Gunda

Directed by Victor Kossakovsky (2020)

Sant & Usant, Louverture Films, in association with Hailstone Films.


Where his prior film, the acclaimed epic AQUARELA, was a reminder of the fragility of human tenure on earth, in GUNDA, master filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky reminds us that we share our planet with billions of other animals. Through encounters with a mother sow (the eponymous Gunda), two ingenious cows, and a scene-stealing, one-legged chicken, Kossakovsky movingly recalibrates our moral universe, reminding us of the inherent value of life and the mystery of all animal consciousness, including our own.

  • release. 2020
    genre. feature documentary
    duration. 93’

  • director. Victor Kossakovsky
    writers. Victor Kossakovsky & Ainara Vera
    assistant director. Ainara Vera
    producer. Anita Rehoff Larsen
    co-producers. Joslyn Barnes & Susan Rockefeller
    UK local producer. Charlotte Hailstone
    production manager. Racha Helen Larsen

    directors of photography. Victor Kossakovsky & Egil Håskjold Larsen
    editors. Victor Kossakovsky & Ainara Vera
    sound recordist & designer. Alexander Dudarev
    first assistant camera. Christian Karlsen
    gaffer & grip. Gianmarco Donaggio

    executive producers. Tone Grøttjord & Joaquin Phoenix

  • countries. Norway, USA, UK
    produced by. Sant & Usant
    co-produced by. Louverture Films
    in association with. Hailstone Films

    distributor. NEON (US), Altitude (UK) & others
    international sales. Cinephil

  • world premiere. Berlinale 2020 - Nominee Berlinale Documentary Award, Nominee Encounters Award

    awards. 7 wins & 28 nominations including…

    • London Critics’ Circle Film Awards 2021 - Nominee Best Documentary of the Year

    • Academy Awards 2021 - Shortlist Best Documentary Feature

    • Cinema Eye Honors Awards 2021 - Winner Cinema Eye Honors Award The Unforgettables, Nominee Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Nominee Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, Nominee Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, Nominee Outstanding Achievement in Editing

    • Nordic Council 2021 - Nominee Nordic Council’s Film Prize

    • Amanda Awards 2021 - Winner Amanda Award Best Sound Design, Winner Amanda Award Best Cinematography

    • Russian Guild of Film Critics 2021 - Winner White Elephant Best Documentary

    • American Society of Cinematographers 2021 - Nominee ASC Award Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Documentary Film

    • IDA Awards 2021 - Shortlisted IDA Award Best Feature

    • European Film Awards 2020 - Nominee European Film Award European Documentary

    • Critics’ Choice Awards 2020 - Nominee Best Documentary Feature, Nominee Best Director, Nominee Best Cinematography, Nominee Best Editing, Nominee Best Science/Nature Documentary

    • Satellite Awards 2021 - Nominee Satellite Award Best Motion Picture, Documentary

    • Indiewire Critics’ Poll 2020 - Nominee ICP Award Best Cinematography

    • Nordisk Panorama Film Festival 2021 - Nominee Nordic Documentary Film Award Best Nordic Documentary

    • Sofia International Film Festival 2021 - Winner Special Mention Best Documentary Film

    • Dublin International Film Festival 2021 - Winner Dublin Film Critics Award Best Cinematography

    • Stockholm International Film Festival 2020 - Winner Bronze Horse Best Documentary

    • Filmfest Hamburg 2020 - Winner Audience Award

    • La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival 2020 - Nominee Grand Prix du Jury

  • Norwegian Film Institute, MEDIA, Fritt Ord Foundation, Artemis Rising Foundation, Empathy Arts, Storyline Studios

    • Rolling Stone ‘The 10 Best Documentaries of 2020’ (Dec 2020) - read.

    • Far Out ‘The 2021 Film that Paul Thomas Anderson called “Jaw Dropping” (Dec 2021) - read.

    • New Yorker Vulture ‘ Here’s a Movie about a Pig that Might Change your Life (Apr 2021) - read.

    • The Guardian ‘Gunda: a wordless 90-minute animal movie of mind-blowing ordinariness – and a work of genius’ (Apr 2021) - read.

    • Variety ‘ How the ‘Gunda’ DP Got Up Close and Personal With Farm Animals’ (Apr 2021) - read.