The Pohjoismaissi Award
The Pohjoismaissi Award will recognize a film that reflects the festival’s commitment to contemporary artistic courage
Introduced in Cinemaissí’s 21st year, the Pohjoismaissi Award is our new festival’s annual curatorial distinction, created to recognise a film of singular cinematic vision.
The name brings together two worlds at the heart of Cinemaissí. Maissi is the Finnish word for maize, while Pohjoismaissa means “in the Nordic countries.” Pohjoismaissi playfully connects the festival’s Latin American identity with its Finnish roots and its unique position as the oldest Latin American film festival in the Nordic region.
The Pohjoismaissi Award is not a competitive prize and has no jury. Instead, it is appointed through the festival’s curatorial process to a work that embodies artistic courage, formal independence, and cinema’s ability to create unexpected connections between territories, cultures, histories, and ways of seeing.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday, 14 October, during our Festival’s Grand Opening.
The festival’s first physical award has been specially commissioned from artists and designers Mariana Núñez Sánchez and Mimi McPartlan.