Film Prize of the Danish Church "Gabriel" 2023

At the annual meeting of the Danish National Association of Parish Councils in Nyborg (2-4 June, 2023) the Church Film Prize "Gabriel" was awarded to "Den store stilhed" (The Great Silence, Denmark 2022), directed by Katrine Brocks.

The director grew up in a Christian community where she perceived God as both loving and protective, but also strict and judgemental. The film is, among other things, her processing of that. She says about her film: "The film doesn't give any precise answers, but I hope it can lead to a conversation about what can happen when big, tragic events happen in life. Maybe the film can make people think and reflect, and I hope it can inspire many interesting conversations in parish halls across the country."

Several members of the jury behind the film award were present at the award ceremony. Jury member Karsten Fledelius, historian at the University of Kopenhagen, said: "This is a film that shows that reconciliation is possible, even when things look difficult. It is a film not only for Christians and believers, but for everyone living in a human society." The other jury members were Peter Lauridsen Hundebøll, member of the Board of the Danish National Association of Parish Councils; Isak Thorsen, cand. mag. and PhD in film studies; Mogens Lindhardt, former rector; Susanne Charlotte Knudstorp, pastor; Anna Sloth Jørgensen, pastor; and Jes Nysten, theologian, author and film critic.

The Gabriel Film Award was established in 2002 on the initiative of the National Association of Church Councils. The purpose of the award is to recognise films that, at a high artistic level, manage to reproduce and depict human testimonies that are in harmony with the Gospel and that give the viewer a profound experience of spiritual, human or social ideas and values.