Instead of watching the 8th annual Voice Arts™ Awards, I caught up with a live stream from the Göteborg Konstmuseum in Gothenburg, for the tenth annual gala of the Svenska Akademin för Berättar- och Ljudboksvetenskap™ (the Swedish Academy of Vocal Arts and Narration Sciences).
Here are some of the winners:
The award for “Best Costumes in Audio Book Narration” went to Per-Olaf Wiglund for “Swedish Naturists Go Bow Tie Shopping.”
The special StødioBricks award for “Best Voice Over with Microphone in Home Studio Selfie” was given to Per Petterson and his vintage Shure 55SH.
The award (sponsored by L’Oréal) for “Best Make Up in a Non-Fiction Recording” was given to Anni-Frid Larson for her colorful narration of “The Malmö Model Murder Mystery.”
Jens Jokkelson won the “It’s An Honor To Be Nominated” award for always being nominated but never winning anything.
In the category “Best Western Novel Narration,” the main prize (a MKH 416 shotgun microphone) went to Lars Sjöberg, for his narration of “Swedish Sisters go Gold Digging in Deadwood.”
Superstar Sylvie Silvsted won the “It’s Alive Award” for “Most sibilant storyteller” in honor of her entire body of work.
The award for “Best Death in a Video Game” was awarded to Hanna Hellström for her performance in “Grand Theft Volvo,” the unrated edition (age 8 – 80).
The award for “Best Documentary” went to independent journalist Finn Hellman for his video titled “Agency of Napping and Noise.” In this documentary, Hellman presented a collection of audio book clips produced by the state-funded Swedish Agency for Accessible Media (MTM) for people who are visually impaired or have reading disabilities.
In one clip, the narrator of the novel It Would Be Night in Caracas can be heard sleeping for a couple of minutes before picking up again. In another, bizarre screeching noises can be heard in the background.
Hellman’s investigation also found that narrators repeated sentences sometimes multiple times and that in some cases entire chapters of books were missing. Common Swedish words were apparently consistently mispronounced by some narrators as well. (click here for more details on this investigation)
In a strange twist, all the other awards (including “Best Hair”) went to a man from Luxembourg, Jay Michöl Cøllins.
At the end of the night, one special prize, the “I am a Celebrity, What am I doing Here?” award, went to Agnetha Fältskog (ABBA) for showing up virtually, to make the awards show look important and somewhat relevant.
All winners had the opportunity to parade their prize (a troll holding a shotgun microphone) in front of photographers before it was taken away. Winners can, however, buy a copy of the statue for 2750 Swedish Krona, shipping not included.
From the Blue and Yellow carpet,
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Congratulations to all the winners!
Back in Los Angeles, 15 years ago, I was home, watching a Michel Gondry retrospective, when my phone started ringing and blinging (texts) like mad. Dozens of messages from around the country about how I was on the Academy Awards. Apparently, a scene I was in opposite Charlize Theron was the one they selected for her Oscar nomination for *North Country*.
My friends and family asked me, “Did you see it? Are you watching??” “Nope,” I shrugged, “I’ve never seen The Oscars©.”
More and more American are getting tired of the Oscars, and I can’t blame them. No more Billy Crystal and Robin Williams…
Oh, this is very rich, Paul. I love it! 🙂
That makes me happy!
I’ve been after that Best Hair statue for two decades. This is truly a fulfilling moment.
You almost didn’t win, but you won it by a hair!