Nordic Film Prize to Pernilla August
Swedish actress turned director Pernilla August won the Nordiska radets prestigious film prize (Nordic Council Film Prize) for her debut as a film director with the film "vinalängorna" ("Beyond").

Last week August and co-writer Lolita Ray accepted the 415 000 SEK ($65,200) award — the biggest film prize in the Nordic region — from British actress Dame Helen Mirren, the jury’s honorary chairwoman. The film is about a woman tormented by childhood memories of growing up with her alcoholic parents, and it is also Sweden’s candidate for Best Foreign Language Film at next year’s Oscars. August is probably best known as an actress, and as such for playing in Ingmar Bergman’s “Best Intentions.” American audiences know her for her role in “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.”
Earlier profile on Pernilla August: Pernilla August on Phantoms and Ghosts