From Norway with Love : Cannes Grand Prix to Trier’s Sentimental Value

Grand Prix to Sentimental Value Film history was made when Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi) was awarded the Grand Prix at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival on Saturday evening. This is the first time a Norwegian film has received this award in Cannes.
 
- I am deeply proud of the film Joachim Trier and his close collaborators have created. It strikes audiences with rare emotional force - it lingers long after the credits roll and evokes a wide range of feelings. This is film at its most powerful: the most vital and unifying art form of our time. Achieving this takes both emotional courage and exceptional artistic precision. With this award, Trier receives the highest international recognition ever given to a Norwegian feature film — and it is fully deserved says Kjersti Mo, Managing Director of the Norwegian Film Institute.
 
Director Kjersti Mo was present in Cannes during the award ceremony alongside the film’s crew and cast and also attended the film’s world premiere earlier this week, where Trier, the ensemble, and the crew received an historic 19-minute standing ovation.
 
- I don’t think we fully grasp just how extraordinary this is. That a small film nation like Norway — producing only around 20 feature films a year — can win one of the most prestigious international awards ahead of the US and major European countries hundreds of films annually, is almost unbelievable. I have great faith in the future of Norwegian cinema, and in the remarkable artists who tell local stories in our own language — stories that move people across borders. Both price winning films so far this year are marked by emotional depth and artistic sensitivity. It takes courage to be that vulnerable on screen — and that courage is now being recognised at the highest level, says Mo.
 
Joachim Trier’s Third Film in Competition in Cannes
Sentimental Value is the ninth Norwegian film in the main competition in Cannes, following Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World in 2021 and Louder than Bombs in 2015. In 1979, Anja Breien participated with Next of Kin (Arven). Director Erik Løchen, Trier’s grandfather, competed with The Hunt (Jakten) in 1960. Arne Skouen participated with Nine Lives (Ni Liv, 1958), The Flame (Det brenner i natt, 1955), Circus Fandango (1954), and Forced Landing (Nødlanding, 1952).
 
About Sentimental Value
Sentimental Value, is an intimate and moving exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.
 
The two sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he’s given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.
 
About the Film
Sentimental Value competed in the Cannes main competition alongside 22 films from across the globe. It marks Joachim Trier’s fourth film in Cannes, where he has also served as a jury member in 2014 and 2022.
 
Sentimental Value was shot in Oslo in autumn 2024. The screenplay is co-written by Trier and his longtime collaborator Eskil Vogt. Produced by Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film) and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (Eye Eye Pictures), the film is a Norwegian-French-German-Swedish-Danish co-production with investment and support from among others, the Norwegian Film Institute, Oslo Film Fund, Zefyr Media Fund, Storyline, the Swedish Film Institute, Film i Väst, the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, and the Nordic Film and TV Fund.
 
The Norwegian Film Institute has granted Sentimental Value NOK 20.5 million in development and production funding. The film will premiere in Norwegian cinemas on September 12, 2025.
 
Distributor: Nordisk Film Distribution. International Sales Agent: MK2 (France)
 
Photo: Erlend Štaub for Norwegian Film Institute