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Amanda Award

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Amanda Award
Awarded forExcellence inNorwegianfilm.
CountryNorway
Presented byNorwegian International Film Festival
First awarded1985
WebsiteOfficial website

TheAmanda Award(Norwegian:Amandaprisen) is an award given annually at theNorwegian International Film FestivalinHaugesund,Norway,to promote and improveNorwegian film.The award originated in 1985, and has since 2005 been exclusively a film award (nottelevision). Winners are awarded a trophy by the NorwegiansculptorKristian Kvakland,and the name—and theme—of the sculpture comes from a legendary local woman from the 1920s. The award ceremony is marked every year by a major, nationally televised event.

History[edit]

The Amanda Award was instituted in 1985 as part of theNorwegian International Film Festival"to increase the quality of and further the interest for Norwegian films".[1]The year 1993 marked an exception to the norm, when the so-called "Nordic Amanda" included contribution from all the Nordic countries.[2][3]From 2005 onwards,TV-dramawas no longer included among the categories honoured, as the TV-specific award "Gullruten"had taken over this function. Instead the award became exclusively for films.[4]Around the same time another change occurred also. Since the beginning, the award ceremony had been produced in cooperation with the Norwegian state broadcasting corporationNorsk rikskringkasting(NRK). In 2006, however, NRK ended the partnership, and the show has since that time been the responsibility of the private broadcasting companyTV 2.[5][6]

In the year 2007, a "People's Amanda" ( "Folkets Amanda") was awarded for the first time, where the winner was arrived at by popular vote.[7]The first winner of the award was the horror movieFritt Vilt,directed byRoar Uthaug.[8]

Sculpture[edit]

The name "Amanda" is derived from a song, orsea shanty,titled "Amanda fra[from]Haugesund".[9]Supposedly the song in turn refers to a real woman from the 1920s – a single mother who made a living from selling liquor to sailors during theprohibitionperiod.[2]

The figurine that is awarded to prize winners originated from a competition held by the local newspaperHaugesunds Avisin 1985, to create a sculpture of the legendary Amanda. The competition was won byKristian KvaklandfromNesoddeninAkershus.The full-size sculpture now stands outside the newspaper's office, but a miniature version was adopted as a trophy for the Amanda Award. The figurine is 30 cm (11.81 in) tall, with a skirt measuring 14 cm (5.51 in) in diameter. While the current sculpture is hollow and weighs 2.5 kg (5.51 lbs), for the first few years it was made of solid metal. Weighing in at 4.5 kg (9.92 lbs) it was difficult to hoist for many winners.[2]

It was one of these prizes that, in the year 1986, was won by directorAnja Breien,who decided to sell it through a newspaper advert, as a protest against that year's budget cuts for Norwegian film. TheSwedish Film Institute,which had experienced similar cuts and sympathized, bought the sculpture. In 2005, as Breien was presented with an honorary award, she was also given back the original sculpture by formerMinister of Cultureand director of the Swedish Film Institute,Åse Kleveland.[10]

Show[edit]

The award show has long been a central point of the film festival, as well as a major television event for the whole of Norway. Particularly in earlier years, international stars were sometimes brought in to enhance the prestige of the event. Examples of this areRoger Moore,who was a special guest at the first ceremony in 1985,[2]andDiana Rossin 1987, then married to Norwegian entrepreneurArne Næss, Jr.[11]Other international names appearing in the show as presenters have includedNed Beatty,Lauren Bacall,Jon Voight,Brian Cox,Jeremy Irons,Ben KingsleyandPierce Brosnan.

The show has in recent years been hosted by prominent Norwegian comedians.Jon Almaas,known from the TV-showNytt på nytt,played host for several years in the early 2000s.[12]Thomas Giertsen,known as astand-upcomedian and from several TV-shows, has hosted the show in recent years.[6]An episode that received some media attention in 2005 was when hostMarit ÅsleinandMinister of Culture and Church Affairsfrom the Christian conservative partyKrF,Valgerd Svarstad Haugland,kissed on stage as part of a humorous routine.[13]

Awards and winners[edit]

