Berlin

NELLY & NADINE 

Sweden / Belgium / Norway 2022, 92 Min.

NELLY & NADINE by award winning Swedish director Magnus Gertten wins the „Jury Award“ at the TEDDY AWARDS 2022, one of the most prestigious queer film awards in the world at this year’s 72nd Berlin International Film Festival (10-20 February 2022). The jury award goes to a film which has been chosen from all nominated films in the TEDDY AWARDS film program. NELLY & NADINE was also a nominee for „Best Documentary“. Since 36 years the TEDDY AWARD has been an integral part of the Berlinale. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the TEDDY AWARDS were held as a live-stream event at www.teddyaward.tv/live on February 18th, 2022 from 9-11 pm. The TEDDY AWARDS combine a huge network of over 180 queer film festivals all over the world and bring global attention and international involvement to the nominated films.

The TEDDY AWARDS jury statement: „This film exemplifies the necessity of queer history and queer collective memory of World War II while providing long-needed recognition of the forgotten victims and survivors of the Holocaust. It speaks about unmentioned lesbian biographies and unheard voices.To cover all of these areas of importance would prove difficult for most films, but with NELLY & NADINE and their extraordinary love that survived against all odds, we get this story of courage and resilience, told with grace, leaving a lasting impact on every viewer.“

Magnus Gertten who was also virtually present at the TEDDY AWARDS ceremony on receiving this important prize: „My thanks first go out to the lovely team behind this film. This film is in every way a team effort. Then I would like to thank Berlinale, the Panorama section and the Teddy Award for giving this film such a perfect start on its journey through the world. Nelly & Nadine is a film about family secrets, survival and the mighty power of love. The love story between these two brave, female pioneers has been in the shadows for such a long time. It deserves to finally being brought into light. Hopefully Nelly & Nadine will be an inspiration to many of us, especially those who live in countries that do not respect human rights and LGBTQIA+ rights. In my dreams this film should be big in China, a country that really needs a film like this.“

NELLY & NADINE celebrated its world premiere in the Panorama section and is presented by Swedish based Auto Images and Rise and Shine (World Sales + German distributor). It’s the third part of a trilogy that includes Gertten's films „Harbour of Hope“ (2011) and „Every Face has a Name“ (2015).

So far Nelly & Nadine has been sold to 10 countries and also the film is picking up a lot of attention in China as many people are discovering Nadine Hwang’s exciting story for the first time with a report going viral on Bilibili and also on WeChat.

The film’s trailer

Synopsis:

Nelly & Nadine tells the incredible love story of two women who fall in love with each other on Christmas Eve in 1944, in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

They had been deported by the Nazis because of their secret missions as agents and helping refugees to flee to safe countries. Although they are separated in the last months of the war, Nelly and Nadine manage to find each other again after 1945 and spend the rest of their lives together. For decades, their love story was kept secret, even from some of their closest family members. Now Nelly's granddaughter Sylvie has decided to open the unseen personal archive of Nelly Mousset-Vos and Nadine Hwang, which contains numerous letters and writings as well as extensive and well-preserved film footage. Thus their remarkable story can finally be revealed, which at the same time represents a very rare and particularly early contemporary document of queer life.

Press material and further informationen:

Pressfolder with photos, graphiques and the presskit (English):

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2f5l5kemdqn0grc/AACaKhpUW8T2YdP-Hb83HZUya?dl=0

The trailerlink:

The film Website:

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