Nordic Council Film Prize 2026 to “the instant classic of Nordic cinema” Sentimental Value

Out of this year’s six films, the Nordic jury has selected Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi) as the winner. Director/writer Joachim Trier, writer Eskil Vogt, producers Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar are awarded the Nordic Council Film Prize 2026.

The prize money of DKK 300,000 is each year equally shared between the winning  film’s director(s), writer(s) and producer(s), to underscore how film as an art form is  brought about by collaboration.

Sentimental Value was first nominated by the national jury on August 24. All winners  of Nordic Council prizes are selected by pan-Nordic juries. The five awards that were  announced today are: The Film Prize, the Music Prize, the Literature Prize, the Children & Young People’s Literature Prize, and the Environment Prize. For the first  time ever all awards went to one and the same country: Norway. As the Literature  Prize went to Sámi Norwegian writer Sigbjørn Skåden, the win marks a triumph for  the Sámi region as well.

The Award Ceremony will be hosted by the Nordic Council on October 27, and distributed on norden.org. The “Nordlys” prize statuettes are delivered during the  ceremony.

The members of the Nordic film jury were Jacob Ludvigsen (Denmark), Jan Berg Jørgensen (The Faroe Islands), Jóna Finnsdóttir (Iceland), Anne Gjelsvik (Norway), Jonas Holmberg (Sweden), and the chair Marjo Pipinen (Finland). After its decision, the jury agreed that Trier and his team have created “an instant classic of Nordic cinema”.

The jury motivation reads as follows: 'This year’s winner of the Nordic Council Film Prize is a rich, mature, and complex  film that explores broad themes, including family, history, the meaning of home, and the possibilities of art. The film draws inspiration from the European film tradition of  the 1960s and 1970s without ever feeling old-fashioned. Director Joachim Trier has created a film characterised by a cinematic musicality, employing a range of  narrative choices and visual ideas that ultimately come together to form a meaningful whole.

Sentimental Value is a film with many narrative layers, in which every second feels charged with meaning, and which continues to grow with every watch. Through a strong screenplay, beautiful cinematography, and powerful performances from all of its central cast, the film succeeds both in casting a satirical eye on filmmaking and in offering a subtle portrayal of complex family relationships. Together with his longstanding collaborators, Trier has created his most mature work to date with Sentimental Value, developing a cinematic language which allows a story to be told that feels both personal and universal'.

Sentimental Value is the highest-grossing Norwegian film of all time internationally. The film, which is top financed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond, has received a remarkable number of awards, with 85 wins and 314 nominations, according to IMDb. In addition to the director, scriptwriters and producers that win the Nordic  Council Film Prize 2026, the film’s international team includes the Norwegian  actresses Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, American actress Elle Fanning, Danish cinematographer Kasper Tuxen, Danish editor Olivier Bugge Coutté, and Polish composer Hania Rani, who  have all been recognised in different ways for their contribution to the film's success.

Trier and Vogt won their first Nordic Council Film Prize in 2016 with Louder than  Bombs, while producers Ekerhovd and Berentsen Ottmar receive the award for the  first time. After the national nominations were announced in August, all film  nominees spoke with Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 

The Film Prize was established in 2002, and has been delivered annually since  2005. It is one of the region’s most esteemed cultural honours, awarded to a Nordic produced feature film or documentary with cinema distribution.

Greenland did not submit a film for the Nordic Council Film Prize 2026. This year, five feature films and one documentary were nominated. The other nominated titles were:
• Beginnings (Begyndelser, Denmark)
• Birita (The Faroe Islands)
• A Light That Never Goes Out (Jossain on valo joka ei sammu, Finland)
• The Love That Remains (Ástin sem eftir er, Iceland)
• Kevlar Soul (Kevlarsjäl, Sweden)  

LC