Kosmorama presents this year's NDA jury.

In the NDA program, it’s not just the films that need to stand out – the directors must also demonstrate something special, whether as storytellers or cinematic artists. The criteria state that the director must not have made more than three feature-length fiction films. The festival’s programming committee has jointly nominated the ten films competing for the award, and a professional jury will select the winner of the New Directors Award from these.

Margrethe Bruun Vaage is an associate professor in film studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. She is a film theorist who explores the spectator’s engagement with fiction film and television series, and more specifically the imagination, emotions, and moral psychology of spectatorship.

Aleksander Huser is a freelance film critic and journalist who regularly writes for the film magazines Rushprint and Cinema, as well as the cultural platform TBA – To Be Announced. He holds a master’s degree in Media Studies from the University of Oslo, focusing on film dramaturgy, and a Writer/Director Diploma from the London Film Academy.

Andrea Bræin Hovig graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre (1995–1998). She has worked extensively in film and television and was nominated for the 2018 Kanon Award for Best Actress for her role in An Affair. Bræin Hovig won the 2020 Kanon Award and the 2020 Amanda Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Hope, and she was also nominated for the European Film Awards for the same role. Additionally, she has received the Edith Carlmar Award for her contributions to film.