Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch” was awarded the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at Goteborg, taking home the considerable amount of Sek 400,000.
Led by Ewan McGregor – this year’s recipient of the Honorary Dragon Award – the U.S.-Swedish-Danish co-production also features Ellen Burstyn and “Bones and All” breakout Taylor Russell, making it one of the starriest Goteborg winners in recent years.
“My therapist was wrong! I pitched him this idea a few years ago and he said: ‘Don’t do it.’ I am from here and this festival has meant the world to me. Standing on this stage is a bit surreal,” said Larsson.
Jurors Lena Endre, Ramata-Toulaye Sy, William Spetz, Tonia Noyabrova and Anna Novion appreciated the way it shows “how difficult it is to let go of the past, accept loss and finally embrace the future.” They praised “original and bold storytelling, with a lot of humor,...
Led by Ewan McGregor – this year’s recipient of the Honorary Dragon Award – the U.S.-Swedish-Danish co-production also features Ellen Burstyn and “Bones and All” breakout Taylor Russell, making it one of the starriest Goteborg winners in recent years.
“My therapist was wrong! I pitched him this idea a few years ago and he said: ‘Don’t do it.’ I am from here and this festival has meant the world to me. Standing on this stage is a bit surreal,” said Larsson.
Jurors Lena Endre, Ramata-Toulaye Sy, William Spetz, Tonia Noyabrova and Anna Novion appreciated the way it shows “how difficult it is to let go of the past, accept loss and finally embrace the future.” They praised “original and bold storytelling, with a lot of humor,...
- 2/3/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Festival selection includes Nikolaj Arcel’s ‘The Promised Land’ and Ernst De Geer’s ‘The Hypnosis’.
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 47th edition, which runs from January 26 to February 4. (Scroll down for the full list).
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
- 1/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Sámi artefacts stored in the Museum of European Culture in Berlin Photo: Anssi Kömi
Wherever you live, the chances are that you have heard a number of stories, over the years, about efforts to have items held in museums in powerful colonial countries repatriated to their places of origin. It’s a hot button issue in many places, but never more so than for people whose cultures were subject to deliberate attempts at erasure, and who need every available opportunity to reconnect with what has been taken from them before it’s too late and key knowledge is lost. A quiet, thoughtful film at the eye of this storm of controversy is Suvi West and Anssi Kömi’s Homecoming, which follows efforts to restore Sámi artefacts in an amicable process which nevertheless evokes strong emotions.
The film screened as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, with both directors in attendance,...
Wherever you live, the chances are that you have heard a number of stories, over the years, about efforts to have items held in museums in powerful colonial countries repatriated to their places of origin. It’s a hot button issue in many places, but never more so than for people whose cultures were subject to deliberate attempts at erasure, and who need every available opportunity to reconnect with what has been taken from them before it’s too late and key knowledge is lost. A quiet, thoughtful film at the eye of this storm of controversy is Suvi West and Anssi Kömi’s Homecoming, which follows efforts to restore Sámi artefacts in an amicable process which nevertheless evokes strong emotions.
The film screened as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, with both directors in attendance,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Around the world, there is an increasing number of conversations around the return of cultural artefacts from colonial countries’ museums to members of the cultures they belong to. It’s an unbalanced debate because those cultures are, as a rule, still suffering from the wider damage caused by colonialism, and don’t have much of a voice in wider public conversations, so most people don’t really understand their arguments. Those arguments differ, of course, in every instance, but in exploring one specific case, Suvi West and Anssi Kömi’s documentary, which screened as part of the 2023 Toronto Internatonal Film Festival, offers viewers a fresh perspective which will help them to make sense of others.
This case deals with Sámi artefacts in the Museum of European Culture in Berlin. Many of them have not even been on display and, where they were, they were often incorrectly labelled. West and Kömi are Sámi themselves.
This case deals with Sámi artefacts in the Museum of European Culture in Berlin. Many of them have not even been on display and, where they were, they were often incorrectly labelled. West and Kömi are Sámi themselves.
- 9/8/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
New projects from Jenni Toivoniemi, Jon Blåhed, Erol Mintaş and Ester Martin Bergsmark are among selection
The Finnish Film Affair (Ffa), Helsinki International Film Festival’s industry strand, has unveiled the line-up for its market showcase of Nordic films and Finnish series running September 20-22.
Among the 31 projects selected is Jenni Toivoniemi’s comedy Butterflies, the director’s second feature after Games People Play which was also presented at the Ffa.
