Finalist
Lifeline
Lõheloterii
2026
Entry 26-363 | Norway | 2026 | 64’ | Language: Norwegian | Subtitles: English
Estonian
Original title: Døgnet - Et lakselotteri
Each year, thousands enter the salmon lottery in Alta, where 700 winners receive an 18-hour fishing license. Known as Døgnet, the event unites generations around salmon fishing as culture and identity. Lifeline follows local families and fishers, portraying a community fighting to preserve its bond with the river as the wild salmon faces extinction.
Director
Lasse Dørumsgaard Stensrud, Nina Bellika
| Cinematography
Lasse Dørumsgaard Stensrud, Nina Bellika
| Editing
Lasse Dørumsgaard Stensrud
| Producer
Lars Olav Vartdal, Anja Mæland Måkestad
| Production Company
Salto Film og Fjernsyn
| Distributor
Salto Film og Fjernsyn
| Original Title
Døgnet - Et lakselotteri
2026
As part of this year’s Matsalu Nature Film Festival, the Estonian Fund for Nature organised a field trip to the Penijõgi River – a watercourse that has been significantly altered and straightened by human activity. The Penijõgi flows through the Kasari floodplain, the largest and a truly unique floodplain of its kind in Northern Europe. Altering a river inevitably brings changes to its entire ecosystem: to the water and riverbanks, floodplain habitats, and the lives of species connected to the river.
The film receiving the Estonian Fund for Nature Special Prize sensitively explores the transformation of a river after it was blocked by a hydroelectric dam. The film also portrays one species that is particularly closely connected to the river – humans. Through salmon fishing, the stories of local families and their relationship with the river unfold, showing how changes to a single watercourse reach far beyond the water itself.
What have communities experienced as a result of changes to their river? How do people perceive the transformation of a river familiar to generations, and the disappearance of important species associated with it? These are thought-provoking questions that transcend generations and national borders. They are relevant to people in Matsalu as well.
We thank the filmmakers for translating this complex subject into the language of film with sensitivity, humanity and nuance, and for showing just how closely intertwined the stories of rivers, species and people are.
| Director | Lasse Dørumsgaard Stensrud, Nina Bellika |
| Cinematography | Lasse Dørumsgaard Stensrud, Nina Bellika |
| Editing | Lasse Dørumsgaard Stensrud |
| Producer | Lars Olav Vartdal, Anja Mæland Måkestad |
| Production Company | Salto Film og Fjernsyn |
| Distributor | Salto Film og Fjernsyn |
| Original Title | Døgnet - Et lakselotteri |
| Entry Number | 26-363 |
| Country of Production |
Norway
|
| Year of Production | 2026 |
| Running Time | 64’ |
| Language: | Norwegian |
| Subtitles: | English Estonian |
