At the 36th Tromsø International Film Festival (January 19-25, 2026) the Faith in Film Award was presented for the 10th time. As winning film the jury of the Norwegian Church Academies and the Tromsø Church Academy choose „Kaj ti je deklica“ (Little Trouble Girls), directed by Urška Djukić (Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, 2025). The motivation of the jury reads: “This is an honest film portraying a young girl at the doorstep of her own sexual identity. It invites us to reflect upon personal dignity, desire and taking your own position on personal faith. The music adds quality to the intimate story and the interior process of the young girl.”
In addition, the jury awarded an Honourable mention to “La petite dernière” (The Little Sister), directed by Hafsia Herzi (France, Germany, 2025), with the following motivation: “This coming-of-age drama is a powerful story that makes us reflect upon how the different aspects of our identity don’t always blend with the world around us or within ourselves. This film tells a story about faith, but also what it means to have faith in oneself.”
The jury consisting of three members, one of them being proposed by INTERFILM, is appointed by the Norwegian Church Academies and the Tromsø Church Academy. In 2026, it was constituted by Clara Behnke (documentary filmmaker and journalist, INTERFILM, Germany), Herborg Finnset (Bishop of Nidaros, Trondheim), and Margareta Orkan (film director and editor, Tromsø).
The Faith in Film Award, an interfaith film prize, was presented in 2017 for the first time. It honours films which engage and stimulate reflection, criticism and contemplation about the place of religion in people's lives and in society, provide insight into questions of faith or spirituality, and are of high artistic quality. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the award the academies organised a seminar entitled "Mercy and Reconciliation in Contemporary Movies" with film Director Eric Poppe and film critic Kristin Aalen reflecting and discussing the award history.