Also being showcased is Jon Blåhed’s new feature Raptures; Erol Mintaş’ Earth Song; Ester Martin Bergsmark’s Land Of Ferns; and Marika Harjusaari’s The Mire from the producer of Hatching.
The Finnish Film Affair (Ffa), Helsinki International Film Festival’s industry strand, has unveiled the line-up for its market showcase of Nordic films and Finnish series running September 20-22.
Among the 31 projects selected is Jenni Toivoniemi’s comedy Butterflies, the director’s second feature after Games People Play which was also presented at the Ffa.
Also being showcased is Jon Blåhed’s new feature Raptures; Erol Mintaş’ Earth Song; Ester Martin Bergsmark’s Land Of Ferns; and Marika Harjusaari’s The Mire from the producer of Hatching.
- 8/30/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...
- 8/14/2023
- MUBI
Following the Galas and Special Presentations line-up at Toronto International Film Festival, they’ve now unveiled their documentary lineup, which includes Frederick Wiseman’s restaurant doc Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros, Errol Morris’ John le Carré film The Pigeon Tunnel, Raoul Peck’s Silver Dollar Road, Roger Ross Williams’ Stamped From the Beginning, and more.
“There’s no question it’s been a very challenging year and I think we’re waiting for the moment, for the market to correct itself for people to realize that their viewers are going to need something more than just celebrity profiles and true crime [docs],” Powers told Deadline. “There’s quite a few sales titles this year that are coming in with strong representation from companies like CAA, UTA, Submarine, Dogwoof, Cinephil, et cetera,” Powers noted. “I think that’s a sign of the strength of what these companies hope are going to have some broad appeal of these films.
“There’s no question it’s been a very challenging year and I think we’re waiting for the moment, for the market to correct itself for people to realize that their viewers are going to need something more than just celebrity profiles and true crime [docs],” Powers told Deadline. “There’s quite a few sales titles this year that are coming in with strong representation from companies like CAA, UTA, Submarine, Dogwoof, Cinephil, et cetera,” Powers noted. “I think that’s a sign of the strength of what these companies hope are going to have some broad appeal of these films.
- 7/26/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Programme opens with world premiere of Copa 71 from Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine.
Toronto has announced its TIFF Docs line-up, a crop of 22 features at time of writing which includes premieres of new work by Lucy Walker, Errol Morris, and Raoul Peck.
The section opens with the world premiere of Copa 71 from Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine, a timely tale about a 1971 international women’s football tournament in Mexico City which drew record crowds and has been largely erased from sports history.
Walker’s Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa gets its world premiere and profiles a single mother...
Toronto has announced its TIFF Docs line-up, a crop of 22 features at time of writing which includes premieres of new work by Lucy Walker, Errol Morris, and Raoul Peck.
The section opens with the world premiere of Copa 71 from Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine, a timely tale about a 1971 international women’s football tournament in Mexico City which drew record crowds and has been largely erased from sports history.
Walker’s Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa gets its world premiere and profiles a single mother...
- 7/26/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The soccer documentary Copa 71, from executive producers Serena Williams and Venus Williams, is set to open the Toronto Film Festival’s Docs sidebar as it recounts the 1971 Women’s World Cup tournament in Mexico City.
The documentary from directors Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine will have its world premiere at TIFF. New Black Films, Dogwoof and Westbrook Studios are producing.
Toronto also booked world premieres for Raoul Peck’s Silver Dollar Road, about a Black family fighting to save their North Carolina property from land-grabbing developers; Anand Patwardhan’s The World is Family, which recounts the director’s parents helping lead India’s independence movement; and Karim Amer’s Defiant, about Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and his battle against disinformation.
There’s also a world premiere for Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’ Sorry/Not Sorry, a portrait of women who accused comedy giant Louis C.K. of sexual harassment,...
The documentary from directors Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine will have its world premiere at TIFF. New Black Films, Dogwoof and Westbrook Studios are producing.
Toronto also booked world premieres for Raoul Peck’s Silver Dollar Road, about a Black family fighting to save their North Carolina property from land-grabbing developers; Anand Patwardhan’s The World is Family, which recounts the director’s parents helping lead India’s independence movement; and Karim Amer’s Defiant, about Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and his battle against disinformation.
There’s also a world premiere for Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’ Sorry/Not Sorry, a portrait of women who accused comedy giant Louis C.K. of sexual harassment,...
- 7/26/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New films from legendary documentarians Frederick Wiseman and Errol Morris and new work from directors Raoul Peck, Lucy Walker, Roger Ross Williams and Karim Amer will screen at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, which announced its TIFF Docs lineup on Wednesday.