Main article:List of Amanda Award winners

The only actor ever to have won four Amanda Awards isBjørn Sundquist.These were awarded for the moviesOver grensen(1987),Søndagsengler(1996) andSejer - se deg ikke tilbake(2000), as well as an Honorary Award in 2000.Ane Dahl Torphas won three awards for specific acting roles: she won Best Actress for her roles inSvarte penger - hvite løgner(2004) andGymnaslærer Pedersen(2006), and was the first ever to receive the newly created award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her effort inLønsjin 2008.Sverre Anker Ousdalhas also been named Best Actor twice, forKreditorenein 1990 andBlodsbåndin 1998, and won the Honorary Award in 2009.Nils Ole Oftebro,Espen SkjønbergandAnneke von der Lippehave all been honoured twice each – Oftebro and Skjønberg once as lead actors and once as supporting actors. Among the directors,Ola Solum,Nils Gaup,Berit NesheimandBent Hamerhave each received two awards.[14]Erik Gustavson has the rare distinction of having won in three different categories: for best film and best documentary, in addition to winning the special "Nordic Amanda" in 1993. This is an accomplishmentKjersti Holmencan also claim, for winning the Best Actress award in 2000, Best Supporting Role in 1993, and the Honorary Award in 2009. The only film to have won the three main awards – best film, best actor and best actress – isBudbringerenin 1997.[15]

ActressLiv Ullmannis the Honorary President of the Norwegian International Film Festival, and was awarded the Honorary Amanda in 1992.[16]

As of 2010, the categories awarded are:

  • Best NorwegianFilmin Theatrical Release
  • BestDirector(for films in theatrical release)
  • The People’s Amanda (audience vote)
  • BestActor
  • Best Actress
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role
  • BestChildren’s and Youth Film
  • BestOriginal Screenplay
  • Best Cinematography
  • Best Sound Design
  • Best Music
  • Best Editing
  • Best Production Design / Scenography
  • Best Visual Effects
  • BestShort Film
  • BestDocumentary
  • The foreign film of the year in Theatrical Release
  • The Amanda Committee's GoldenClapper(technical award)
  • The Amanda Committee's Honorary Award

References[edit]

  1. ^"Amanda Award".TheNorwegian International Film Festival.Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2008.Retrieved16 January2008.
  2. ^abcd"The history of Amanda".TheNorwegian International Film Festival.Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2008.Retrieved16 January2008.
  3. ^"Amanda Awards, Norway: 1993".IMDb.Archived fromthe originalon 12 December 2004.Retrieved16 January2008.
  4. ^Ellinor Hansen (23 June 2005)."Amanda blir ren filmpris"(in Norwegian).Aftenposten.Archived fromthe originalon 3 August 2009.Retrieved16 January2008.
  5. ^Leif Gjerstad (26 August 2005)."NRK bryter med Amanda"(in Norwegian).Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.Archived fromthe originalon 15 January 2006.Retrieved16 January2008.
  6. ^abBjarne Laastad (9 August 2007)."Amandaklar Giertsen"(in Norwegian).TV 2 (Norway).Archived fromthe originalon 23 February 2013.Retrieved16 January2008.
  7. ^"Her er Amanda-nominasjonene"(in Norwegian).TV 2 (Norway).26 June 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011.Retrieved16 January2008.
  8. ^Ralf Lofstad (17 August 2007)."Tre priser til" Reprise ""(in Norwegian).Dagbladet.Retrieved16 January2008.
  9. ^Lars Raknes."Amanda fra Haugesund (lyrics)"(in Norwegian).Haugesundmunicipality. Archived fromthe originalon 14 February 2007.Retrieved16 January2008.
  10. ^John Rasmussen (15 December 2005)."Fikk Amandaen tilbake etter 16 år"(in Norwegian).Dagbladet.Retrieved16 January2008.
  11. ^Tom Stalsberg (23 September 1999)."Diana Ross (55) arrestert etter puppekrangel på Heathrow flyplass"(in Norwegian).Dagbladet.Archived fromthe originalon 5 June 2011.Retrieved16 January2008.
  12. ^"Mye norsk under årets Haugesund-festival"(in Norwegian).Norwegian Film Institute.11 August 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 24 March 2004.Retrieved16 January2008.
  13. ^"Valgerd fikk Amanda-kysset"(in Norwegian).Dagbladet.26 August 2005.Retrieved16 January2008.
  14. ^Solum's second win came after the award for best director was created in 2005. Nesheim won once for best children's film as well as once in the "Best Film" category.
  15. ^"AMANDA-VINNERE 1985-2006"(PDF).Filmweb.no. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 20 September 2008.Retrieved2 March2008.
  16. ^"About the Festival".TheNorwegian International Film Festival.Archived fromthe originalon 7 March 2008.Retrieved2 March2008.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amanda_Award&oldid=1226926697"