"The Artist and the Thief" wins Film Critics Award

Benjamin Ray (right) and Kart Bertel Nordland received the Gold Root Award for Best Television Documentary for VGTV’s ‘The Artist and Thief’ in May this year. (Ree produced the film, while Nordland is the film’s art thief.) Photo: Espen Sully/TV2

The Film Critic’s Award for Best Norwegian Feature Film last year was awarded to Benjamin Reis, The Artist and the Thief.

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The rationale for the election states:

The Film Critics’ Prize 2021 goes to a one-of-a-kind film that caught the attention of the Norwegian and international audience. It shows us two powerful human insistents on opposite sides of society who find something unexpected in each other – a nearby community evolving in front of the camera.

The film depicts how Oslo-based Czech artist Barbora Kiselkova obtained two works stolen from her exhibition of Karl Bertil Nordland – which she then paints a portrait of. Rey followed “The Artist” and “The Thief” for several years.

The Artist and the Thief was on several lists of the best films of 2020, with the BBC, Washington Post, New York Times, Rolling Stone, IndieWire, Screen – and director Pedro Almodóvar – highlighting the film as One of the highlights of the movie year 2020. Also on the Oscar shortlist.

The Film Critics’ Award is a Norwegian award established by the Norwegian Film Critics Association in 1948. As of 1997, it has been awarded to the best Norwegian feature film from the previous calendar year. They will not be awarded if they do not find a good winner for a year.

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