The 93-year-old Wiseman will present the North American premiere of “Menus – Plaisirs Les Troisgros,” a four-hour deep dive into a fabled Michelin-starred restaurant in France. Morris will have the international premiere of “The Pigeon Tunnel,” which is built around a Morris interview with John le Carre that turned out to be the last interview the espionage novelist gave before his death in 2020.
The 22 films announced on Wednesday include 10 world premieres, including Amer’s “Defiant,” Walker’s “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road,” Williams’ “Stamped From the Beginning” and Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’ “Sorry/Not Sorry.” Of the 26 directors represented by those films,...
The 93-year-old Wiseman will present the North American premiere of “Menus – Plaisirs Les Troisgros,” a four-hour deep dive into a fabled Michelin-starred restaurant in France. Morris will have the international premiere of “The Pigeon Tunnel,” which is built around a Morris interview with John le Carre that turned out to be the last interview the espionage novelist gave before his death in 2020.
The 22 films announced on Wednesday include 10 world premieres, including Amer’s “Defiant,” Walker’s “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road,” Williams’ “Stamped From the Beginning” and Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’ “Sorry/Not Sorry.” Of the 26 directors represented by those films,...
- 7/26/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Sámi, the indigenous people in the far north of Europe and Russia, are ready to share their stories with the world. But only under certain conditions, says film commissioner Liisa Holmberg from the International Sámi Film Institute (Isfi).
“The most important thing is respect,” she notes, mentioning the Pathfinder Film Protocol – a set of guidelines and questions for non-Sámi filmmakers named after Nils Gaup’s 1987 Oscar-nominated drama.
“When the Sámi people may not have the same opportunity/resources to tell their stories, why am I the right person to [do it]? How will my film production benefit the Sámi community and what am I giving back? Is it right for me to take up this space?,” it states.
“People started to be interested in indigenous stories, but they would make them without us. We can’t stop them, but we can ask to be included,” says Holmberg.
“Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest...
“The most important thing is respect,” she notes, mentioning the Pathfinder Film Protocol – a set of guidelines and questions for non-Sámi filmmakers named after Nils Gaup’s 1987 Oscar-nominated drama.
“When the Sámi people may not have the same opportunity/resources to tell their stories, why am I the right person to [do it]? How will my film production benefit the Sámi community and what am I giving back? Is it right for me to take up this space?,” it states.
“People started to be interested in indigenous stories, but they would make them without us. We can’t stop them, but we can ask to be included,” says Holmberg.
“Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest...
- 9/25/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
LevelK has boarded Icelandic thriller “Natatorium,” directed by Helena Stefánsdóttir Magneudóttir. The film started shooting on Sept. 14, and is expected to bow locally next year.
Produced by Sunna Gudnadóttir for Bjarstýn Films, marking the company’s first feature film, it’s financed with the support from the Icelandic Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation. Scanbox, Sena and Ruv Yle are behind the project as well.
“I am mostly interested in working on films with female directors and/or scriptwriters, [projects] with high artistic integrity and universal appeal,” says Gudnadóttir, who previously worked on “A White, White Day,” and Iceland’s Oscar submission “Beautiful Beings.” She adds that “Natatorium” has three complex female leads, and 60 of the crew is female as well.
Currently being presented at the Helsinki-based industry event Finnish Film Affair, “Natatorium” zooms in on teenage Lilja who visits her estranged grandparents, Áróra and Grímur. She is supposed to...
Produced by Sunna Gudnadóttir for Bjarstýn Films, marking the company’s first feature film, it’s financed with the support from the Icelandic Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation. Scanbox, Sena and Ruv Yle are behind the project as well.
“I am mostly interested in working on films with female directors and/or scriptwriters, [projects] with high artistic integrity and universal appeal,” says Gudnadóttir, who previously worked on “A White, White Day,” and Iceland’s Oscar submission “Beautiful Beings.” She adds that “Natatorium” has three complex female leads, and 60 of the crew is female as well.
Currently being presented at the Helsinki-based industry event Finnish Film Affair, “Natatorium” zooms in on teenage Lilja who visits her estranged grandparents, Áróra and Grímur. She is supposed to...
- 9/22/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The 10th anniversary edition will take place as a hybrid event.
The Finnish Film Affair (Ffa) will celebrate its 10th anniversary edition with a hybrid industry event that will showcase 24 Finnish projects and four from the other Nordics.
Some 50% of the selected projects are directed by women or non-binary people.
