The Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund and the Cork International Film Festival are pleased to reveal the winner of the tenth edition of the prestigious Audentia Award forBest Female Director: Janicke Askevold for the film Solomamma.
A 2025 drama film based on a screenplay that Janicke Askevold wrote with Jørgen Færøy Flasnes and Mads Stegger, it is a co-production between Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, and Finland.
The film is about Edith, played by Lisa Loven Kongsli, a journalist aged 40 who decides to become a single mum with the help of a sperm donation. But the challenges of solo parenting prove rather different than she expected and when the identity of the donor unexpectedly surfaces, Edith decides to seek him out. Supported by Herbert Nordrum as Niels, Céline Engbrightsen, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Nasrin Khusrawi, and Kaveh Tehrani, the film portrays important contemporary feminist and societal themes.
The jury which selected this film included Jane Yao, Producer and Programmer, Alex Pentek, Contemporary Artist and Sculptor and Emma Scott, head of Audiences, Fís Eireann/Screen Ireland, who also represents Ireland on Eurimages’ Board of Management.
In announcing the award, the jury commented on Solomamma: “It is an aesthetically rich portrayal of a woman determined to live life on her own terms, prioritising her desires above imposed rules. The film conveys the message that the meaning of a family lies in love and respect, which matter more than blood ties. It's an elegant and straightforward film that also carries a bittersweet moment in life, but it combines this with rejuvenating humour. It explores what it means to stand by one's values and make alternative choices. It is therefore our great pleasure to award this year's Audentia Award to Janicke Askevold for what we consider a noteworthy film experience.”
Further to recommendations made by a panel of independent film industry experts, the Eurimages Board of Management selected the following three festivals to host the annual Audentia Award for the period 2024 to 2026:
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Who will win the 2017 Audentia Award at the Locarno Festival?
The Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund has joined forces with Locarno Festival to present the second edition of the Audentia Award for best female director, during the 70th edition of the Festival, which will be held from 2 to 12 August 2017.
The award, a cash prize of 30,000 euros, has been instigated by Eurimages alongside a raft of other measures to promote greater gender equality in the film industry.
Audentia – meaning "courage" or "bravery" in Latin – reflects two vital qualities for any woman wishing to pursue a career in film directing. With the Audentia Award, Eurimages intends to celebrate women who have had the courage to make that choice, by giving their work greater visibility and inspiring other women to follow in their footsteps.
10 films have been pre-selected from across all Locarno Festival’s categories and all films by female directors to compete for the second edition of the Prize.
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