Signe Byrge Sørensen (; born 1970) is a Danish

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. She is the head of and co-founder of the film production company Final Cut for Real in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Sørensen and film director

Joshua Oppenheimer Joshua Lincoln Oppenheimer (born September 23, 1974) is an American-British film director based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is known for his Oscar-nominated films '' The Act of Killing'' (2012) and ''The Look of Silence'' (2014), Oppenheimer was ...

were nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

for the 2013 film ''

The Act of Killing ''The Act of Killing'' ( id, Jagal, meaning "Butcher") is a 2012 documentary film about individuals who participated in the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966. The film is directed by Joshua Oppenheimer and co-directed by Christine Cynn and ...

''. She was also the producer to the critically acclaimed documentary

The Look of Silence ''The Look of Silence'' (, "Silence") is a 2014 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Joshua Oppenheimer about the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66. The film is a companion piece to his 2012 documentary ''The Act of Kill ...

. Signe Byrge Sørensen a member of

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

and the

Danish Film Academy The Danish Film Academy was founded in 1982 by a number of people with professional connection to the film industry. The Academy aims to promote the film as an independent art form, and its members are primarily people who work with film. The Acad ...

. In 2022, she produced the animated documentary film '' Flee'' and was nominated in Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and Best Animated Feature categories.

Life and career

Signe Byrge Sørensen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, she grew up in

Maribo Maribo is a town in Lolland Municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It was the municipal seat of the former Maribo Municipality, until 1 January 2007, and then it became the seat of the current Lolland Muni ...

, Denmark. Signe Byrge Sørensen holds an MA in International Development Studies and Communication Studies from

Roskilde University Roskilde University ( da, Roskilde Universitet, abbreviated RUC or RU) is a Danish public university founded in 1972 and located in Trekroner in the Eastern part of Roskilde. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD deg ...

, Denmark. She did the European co-production courses EURODOC in 2003, EAVE in 2010 and ACE in 2018. Signe Byrge Sørensen began producing films in SPOR Media in 1998, moved to Final Cut Productions ApS in 2004 and co-founded Final Cut for Real ApS in 2009 with

Anne Köhncke Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. In 2007 Signe Byrge Sørensen made contact to American film director Joshua Oppenheimer after seeing a portion of his footage from Indonesia during a seminar at Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, CPH:DOX. The two of them began working together creating two

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

both ''The Act of Killing'' and ''The Look of Silence''. In 2012 ''The Act of Killing'' premiered at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...

and

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

. It went on to win many prizes worldwide, including the

European Film Award The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European film, cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which th ...

for Best Documentary, a Panorama Audience Award, and a Prize of the Ecumenical Jury from the

63rd Berlin International Film Festival The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival took place in Berlin, Germany between 7 and 17 February 2013. Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai was announced as the President of the Jury and his film '' The Grandmaster'' was the opening film ...

. The film also received the Robert Award by the Film Academy of Denmark, a Bodil Award by Denmark's National Association of Film Critics, and the Aung San Suu Kyi Award at the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival 2013. The Act of Killing won the BAFTA for Best Documentary, European Film Award for Best Documentary, the

Asia Pacific Screen Award The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures t ...

for Best Documentary, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards. Signe Byrge Sørensens next film with Joshua Oppenheimer ''The Look of Silence'' from 2014 is a companion piece to ''The Act of Killing''. This production was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the

88th Academy Awards The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...

. It was screened in competition at the 71st Venice International Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize, the International Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI), the Italian online critics award (Mouse d'Oro), the European Film Critics Award (F.E.D.E.O.R.A.) for the Best Film of Venezia 71, as well as the Human Rights Nights Award. Since then, it has gone on to win a further 70 international awards, including an Independent Spirit Award, an IDA Award for Best Documentary, a Gotham Award for Best Documentary. Signe Byrge Sørensen was nominated for the

PGA Award The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...

for Best Documentary in 2016 for ''The Look of Silence''. Signe Byrge Sørensen won Cinema Eye Honors awards for the production of both ''The Act of Killing'' and ''The Look of Silence''. Together with Joshua Oppenheimer she was the first to win this award twice. In 2014 Signe Byrge Sørensen received Denmark’s most prestigious award in documentary filmmaking, the Roos Prize. and the Danish Directors’ Guild’s Ib Prize in 2016. Signe Byrge Sørensen was in 2020 stated as the most powerful documentary producer in Denmark in a survey produced by the Danish national newspaper

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been independe ...

. Signe Byrge Sørensen lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2021 the film Flee - produced by Monica Hellström and Signe Byrge Sørensen - had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2021, where it won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary section. At the same festival the documentary ''President'' - produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen and directed by Camilla Nielsson - won Special Jury Prize for Verité Filmmaking.

Filmography (selected)

* '' Flee'' (2021) * ''President'' (2021) * '' Songs of Repression'' (2020) * ''A Comedian in a Syrian Tragedy'' (2019) * ''Dreaming Murakami'' (2017) * ''A Drowning Man'' (2017) * ''Land of the Free'' (2017) * ''Les Sauteurs'' (2016) * ''The Dvor Massacre'' (2015) * ''

Pervert Park ''Pervert Park'' is a 2014 documentary film directed by Swedish-Danish filmmaking couple Frida and Lasse Barkfors. The film's focus is Palace Mobile Park in St. Petersburg, Florida, nicknamed "Pervert Park", which houses over 100 convicted sex ...

'' (2014) * ''

'' (2014) * ''Life is Sacred'' (2014) * ''

'' (2012) * ''The Human Scale'' (2012) * ''The Kid & The Clown'' (2011) * ''In Languages We Live / Voices of the World'', (2005), producer and co-director * ''The Importance of Being MLABRI'' (2007), producer and co-director *''

Everlasting Moments ''Everlasting Moments'' ( sv, Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick) is a 2008 Swedish drama film directed by Jan Troell, starring Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt and Jesper Christensen. It is based on the true story of Maria Larsson, a Swedish wor ...

'' (2008), post production producer * ''Football is God'' (2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Signe Byrge Living people Documentary film producers 1970 births