Running in Helsinki from September 22-24, the Ffa will present projects in development including Family Time, the first feature of Tia Kouvo to be produced by Aamu Film Company, whose credits include Compartment No. 6. The drama, which has been part of Torino Film Lab, is an exploration of family life,...
The Finnish Film Affair (Ffa) will celebrate its 10th anniversary edition with a hybrid industry event that will showcase 24 Finnish projects and four from the other Nordics.
Some 50% of the selected projects are directed by women or non-binary people.
Running in Helsinki from September 22-24, the Ffa will present projects in development including Family Time, the first feature of Tia Kouvo to be produced by Aamu Film Company, whose credits include Compartment No. 6. The drama, which has been part of Torino Film Lab, is an exploration of family life,...
- 9/2/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Mormon documentary ‘The Mission’ also triumphs.
Taneli Mustonen’s English-language horror feature project The Twin has won the best fiction award at the Finnish Film Affair (Ffa) 2020.
The film is produced by Don Films and is about a deceased twin that will not leave his family alone. The film is in production now for a planned launch in 2021.
The feature is being sold by Film Constellation, which previously handled Mustonen’s 2016 international hit Lake Bodom. It is being produced and is co-written by Aleksi Hyvarinen.
“This elevated horror piece speaks to a bigger thematic with its exploration of grief, giving...
Taneli Mustonen’s English-language horror feature project The Twin has won the best fiction award at the Finnish Film Affair (Ffa) 2020.
The film is produced by Don Films and is about a deceased twin that will not leave his family alone. The film is in production now for a planned launch in 2021.
The feature is being sold by Film Constellation, which previously handled Mustonen’s 2016 international hit Lake Bodom. It is being produced and is co-written by Aleksi Hyvarinen.
“This elevated horror piece speaks to a bigger thematic with its exploration of grief, giving...
- 9/25/2020
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The hybrid event will run September 23-25 in Helsinki.
The Finnish Film Affair has unveiled the lineup for its hybrid event, which will run September 23-25 in Helsinki as well as online.
Some 300 industry professionals are expected to attend, with some in-person and 150 online.
New talents and female voices are prominent in this year’s programme, with debut features comprising one-third of the lineup. Across the selection, at least 58% of projects have at least one non-male director.
Nearly 50 films in development, production or post-production will be on offer. Some highlights in development include Lapland War from Unknown Soldier director Aku Louhimies,...
The Finnish Film Affair has unveiled the lineup for its hybrid event, which will run September 23-25 in Helsinki as well as online.
Some 300 industry professionals are expected to attend, with some in-person and 150 online.
New talents and female voices are prominent in this year’s programme, with debut features comprising one-third of the lineup. Across the selection, at least 58% of projects have at least one non-male director.
Nearly 50 films in development, production or post-production will be on offer. Some highlights in development include Lapland War from Unknown Soldier director Aku Louhimies,...
- 9/11/2020
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Award-winning Sámi Blood among films set to play in special focus on cinema of the region’s indigenous people.
Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival will put the spotlight on the cinema of the region’s indigenous Sámi community at its 40th edition running Jan 27 to Feb 6, 2017.
“Sámi film is hotter than ever. That’s why we’re turning the spotlight on the north,” says the festival’s artistic director Jonas Holmberg.
The Sápmi cultural region stretches across large tracts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia.
The semi-nomadic Sámi people – who traditionally make their living from fishing, hunting and reindeer herding – have suffered discrimination for centuries from dominant, incoming populations.
But in recent years, more enlightened cultural policies have seen a number of Sámi film-makers and producers emerging to tell Sámi stories as well as the establishment of the Sámi Film Institute.
“Sápmi has transformed into a very exciting film region, with a new generation...
Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival will put the spotlight on the cinema of the region’s indigenous Sámi community at its 40th edition running Jan 27 to Feb 6, 2017.
“Sámi film is hotter than ever. That’s why we’re turning the spotlight on the north,” says the festival’s artistic director Jonas Holmberg.
The Sápmi cultural region stretches across large tracts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia.
The semi-nomadic Sámi people – who traditionally make their living from fishing, hunting and reindeer herding – have suffered discrimination for centuries from dominant, incoming populations.
But in recent years, more enlightened cultural policies have seen a number of Sámi film-makers and producers emerging to tell Sámi stories as well as the establishment of the Sámi Film Institute.
“Sápmi has transformed into a very exciting film region, with a new generation...
- 11/7/2016
- ScreenDaily
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