Petter Næss

The Hedda Jury gave the following reason for the award to The Summer Dad Turned Gay:

"This year's best production for children and youth is at one and the same time a humorous, absurd, burlesque, sensible, warm and slightly embarrassing story about the difficult puberty. In addition, it is liberatingly disarming about themes that are still taboo, such as sexuality, divorce issues and homophobia. One rarely sees a production in which everything is told from the youth's perspective, direct, undisguised, playful and in an unusually rich language without seeming affected. This was real."

Petter Næss is established among the leading Norwegian movie directors, first with the comedy Absolute Hangover (1999) and next with the blockbuster Elling AKA Me, My Friend and I (2001) after Ambjørnsen's novel. Just Bea, for teenagers, also became popular. His first American-produced movie, Mozart and the Whale (2005), was well received, but did not become a blockbuster.

Later he has directed the Elling movie Love Me Tomorrrow (2005) and Gone with the Woman (2007) after the novel by Loe. In 2010 he directed Shameless based on a book by Lars Saabye Christensen, and in 2012 Into the White, with a mix of Norwegian and international actors.

SOURCES:

Store Norske Leksikon on Petter Næss, http://snl.no/Petter_N%C3%A6ss

Internet Movie Database on Petter Næss

The Hedda Award, heddaprisen.no, 12.06.2016, http://heddaprisen.no/pub/heddaprisen/main/?aid=1465