Church of Sweden film award goes to Every face has a name

The award-winning film Every face has a name is about survivors of the concentration camps who arrived in Sweden in 1945. Photo: Göteborg International Film Festival.

This evening the Church of Sweden’s 2015 film award was presented to the documentary Every face has a name, directed by Magnus Gertten. The prize of SEK 50,000 and the Angelos icon were presented by cathedral dean Karin Burstrand from Gothenburg Cathedral parish, in conjunction with the film’s premiere during the Göteborg International Film Festival.

The winning documentary is about survivors from the Nazi concentration camps who arrived at the port of Malmö in 1945. Filmmaker Magnus Gertten traced several of the refugees who appear on newsreel footage from their arrival in Sweden, and asked them to tell him their story. The result is a poignant testimony about the moment of liberation.

The jury’s citation: “A painfully poignant film about people fleeing over the years. Ships arrive in two ports: Malmö in 1945 and Pozzallo today. Behind every anonymous person there is a human life. Names are put to faces and thereby their stories are, too. Only then can liberation actually take place.Magnus Gertten’s outstanding documentary asks questions that are extremely topical. Is our compassion borderless? What does it mean to be a human being? Every face has a name is a reminder of the humanistic values that give humanity hope.”

Magnus Gertten has undertaken many film projects since his directorial debut in 1998 with Blådårar. They include the much-discussed Hoppets hamn and last year’s major documentary sensation Tusen bitar. Listen to Magnus Gertten here in an interview about Every face has a name, on the radio station P1.

Press photos from the film festival:Director Magnus GerttenThe film Every face has a nameFor press photos from the award ceremony, contact the Church of Sweden’s duty press service on
+46 (0)18 16 94 75.

The jury of the Church of Sweden’s 2015 film award:
Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, doctor of theology and bishop emerita, Härnösand Diocese.
Lena Runge, film editor and dramaturgical consultant in editing. Senior lecturer at the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts and qualified psychosynthesis therapist and Imago therapist.
Mikael Ringlander, chair of the jury. Priest and project manager of the cultural collaboration Kultursamverkan at the Church of Sweden in Gothenburg Diocese and Se människan (See the human being). Former press photographer.
Charlotte Wells, art historian, the Church of Sweden’s officer for cultural issues and board member of INTERFILM (the International Interchurch Film Organization).

The Angelos film award
The Church of Sweden’s Angelos film award is presented annually to a Swedish feature film that premieres at the Göteborg International Film Festival. The film must be of high artistic quality and raise the profile of existential, justice and social issues in its plot and form of expression.

Further reading: The Church of Sweden’s film work The Church of Sweden’s film blog

Contacts
Mikael Ringlander, priest and project manager of the cultural collaboration Kultursamverkan at the Church of Sweden in Gothenburg DioceseTel. +46 (0)705 18 19 95
Charlotte Wells,officer for cultural issues at the Central Church Office in UppsalaTel: +46 (0)70 543 71 22The Church of Sweden duty press service can be contacted on +46 (0)18 16 94 75.