We are happy to announce that BRACE YOUR HEART-director Amanda Kernell has been honored with the Silver Shell for Best Director at the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Following BRACE YOUR HEART’s Special Jury Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in the Platform programme just last week, the film has now received the Silver Shell Prize for Amanda Kernell’s directing, further underscoring its distinctive voice and strong international potential.
BRACE YOUR HEART is based on writer and director Kernell’s own original screenplay, where she returns to Northern Sweden with a story set in a remote Sámi community with reindeer herding at the heart of their nature and livelihood. The film follows a young woman torn between following her heart and navigating the expectations and traditions of her family, work, and culture.
Kernell first gained international recognition with the critically acclaimed SAMI BLOOD which premiered at the Venice Days section of Venice Film Festival in 2016, where she received the Fedeora Award for Best Director of a Debut Film. The film went on to become a festival favourite establishing Kernell as one of Scandinavia’s most promising emerging voices. Her second feature, CHARTER, world premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was selected as Sweden’s official entry for Academy Awards® in the Best International Feature Film category, confirming her reputation as a distinctive auteur with a unique cinematic vision. BRACE YOUR HEART is her third feature film.
Synopsis
In a remote Sámi village high in the mountains, 20-year-old Ejva inherits her late father's reindeer herd. As she struggles to keep the herd thriving, local leader Heaika develops romantic feelings for her, and though hesitant, she feels compelled to accept. But everything changes when Nejla, Heaika’s cousin, arrives, and Ejva discovers true love for the first time. Betrayed and jealous, Heaika reacts harshly, leaving Ejva with a condition that makes her hands shake uncontrollably, threatening her ability to care for the herd. Now, Ejva must find a way to reclaim control over her life and her future.
BRACE YOUR HEART is written and directed by Amanda Kernell and produced by Eva Åkergren for Nordisk Film Production. The film is coproduced with Forest People, Compass Films, Invictus, Nordisk Film Production Denmark, Filmpool Nord, SVT and Film i Väst and supported by The Swedish Film Institute, The Danish Film Institute, The International Sámi Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fund, Bulgarian National Film Center, Icelandic Film Centre, Eurimages and Arktisk Film Norge. Local distribution by Nordisk Film. International sales is handled by TrustNordisk.