CHAIRMAN OF THE FINAL CUT FOR REAL BOARD, JANUS BILLESKOV JANSEN, TURNS 70

Hip hip hooray and congratulations to, Janus Billeskov Jansen, who is turning 70 today!

Debuting in the 1970’s, Janus has for more than five decades been among the best Danish editors and a key figure in the Danish film industry. With more than 100 film titles on his resume and an impressive share of prominent film awards and nominations, Janus is a true gem and an inspiring colleague for all of us at Final Cut for Real. Through his long career he has collaborated with leading film directors such as Nils Malmros, Bille August, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen and Joshua Oppenheimer on both feature and documentary films. Lately he has been editing this year's Danish Oscar candidate ‘Flee' by Jonas Poher Rasmussen.

We wish him the most wonderful birthday!

‘FLEE’ AND ‘PRESIDENT’ AT THE CINEMA EYE HONORS 2022

We are super proud that ‘Flee’ directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, produced by Monica Hellström & Signe Byrge Sørensen is nominated in nothing less than seven categories at the 15th annual Cinema Eye Honors!

Furthermore, Camilla Nielsson’s ‘President’ produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen is nominated in the category for Outstanding Achievement in Production!

The Cinema Eye Honors are recognizing outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction or documentary filmmaking and include awards for the disciplines of directing, producing, cinematography and editing. The ceremony will take place at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens on January 13, 2022.

CAMILLA NIELSSON RECEIVES THE 'ROOS' AWARD

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On Thursday evening, following the annual documentary seminar at the Danish Film Institute, DOKDAG 2021, director Camilla Nielsson received the Roos award, which acknowledges an extraordinary contribution to Danish documentary film.

The selection committee (Head of the Danish Film institute Claus Ladegaard, Head of the Documentary Unit Ane Mandrup, and last year’s recipient KG Film’s post production guru Anders V. Christensen) gave the following motivation:

“At a time when democracy is being challenged in several Western countries and our neighbours on the other side of the Baltic Sea are curtailing independent courts, Camilla Nielsson's film reminds us that democracy is a fragile entity that is extraordinarily difficult to build. Political rulers do not readily relinquish power, and Zimbabwe's recent political history is the narrative of a sham democracy and the consequences when institutions are not free and independent.

Camilla Nielsson’s method is the NOW, the observing now, where the audience experiences what she experiences behind the camera. She insists on being present when the action unfolds over several years, closely following the task of writing a new constitution in ‘Democrats’, or uninterrupted for several months as during filming of the presidential election in Zimbabwe in ‘President’.

At the same time, she has a completely unique ability to capture the intense drama in political negotiations, in the polite exchanges and administrative processes, which helps to make her film fundamentally thrilling from start to finish.

Camilla Nielsson invests all of her cinematic talent and all of herself to give audiences access to Zimbabwe's political reality as it unfolds for the people, far from the Western press and election observers.

Camilla Nielsson is uncompromising and fearless - both during filming, when she risks everything to capture systematic repression, and after filming, when she sues Robert Mugabe, who banned her film in Zimbabwe.

With 'Democrats' and 'President', Camilla Nielsson writes history. She writes Zimbabwe's recent political history, she writes film history with her unique approach and her epic observant political thriller method, and she writes the history of democracy, thereby making it relevant to anyone who either longs for democracy or takes democracy for granted - and this is why she receives this year's Roos Award. “

Of course we at FCFR wholeheartedly agree with the selection committee’s decision and motivation, and congratulate Camilla with the award - it is extremely well deserved!

Previous recipients of the Roos Award includes Signe Byrge Sørensen, producer at Final Cut for Real, Janus Billeskov Jansen, editor and head of the board of Final Cut for Real, and frequent FCFR collaborators Jon Bang Carlsen, Niels Pagh Andersen, Lars Skree, Henrik Bohn Ipsen and Anders V. Christensen.

Click here to read more about the award in this article from the Danish Film Institute (in Danish)

'FLEE' RECEIVES THE NORDIC COUNCIL FILM PRIZE 2021

We are so proud and happy that Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary film ‘Flee’ has won the Nordic Council Film Prize 2021!

The Prize is shared by film director and screenwriter Jonas Poher Rasmussen, screenwriter Amin and producers Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen from Final Cut for Real and Charlotte de la Gournerie from Sun Creature. The award was announced Tuesday evening November 2, during the live broadcast of the awards ceremony from Copenhagen.

As part of their motivation, the Nordic jury states:

“It is not often that aesthetic, political and humane dimensions combine in a such sublime and artistic piece of film as in 'Flee'."

"We find that 'Flee' tells a necessary, relevant and touching story about how all people, regardless of their ethnicity, background, age or sexual orientation, have the right to a happy childhood and a safe place to call home. The film was created before many people in Afghanistan recently had to flee from civil war and its relevance has only increased in the wake of these events. But the director manages to not become self-pitying or sentimental in their way of storytelling."