Here are the Films Competing at the 49th Göteborg Film Festival
Today, the programme for the 49th Göteborg Film Festival – the leading film festival in the Nordic countries – has been unveiled.
This year the festival will screen close to 270 films from 76 countries during ten days, January 23 – February 1, around cinemas in Göteborg and with a selection of films available online in Sweden. In addition, the programme includes evening events, seminars and discussions.
Here is the full line-up of the films competing at the 49th Göteborg Film Festival.
Eight films compete in the Nordic Competition
For the 38th time, Göteborg Film Festival will hand out the award for the Best Nordic Film, the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film. In 2026, eight films will compete for the prestigious award with a prize sum of SEK 400,000 (approx. €37,000), handed out in cooperation with Region Västra Götaland and the City of Gothenburg.
This year's nominees:
The Quiet Beekeeper, by Marcus Carlsson (Sweden)
The Patron, by Julia Thelin (Sweden)
Weightless, by Emilie Thalund (Denmark)
The Love That Remains, by Hlynur Pálmason (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, France)
Tell Everyone, by Alli Haapasalo (Finland)
The Last Resort, by Maria Sødahl (Denmark, Norway, Spain)
Redoubt, by John Skoog (Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, UK, Switzerland)
Butterfly, by Itonje Søimer Guttormsen (Norway, Sweden, UK)
Dragon Award Best Acting
The award is presented to the best actor among the nominated films in the Nordic Competition. Dragon Award Best Acting is a gender-neutral award.
Nominated Actors:
Adam Lundgren – The Quiet Beekeeper
Carla Sehn – The Patron
Marie Helweg Augustsen – Weightless
Marketta Tikkanen – Tell Everyone
Denis Lavant – Redoubt
Danica Curcic, Esben Smed – The Last Resort
Renate Reinsve, Helene Bjørneby – Butterfly
Sverrir Gudnason, Saga Garðarsdóttir – The Love That Remains
Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award
The jury consists of the festival’s international jury for the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film and always includes at least one cinematographer. The award is presented in collaboration with Fujifilm Nordic, with a prize of 50,000 SEK.
Nominated Cinematographers:
Weightless. Cinematographer: Louise McLaughlin
The Last Resort. Cinematographer: John-Erling Holmenes Fredriksen
Butterfly. Cinematographer: David Raedeker
The Quiet Beekeeper. Cinematographer: Antonio Ikovic
The Love That Remains.Cinematographer: Hlynur Pálmason
The Patron. Cinematographer: Johan Hannu
Tell Everyone. Cinematographer: Jarmo Kiuru
Redoubt. Cinematographer: Ita Zbroniec-Zajt
Ingmar Bergman Competition
Eight films are nominated for The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award, the debut prize established in 2007 by the festival’s then honorary chairman, Ingmar Bergman, in collaboration with the Göteborg Film Festival.
This year's nominees:
Little Creatures, by Anne Pinheiro Guimarães (Brazil)
On Your Lap, by Reza Rahadian(Indonesia, Saudi Arabia)
Shape of Momo, by Tribeny Rai(India, South Korea)
Karla, by Christina Tournatzés(Germany)
Bouchra, by Orian Barki & Meriem Bennani (Italy, Morocco, USA)
Solitary, by Eamonn Murphy(Ireland)
Terra vil, by Luís Campos(Portugal, Italy)
Memory, by Vladlena Sandu(France, Netherlands)
Nordic Documentary Competition
The Nordic Documentary Competition is one of the leading documentary film competitions in the Nordics. The prize includes services valued at SEK 250,000 (approx. €23,000) and is awarded in collab with The Chimney Pot.
This year's nominees:
The Curse of Kane, by Even G. Benestad & August Baugstø Hanssen (Norway)
A Song for Love, by Hogir Hirori(Sweden)
Celtic Utopia, by Dennis Harvey, Lars Lovén (Sweden, Ireland)
The End of Quiet, by Mikael Lypinski & Kasper Bisgaard(Sweden)
The Underdog, by Iván Blanco(Sweden)
Silent Legacy, by Jussi Rastas & Jenni Kivistö (Finland, France, Burkina Faso)
International Competition
The International Competition includes 16 international films, and the winner will be selected by the festival audience. Dragon Award Best International Film is awarded to the winner along with SEK 50,000 (approx. €4,700) and is presented by the newspaper Göteborgs-Posten.
This year's nominees:
Zejtune, by Alex Camilleri (Malta, Germany, Qatar)
How to Divorce During the War, by Andrius Blaževičius (Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Czechia)
Kokuho, by Sang-il Lee (Japan)
A Loose End, by Daniel Hendler (Uruguay, Argentina, Spain)
Super Nature, by Ed Sayers (United Kingdom)
Love Me Tender, by Anna Cazenave Cambet (France)
Calle Malaga, by Maryam Touzani (Morocco, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium)
Out of Love, by Nathan Ambrosioni (France)
The Chronology of Water, by Kristen Stewart (France, Latvia, USA)
Broken Voices, by Ondřej Provazník (Czechia, Slovakia)
Hen, by György Pálfi (Greece, Germany, Hungary)
Blue Heron, by Sophy Romvari (Canada, Hungary)
The Baronesses, by Nabil Ben Yadir & Mokhtaria Badaoui (Belgium, Luxembourg, France)
Becoming, by Zhannat Alshanova (France, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Lithuania, Sweden)
The Good Daughter, by Júlia de Paz Solvas (Spain)
The Condor Daughter, by Álvaro Olmos Torrico (Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay)