Faith in Film Award in Tromsø 2023

Sarah Polley's "Women Talking" (USA 2022) is the winner of the Faith in Film Award at the 33rd Tromsø International Film Festival (16-22 January, 2023). The Award was established in 2017 by the Center for Art, Culture and Church, the Norwegian Church Academies, and the Tromsø Church Academy, in collaboration with the festival. It is meant for a film which engages and stimulates reflection and critical thinking about the religion’s place in society and in people’s lives.

The jury at the 2023 festival consisted of Nasra Ali Omar, Egill Heiður Anton Pálsson, and Eir Andreas Ihlang Berg.

In their motivation they said: "Through an exceptionally well written manuscript, beautiful filming and with a strong ensemble of actors, we found ourselves drawn into the question of how to react to unjust and horrible acts of sexual violence in our very midst. Through the voices of a group of women, the film addresses the eternal religious question of vengeance, forgiveness, and salvation.

We as the audience, do not only bear witness to a story of a powerful female community, but also voices of change that reflect on today’s society on questions of misogyny, sexism, and human equality. The film manages to address these questions through a religious language, that is recognizable in religious as well as secular communities." (Read the full motivation speech here.)

The film tells the story of a group of women living in a religious sect who are raped continuously, and about their discussions on their future. It received an Oscar® for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2023.