"A carefully told story about male friendship and the cost of coming home, a story that takes its time with its characters. The friendship between August and Elliott, and the inevitable shift that August's experiences in Afghanistan force upon it, is rendered with quiet precision. It is a sensitive portrayal of PTSD, but also of the friction that arises when one of two friends is made to grow up too fast. The screenplay skillfully weaves together the two friends' worlds in a story that speaks, with simplicity and warmth, to how we carry what cannot be put into words." The jury's citation.

Ville Gideon Sörman was born in Stockholm and has been based in Copenhagen since 2013. He studied at the Danish Film School in the directing programme and has previously studied at Manuspiloterna in Sweden and the European Film College in Denmark. His short film Nyforelsket (In Love) was awarded the 1km Film Award for Best Swedish Short Film at the Stockholm Film Festival. He has also directed the TV series Generationer (Generations) for DR Drama, the drama division of Danmarks Radio.

Lange Lyse Nætter is a coming-of-age drama rooted in a reality that rarely enters public conversation: the young Danish soldiers sent to Afghanistan during the twenty years of war. The film follows August, who returns to his hometown after a year abroad. On the surface, he is a soldier come home. Inside, he is a young man carrying a guilt and a set of experiences he is too young to hold. His body is back, but his mind never left.

"This award gives the script a real push forward, and I'm genuinely grateful for that. The fact that an initiative like this exists, one that gives young screenwriters the resources to take the next step, means a lot. Lange Lyse Nætter is about something I think is important to talk about, and the opportunity to now develop it further feels both unexpected and right. To be this year's recipient of the Ingmar Bergman Script Award is an honor I carry with pride and warm gratitude," says Ville Gideon Sörman.

SF Studios and Bergman Center have collaborated for many years to preserve the legacy of Ingmar Bergman. As part of that collaboration, the Ingmar Bergman Script Award was launched in 2024, when Kaly Halkawt became its first recipient for the screenplay Donias värld (Donia's World). Last year, the award went to Jerry Carlsson for Invasion.

The Ingmar Bergman Script Award is presented annually during Bergman Week at Bergman Center on Fårö, Gotland. Eligible screenplays must be original feature-length works written in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, or Finnish, with a clear ambition to reach a wide audience. The recipient receives a grant of SEK 50,000, the opportunity to be mentored by an established filmmaker, and a residency at Bergmangårdarna on Fårö.

Applications for next year's award open in October. Learn more about the Ingmar Bergman Script Award at https://www.sfstudios.se/the-ingmar-bergman-script-award, about Bergman Center at www.bergmancenter.se, and about Bergman Week at www.bergmancenter.se/bergmanveckan.

For more information, please contact:
Sofia Stefanovic, Project Coordinator at SF Studios
sofia.stefanovic@sfstudios.se
+46 73 658 85 89

About SF Studios
SF Studios, established in 1919, is one of the world’s oldest film companies. Today SF Studios is the leading film studio in the Nordic region with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and offices in Oslo, Copenhagen and Helsinki. The company is producing and distributing feature films and TV series as well as providing the streaming service SF Anytime. SF Studios is part of the leading Nordic media company Bonnier.