Swedish director Roy Andersson's You the Living, which won Sweden's national film prize, the Guldbagga, for Best Film, Best Director and Best Script, is among the five nominees for the $70,000 Nordic Council Film Prize 2008, the largest film trophy in Scandinavia.

Launched last year in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, You the Living has screened at more than 60 international film festivals and scored a dozen awards, including the Silver Hugo for Best Director in Chicago.

Norway's entry in the competition is Stian Kristiansen's The Man Who Loved Yngve, which recently received four Amandas - the Norwegian national film prize - among others for Best Film, Best Film for Children and Young Audiences, and Best Director.

Denmark is represented by Jacob Thuesen's Erik Nietzsche-The Early Years, scripted by Lars von Trier about his own experiences when he entered the Danish National Film School in the late 1970s.

Finland and Iceland's candidates are Dome Karukoski's The Home of Dark Butterflies and Baltasar Kormákur's White Night Wedding, respectively.

The Nordic Film & TV Fund announced the nominations today and for the first time the five selected films will be screened in the Nordic capitals before the winner is named on Oct 15.

'We want to pay tribute to the nominated films, as well as to Nord ic cinema,' explained managing director Hanne Palmquist, of the Nordic Film & Tevision Fund. 'Some of the competing films have supposedly not been released in all the Nordic countries. This way general audiences will have the opportunity to see them and meet some of the filmmakers.'

This year's jury comprises Danish lecturer Anne Jerslev, Icelandic author Sigurjon Siurdsson, Finnish editor Johnna Grönqvist, Norwegian critic Le LD Nguyen and Swedish critic Eva af Geijerstam. The prize, which is shared between the film's scriptwriter, director and producer, will be presented during the Nordic Council's autumn session in Helsinki on Oct 28.

Nominations for the Nordic Council Film Prize 2008:

  • Denmark: Erik Nietzsche-The Early Years (De unge år - Erik Nietzsche del 1). Dir: Jacob Thuesen. Scr: Lars von Trier. Prods: Sisse Graum Jørgensen Marie Gade.
  • Finland: The Home of Dark Butterflies (Tummien Perhosten Koti). Dir: Dome Karukoski. Scr: Marko Leino. Prod: Markus Selin.
  • Iceland: White Night Wedding (Brudgumanum). Dir: Baltasar Kormákur. Scr: Kormákur Egill Egillson. Prods: Agnes Johansen, Kormákur.
  • Norway: The Man Who Loved Yngve (Mannen som elsket Yngve). Dir: Stian Kristiansen. Scr: Tore Renberg. Prod: Ygve Sæther
  • Sweden: You the Living (Du levande). Dir/scr: Roy Andersson. Prod: Pernilla Sandström

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