Swedish Film Don’t relax Ruben Östlund’s Involuntary hits Cannes FEATURED FILMS EVERLASTING MOMENTS AM I BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU? PATRIK, AGE 1.5 INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA THE TALE OF LITTLE PUPPETBOY #2 2008 A magazine from the Swedish Film Institute MEMFIS FILM COMING ATTRACTIONS THE MEMFIS FILM KORNHAMNSTORG 6 111 27 STOCKHOLM SWEDEN PHONE 46-8-335576 FAX 46-8-309934 [email protected] FILM ‘‘ INDUSTRY HAS ASSUMED A FILM BY MARIA BLOM THE SHAPE AND FORM OF A BUTCHERY AND FORNICATION BUSINESS. Ingmar Bergman ’’ GET IT RIGHT FROM THE START. THE INGMAR BERGMAN INTERNATIONAL DEBUT AWARD 2009 CEO’S LETTER Director, International Department NONSTOP SALES PRESENTS Pia Lundberg Phone +46 70 692 79 80 MARKET PREMIERE pia.lundberg@sfi .se Films with a confi dence “A film that speaks to both heart and mind” IT IS WITH joy, pride and a strong sense of cute little baby they envisaged, into their Dagsavisen self confi dence that we Swedes arrive at lives walks a sullen 15-year-old with Festivals, features Gunnar Almér Cannes this year. Since last year’s festival, criminal and homophobic tendencies. Phone +46 70 640 46 56 we’ve noticed a growing interest in the In Fishy we encounter a strong young gunnar.almer@sfi .se latest developments in Swedish fi lm. It’s woman as far removed from the hack- been a long time since we’ve had such a neyed victim role as one can get – an wide variation on off er. From blockbust- empowering fi lm by Maria Blom, the MARKET SCREENINGS: ers such as Arn – The Knight Templar (Arn director of one of the biggest box-offi ce Features, special projects Petter Mattsson MAY 15TH AT 14:00, PALAIS C – Tempelriddaren), which broke box-offi ce hits in Sweden of recent years, Dalecar- Phone +46 70 607 11 34 MAY 21ST AT 16:00, PALAIS C www.nonstopsales.com/themanwholovedyngve records in Sweden, to intimate and lians (Masjävlar). petter.mattsson@sfi .se www.nfi.no/cannes revealing love stories fi lmed entirely on And don’t miss Wolf (Varg) by Daniel mobile telephones. And we’ve had Alfredson, which went straight to the top MARKET PREMIERE Swedish fi lms at all the major festivals: of the box-offi ce chart on its release in Sundance, Clermont-Ferrand, Rotterdam, Sweden, and can also be seen by interna- Festivals, documentaries «GRABS YOU AND DON’T LET YOU Berlin and Tribeca. In Cannes we’re tional audiences in the Cannes fi lm Sara Yamashita Rüster Phone +46 76 117 26 78 RELAX FOR ONE SECOND» especially proud that the original and market. The fi lm has sparked off a heated sara.ruster@sfi .se ground-breaking Involuntary (De ofrivilli- debate in Sweden over the vexed question Spirit ga) by Ruben Östlund has been selected of the lengths people can go to protect for Un Certain Regard. themselves against the wolf, an animal Tomas Alfredson’s vampire drama, Let threatened by extinction in Europe. Festivals, short fi lms the Right One in (Låt den rätte komma in), Andreas Fock THE HUNTING SEASON IS ABOUT TO BEGIN which was screened in Rotterdam and WE COME TO Cannes with a whole range Phone +46 70 519 59 66 andreas.fock@sfi .se MARKET SCREENINGS: Berlin, continues to reap awards at festivals of other interesting features, shorts and MAY 14TH AT 16:00, PALAIS I TH around the world even before its release in documentaries. And as usual, we and the MAY 19 AT 10:00, OLYMPIA 4 www.nonstopsales.com/manhunt Sweden. You can see the fi lm at the market other Nordic fi lm institutes will be www.nfi.no/cannes in Cannes, along with The King of Ping Pong holding house at the Scandinavian Head of Communications From the writers of TOY STORY and GARFIELD (Ping-pongkingen), the long awaited feature Terrace, 55, La Croisette. Do come and & Public Relations MARKET PREMIERE debut by Cannes award-winning director meet us there, and fi nd out just why Åsa Garnert Jens Jonsson, a fi lm which picked up the Swedish fi lm is so exciting right now. Phone +46 70 615 12 41 asa.garnert@sfi .se highly-coveted World Cinema Jury Prize: See you there! Dramatic at Sundance this winter. Press Offi cer SWEDISH FILM HAS made a name for not Jan Göransson shying away from sensitive subjects and Phone +46 70 603 03 62 taboos, and this year is no exception. Ella Cissi Elwin jan.goransson@sfi .se Lemhagen is back with a warm-hearted CEO, romantic comedy, Patrik, Age 1.5, in which Swedish Film Institute MARKET SCREENINGS: The Secret Chamber we meet a gay couple in a middle class MAY 16TH AT 13:30, PALAIS J area who want to adopt. But a dot ends up Swedish Film Institute MAY 20TH AT 11:30, PALAIS J www.nonstopsales.com/gnomesandtrolls in the wrong place, and instead of the International Department P.O. Box 27126 SE-102 52 Stockholm, Sweden Phone +46 8 665 11 00 Fax +46 8 666 36 98 SWEDISH FILM Contributing Editors Cover photo www.sfi .se ISSUE 2/2008 Anders Dahlbom Henrik Andersson All about Swedish Film www.swedishfi lm.org Henrik Emilson Photography Issued by Martin Frostberg Henrik Andersson The Swedish Film Institute Emma Gray Munthe Johan Bergmark Caroline Hainer Sara Mac Key Publisher Tobias Hansson Sofi a Wellborg Pia Lundberg Jan Lumholdt Illustrations Editors Lisa Norrevik Dennis Eriksson Mattias Dahlström Olof Peronius Translation Elin Larsson Stefan Thungren Derek Jones The Swedish Film Institute’s aims include the MARKET SCREENINGS: Art Direction Mattias Vestin Print promotion, support and development of Swedish fi lms, MAY 15TH AT 12:00, PALAIS I Markus Edin Jannike Åhlund Fagerblads Print & the allocation of grants, and the promotion of Swedish MAY 18TH AT 18:00, PALAIS C www.nonstopsales.com/pingpong Packaging, Västerås cinema internationally. (www.sfi .se) ISSN 1654-0050 4 Cannes Film Market Offi ce: SCANDINAVIAN TERRACE (55 LA CROISETTE) 5 Michael Werner, Sales Manager, mobile: +46 (0) 707 33 28 55 Judith Toth, Sales Executive, mobile: +46 (0) 704 16 99 83 [email protected], www.nonstopsales.com CONTENTS #2/2008 4XFEJTI-BQMBOE'JMN$PNNJTTJPO Cfsju!Ujmmz-!Gjmn!Dpnnjttjpofs Gjmnqppm!Opse-!Lspobo!B3-!TF.:85!53!Mvmf Npcjmf;!,57.81.441!56!:: cfsju/ujmmzAtmgd/tf xxx/tmgd/tf LOCTIONS ND FCILITIES IN S*EDEN Mppljoh!gps!mpdbujpot!boe!qspevdujpo!tfswjdft!jo! 4UPDLIPMN'JMN$PNNJTTJPO Txfefo-!qmfbtf!dpoubdu!vt/! Njnnj!Gpstt-!Gjmn!Dpnnjttjpofs Hsfub!Hbscpt!wh!4-!TF.27:!51!Tpmob Xf!tvqqpsu!joufsobujpobm!