About the festival

About Films from the South

The Films from the South festival open doors for its 33th edition 11 NOV – 19 NOV, 2023. The largest film festival in Oslo, Norway presents films and filmmakers from Asia, Africa and Latin America for an expanding audience, under the slogan "See the world from a different angle". The Silver Mirror Award is given each year to the best film in the main competition. In addition, the festival awards the best documentary (Doc:South Award) and the best first or second feature film from debut filmmakers (New Voices Award).

Films from the South’s main ambition is to find and present the jewels of international film production outside of the western hemisphere. Enhancing this mission the festival is also connected to the production support fond SØRFOND, and is responsible for marketing the fond, organizing the funds annual pitching forum, and hosting the Nordic premiere for the completed Sørfond granted films. The Films from the South Festival is organized by The Oslo Festival Agency (Stiftelsen Festivalkontoret), which also organizes the film festivals Arab Film Days and Oslo Pix.

The Films from the South Festival aim to:

Be recognized, both nationally and internationally, as the leading European festival for showcasing quality films from Asia, Africa and Latin America
Be a meeting place for filmmakers from the southern and northern hemispheres
Through our work in SØRFOND, contribute to production of quality films in developing countries
Be an important national cultural, arena with international impact
Through film screenings and debates, contribute to a nuanced portrait of countries beyond the western hemisphere

Guests and Award Winners

Some of the festival’s previous guests:

Park Chan-wook, Hirokazu Koreeda, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Amat Escalante, Gabriel Mascaro, Jafar Panahi, Pablo Larraín, Abderrahmane Sissako, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Raoul Peck, Tolga Karacelik, Mariana Rondón, Karim Aïnouz, Carlos Reygadas.

Winners of the Silver Mirror Award:

No Bears, Jafar Panahi (Iran, 2022)

A Hero, Asghar Farhadi (Iran/France, 2021)

There is no Evil, Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran, 2020)

Wandering Girl, Rubén Mendoza (Colombia, 2019)

Burning, Lee Chang-dong (Sør-Korea 2018)

Araby, João Dumans og Affonso Uchoa (Brasil, 2017)

After the Storm, Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan, 2016)

Ixcanul, Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala, 2015)

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem, Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz (Israel, 2014)

The Dance of Reality, Alejandro Jodorowsky (Chile 2013)

Wolf Children, Mamoru Hosoda (Japan, 2012)

Las Acacias, Pablo Giorgelli (Argentina, 2011)

The Housemaid, Im Sang-Soo (Sør-Korea, 2010)