Fritt Ord-supported documentary nominated for Oscars

February 8 2022

The award-winning animated film FLEE has been nominated for Oscars in the categories for Best International Documentary Feature, Best Animated Feature Film and Best International Feature Film. The film has already won a numerous awards at different film festivals, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature at the Sundance Film Festival and the Nordic Council’s Film Prize in 2021.

FLEE is an international co-production that combines animation, archive materials and the voices of real people to tell about the 36-year-old Danish-Afghan Amin, a resident of Copenhagen who lives a seemingly happy and successful life. However, Amin had never told a soul the story of his childhood in Kabul in the 1980s, or about how he fled from Afghanistan to Denmark as a child. This is a story that he, as a child, was told to keep secret, so he never shared it with anyone, not even with those closest to him.

FLEE

The film is based on conversations between Amin and his childhood friend Jonas Poher Rasmussen, director of the film.
FLEE was produced by Monica Hellström of Sweden at Final Cut For Real, in cooperation with Maria Ekerhovd of Norway at Mer Film.

Fritt Ord has provided a total of NOK 200 000 for the development and co-production of the film.

News

Civitates' Tech & Democracy open call

March 6 2025

Civitates – The European Democracy Fund is a pooled philanthropic fund that was set up in 2018 for the sole purpose of addressing democratic decline and closing civic space in Europe. The case for confronting these threats is growing increasingly urgent. Fritt Ord Foundation is one of the initiators and partners of Civitates.

Civitates has launched its Tech and Democracy open call to support organisations working to ensure safer, more inclusive online spaces (social media platforms, search engines etc.) by improving the enforcement of EU tech regulations at the national level.

This open call offers a unique opportunity to strengthen civil society’s role in holding the tech sector accountable, with a focus on key EU regulations such as the Digital Services Act, GDPR, AI Act or the European Media Freedom Act to name a few.

Call for nominations: Free Media Awards 2025

March 3 2025

In collaboration with the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS of Hamburg, the Fritt Ord Foundation has allocated the Free Media Awards annually since 2004 to Eastern European journalists and media that defy every obstacle to tirelessly ensure independent press coverage. Russia’s war against Ukraine and the subsequent wave of disinformation clearly demonstrates the need for independent reporting in the region. Journalists and media in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary that promote freedom of the press through their investigative and independent reporting are eligible to be nominated for the Free Media Awards.

Art and Institutions: “I Demand a Museum to Feel its Own Floors Tremble When Other Museums are Destroyed in War”

February 12 2025

Saturday 22 February 2025 at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, from 14.30 to 16.30 h.

Conversation with Adam Budak (Poland/Germany), Stefanie Carp (Germany), Matej Drlička (Slovakia), Andrea Geyer (USA) og Sarah Lookofsky (USA/Norway). Ingerid Salvesen is moderator.

Across the world, cultural institutions are under increasing pressure. Censorship, self-censorship, drastic funding cuts, and political and sponsorship interference are on the rise. Former and present institutional directors – with personal experiences of political pressure, cancellation and censorship from different geographic contexts – will discuss the limitations and capacities of art institutions in the present.

Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute to Sara Gaulin

February 5 2025

Sarah Gaulin (30) is being awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for her courageous and principled defence of freedom of expression in the face of extremism, gang crime and negative social control.
As a prominent voice, Gaulin has drawn attention to some of the most demanding and controversial social challenges of our time.