ßmn!boe!UW!qspevdujpot! Npcjmf;!,57.81.434!88!82 xjui!jogpsnbujpo!boe!qsbdujdbm!bewjdf-!bu!op!dibshf/ njnnj/gpsttAtupßmn/dpn 32 20 12 xxx/tupßmn/dpn PHOTO (FROM LEFT): NILLE LEANDER, JOHAN BERGMARK, JOCLO eSFTVOE'JMN$PNNJTTJPO Njlbfm!Twfottpo-!Gjmn!Dpnnjttjpofs Tjyufo!Tqbssft!hbub!2-!TF.382!4:!Ztube Npcjmf;!,57.81.827!43!13 twfottpoApsftvoeßmn/dpn xxx/psftvoeßmn/dpn 42 11 16 PHOTO (FROM LEFT): SOFIA WELLBORG, © STORY 2008, © STORY 2008 FILM I VÄST SCANDINAVIA’S LEADING PARTNER IN INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION congratulate our co-productions at Cannes International Film Festival 2008: 14 24 30 PHOTO (FROM LEFT): SARA MAC KEY, © PLATTFORM PRODUKTION, PRODUCTIONS ORM RÖDE © 4 CEO’S LETTER 24 RUBEN ÖSTLUND Cissi Elwin tells it like it is: Swedish fi lm is alive and kicking! Is he the Next Big Thing in Swedish fi lm? Helmer Ruben Östlund, 8 NEWS in Cannes with his latest effort Involuntary, defi nitely has the ambitions. Everything you need to know about what’s happening in Swedish fi lm. 30 DANIEL FRIDELL 14 FREDRIK HEINIG Director Daniel Fridell is in search of music and dreams in Cuba. Looking for visions – meet Sweden’s Producer on the Move. 32 JAN TROELL 16 GÖRAN OLSSON Meet Jan Troell, one of Sweden’s most prominent fi lmmakers of all time. Filmmaker Göran Olsson is hung-up on Philly soul legend Billy Paul. 38 TRENDSPOTTING: ADAPTATION DE OFRIVILLIGA LES GRANDES PERSONNES SAGAN OM DEN LILLE DOCKPOJKEN Turning novels into fi lms isn’t all about crime stories anymore. 20 ELLA LEMHAGEN Chapter 4 : What a shame Brian Gay adoption, controversial? Not in the eyes of director Ella Lemhagen. 42 ANDREA ÖSTLUND On the lookout for the next generation of Swedish auteurs. UN CERTAIN REGARD SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE QUINZAINE DES RÉALISATEURS 45 NEW FILMS courts métrages 24 Swedish fi lms, 29 fi lmmakers, and all you need to know about them. Film i Väst is owned by Region Västra Götaland. WWW.FILMIVAST.SE 6 7 NEWS KAROLINA JONSSON THE FIRST DAY (SHORT) Survival of the oldest Her fi lm Snow in November (Snö i november) competed in Cannes in 2003. In Karolina Jonsson’s new short, The First Day (Den första dagen), we encounter Bertil who has just arrived at an old people’s home. Karolina Jonsson. Many of your fi lms are about older people. Why’s that? “I actually ERIK ROSENLUNDERIK work at an old ERIK ROSENLUND CHECKOO (SHORT) people’s Bertil in The First Day. home, but it’s not age itself I’m interested in. Checkoo yourself! It’s the situation in which people fi nd themselves when they’re vulnerable, when their Johannes and Ola on familiar ground. In Checkoo, Erik Rosenlund marries uncomfortable viewing. Is there a together an art deco look with 1970s jazz similar impulse behind Checkoo? bodies are wearing out.” funk to tell the story of a 9 to 5 offi ce “Basically I want to entertain the What’s your aim with the SIMONSSON/STJÄRNE NILSSON SOUND OF NOISE (FEATURE) worker who can’t keep up with his audience and give them something to think fi lm? colleagues.