From Golden Bear to the Edith Carlmar Award
This year's award winner, Cecilie Semec, is happy to stand as an example but dreams of the day when she no longer has to put "female" in front of her job title.
Photo: Agnete Brun
"I was, of course, very happy. It's wonderful to receive recognition for the work I've done together with Dag Johan," says the newly awarded prize winner.
Her work as a cinematographer includes the trilogy Sex, Dreams, and Love, directed by Dag Johan Haugerud.
Recently, Dreams also won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale film festival. As the first Nordic film in fifty years to receive the Golden Bear, the victory was historic — especially in the context of Norwegian cinema.
"Just being at Berlinale and getting to showcase a film feels like winning. In a way, it's kind of silly to compete in film and art. — But once you're in a competition, you do want to win," Semec says with a laugh.
Foto: Inhe Pedersen
The Paradox of Winning
The other films in the trilogy, Love was screened in the main competition at La Biennale di Venezia in 2024, while Sex was shown in the Panorama section at Berlinale the same year, where it won the Critics’ Prize. She has grown accustomed to being the only woman in the main competitions. The lack of female cinematographers is also reflected in the Edith Carlmar jury’s reasoning.
“The paradox of this award is that while it is important, and of course I am very grateful, it is still gendered. I hope we will soon move away from saying female cinematographer. Perhaps that is a utopian dream,” she says, adding:
“I would much rather be discussing my work.”
She calls the film profession "a gift."
Naturally, Semec is attending this year's Kosmorama, both to discuss her works and to receive the Edith Carlmar Award. At the same time, she is working on the final shooting days for Elle Sofe Sara's debut feature film, which wraps up in March.
"What are your 'dreams' for the rest of the year?"
"I hope I get to be part of making films. Creating more films. Especially in today's society, I am constantly reminded of what a gift it is to create such works."
The Edith Carlmar Award will be presented on Wednesday, March 19th, at 7:00 PM.
Jury's Rationale:
The winner of the Edith Carlmar Award this year represents a part of the Norwegian film industry that is often overlooked, and where women are still the least visible. The jury for the Edith Carlmar Award is pleased to highlight a representative of the film production roles such as sound, editing, production design, cinematography, and more, where the technical aspect of the film medium is central.
The award winner is a female cinematographer who has left her mark on Norwegian cinema through various roles, including as a photography teacher, an artistic scholar, and a cinematographer on many different film projects. Over time, she has collaborated with various directors on a range of short and feature films.
In particular, it is through a long-term collaboration with a regular director that her creative work as a cinematographer has truly found its form, and she has developed her own distinctive style. One of their films is a direct result of the photographer's own artistic development work on long takes.
In the past year, the award winner had two films at international film festivals (Berlin and Venice) and three films at Norwegian cinemas, working as the cinematographer on director Dag Johan Haugerud’s trilogy Sex, Dreams, and Love.
In 2025, this was topped with a historic Golden Bear for Dreams at the Berlin Film Festival. Through the award winner's dynamic and varied camerawork, close and nuanced portraits of the films' searching characters are created, as well as a completely new perspective on Oslo. Her camera gives us fresh images of Oslo's streets, forests, and fjords, creating magic from the everyday ferries and houses.
This year's winner is photographer Cecilie Semec.
About the Edith Carlmar-award
The Edith Carlmar Award has been presented since 2010 to professional female filmmakers in Norway who have demonstrated integrity, fearless innovation, and a willingness to break boundaries. Since 2018, the award has been presented in connection with Kosmorama.
Foto: Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen
