Premi

Denmark

Camilla Hjelm Knudsen's cinematography creates a tension that supports the uniquely suggestive atmosphere of the film with great perfection. From the first moment, the visual language captures and impresses the spectator, demonstrating in great subtlety how much composition and lighting can contribute to the dramaturgy of a film and support story and characters in an unobtrusive way.

With extraordinary attention to detail, Stefanie Bieker achieves a high level of realism and at the same time an intense lyricism that the clothes breathe throughout the story. She takes extreme care to express the different characters, making each of them look like an individual, and, in doing so she surpasses the difficulty of working with the restrained palette of uniforms and the negation of individuality that they represent. The evident harmony with the other visual departments makes every frame of this movie come alive.

The make-up in the LAND OF MINE stands out in a discreet and unobtrusive way, at the same time contributing to the dramaturgy of the film. Hair and faces perfectly match the costumes creating magnificent, full characters.

Jury statement: "A man degraded by the War discovers compassion for a group of young German soldiers consigned to clear a beautiful landscape infested with mines. A powerful metaphor about the promise of coming home and search for hope in the hellish aftermath of the Second World War."

2nd Place

"A nerve-racking film which will keep you in its grip from beginning to end. While living in constant fear of death, small acts of tenderness and humanity steers the film into an emotional direction. The cast's small but intense acting will leave you watching with a lump in your throat."

2nd Place

Danish entry

"The award goes to a film which shows the tragic cycles of war, when the winners adopt the brutal techniques of the losers. A very intense, suspensful and beautiful film, which depicts the exploitation of children swept into war and that uncovers new facts about postwar Denmark. The winner of The Dragon Award Best Nordic Film 2016 is Land of Mine, by Martin Zandvliet."

"The winner of The Scandinavian Locations' prize for 2016 is a film that turns a beautiful setting into a monster. It did to us what Jaws did to the sea. We never dare going there again! It spoiled our childhood memories. This location turned into a gruesome setting in all its beauty by DOP Camilla Hjelm and director Anders Zandvliet. The winner is Land of Mine."