Von Trier and Kaurismäki lead strong Nordic contingent

by Gonzalo Suárez López

20/04/2011 - The official selection for the 64th Cannes Film Festival (May 11-22), which was unveiled on April 14 (see news), confirmed predictions (see news): Lars von Trier will vie for a ninth time for the Palme d’Or (which he won in 2000 for Dancer in the Dark) with Melancholia [trailer, film focus], starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg (2009 Best Actress Award winner at Cannes for Von Trier’s Antichrist [trailer, film focus]).

Trust Nordisk has sold the €7m Danish/Swedish/French/German/Italian co-production to ten territories so far, including Spain (Golem), France (Les Films du Losange), the US (Magnolia Pictures), and Germany and Austria (Concorde Filmverleih).

Aki Kaurismäki also returns to the official competition after previously showing his trilogy Drifting Clouds (1996), The Man Without a Past [trailer] (Grand Jury Prize in 2002) and Lights in the Dusk [trailer] (2006). The French-language Le Havre [trailer, film focus] stars the Finnish director's favourite actress, Kati Outinen, alongside André Wilms and Jean-Pierre Léaud.

Le Havre is co-produced by Finland (Sputnik Oy, Yleisradio Oy), France (Pyramide Productions) and Germany (Pandora Filmproduktion) and sold internationally by The Match Factory.

The German company will also handle sales for Norway’s only representative at Cannes this year: Oslo, August 31st [trailer, film focus], the latest feature by Joachim Trier (Reprise [trailer, film focus]), will screen in Un Certain Regard (see news). Produced by Motlys, the film looks at 24 hours in the life of a man in modern-day Oslo and is based on Pierre Drieu La Rochelle’s cult novel The Fire Within.

The Directors' Fortnight also includes a number of Nordic co-productions (see news), such as Polish director Urszula Antoniak’s (Nothing Personal [trailer, film focus]) Code Blue, co-produced by Zentropa Entertainments, and the Netherlands’ Family Affair Films and IDTV Film. Sales are handled by Bavaria.

Another Quinzaine title is Bulgarian director Kamen Kalev’s (Eastern Plays [trailer, film focus], finalist of the European Parliament LUX Prize 2009) Swedish co-production The Island [trailer] (sales: Le Pacte), starring Laetitia Casta, Thure Lindhardt and Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Play [trailer, film focus] (sales: Coproduction Office), by Swedish director Ruben Ostlund (Involuntary [trailer, film focus]), will also screen in the Fortnight. Produced by Plattform Produktion, the film received backing from Nordisk Film & TV Fond and the Swedish Film Institute.

The final Scandinavian title in the Quinzaine is Icelandic/Danish co-production Volcano [trailer] by Runar Runarsson, produced by Zik Zak Kvikmyndir and co-produced by Fine & Mellow (see news). It is sold internationally by Trust Nordisk.

Completing the Nordic contingent on the Croisette are Frederikke Aspöck, who will present Danish film Labrador (sales: Trust Nordisk) out of competition; and Copenhagen-born helmer Nicolas Winding Refn, who will compete with US production Drive.

(Translated from Spanish)