve Sæther and Hege Hauff Hvattum.
The FIPRESCI Award is one of the most prestigious honors in film criticism, presented by the International Federation of Film Critics, an organization of professional film critics and journalists. This organization grants awards at the world’s largest film festivals, and in Berlin, Dreams received the prize during a ceremony on Saturday morning.
Dag Johan Haugerud also received the FIPRESCI Award at the Venice Film Festival 2024 for Love, the final installment in the Sex, Dreams, Love trilogy.
The FIPRESCI jury consists of film critics selected from 50 member countries. This year’s jury members were Ahmed Shawky (Egypt), Maja Korbecka (Poland) and Bianca Jasmina Rauch (Germany).
The “Prize of the Guild of German Arthouse cinemas in Competition” also went to Dream. The jury of is composed of three members who run cinemas and are members of the AG Kino - Gilde e.V, i.e. association of German Art House Cinemas.
A 16-year-old girl describes her all-consuming infatuation with her female teacher in a way that makes both her mother and grandmother want to publish her diary because it is so well written. At the same time, they are reminded of their longings, while the daughter loses ownership of the love. Sex Dreams Love A film trilogy that consists of three loosely connected stories that in different ways speak about the way we behave to achieve our inner longings. Moral fables and existential comedies about sexuality and queer sensibility are set in Oslo today.
Dreams has received NOK 6,350,000 in production support from the Norwegian Film Institute.
Manager International Relations, Feature Films
