Ciné Nordica brings Paris films from the cold

by Fabien Lemercier

06/03/2012 - Simon och ekarna [trailer] (photo) by Lisa Ohlin (news), a film that this year garnered 13 nominations at the annual Guldbagge Swedish film awards, is to open the fourth Ciné Nordica festival from March 7 to 12 at the Cinéma du Panthéon in Paris. France’s only Scandinavian cinema festival this year will screen a rich programme of 18 feature films.

From Sweden, also to be screened is the excellent and very un-politically correct Play [trailer, film focus] by Ruben Ostlund, unveiled during the last Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, and Sebbe [trailer] by Barak Najafi (read interview and article), a first feature than won best film at the Guldbagge Awards in 2011. There will also be Beyond [trailer] by Pernilla August (discovered at the Critics’ Week in Venice - read more).

Norway will be on show with the worrying Babycall [trailer] by Pål Sletaune starring Noomi Rapace (to be distributed in France on May 2 by Jour2fête), with Happy Happy [trailer] by Anne Sewitsky (the winner at Sundance last year, and already distributed in France by Happiness Distribution), and with the remarquable Oslo, August 31st [trailer, film focus] by the Norwegian director Joachim Trier (unveiled at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, selected at Sundance, and a great success in French cinemas since its release last Wednesday by Memento Films Distribution). The filmmaker’s previous film, Reprise [trailer, film focus], will also be screened alongside two films directed by his grandfather Erik Løchen: The Chasers and Objection. The Norwegian selection is to be completed by King of Devil’s Island [trailer] by Marius Holst (distributed last November by Les Films du Losange ).

Denmark will bring Parisian cinephiles the chilling Beast [trailer] by Christoffer Boe (review), Labrador [trailer] by Frederikke Aspöck (selected at Cannes at a special viewing), and Truth About Men [trailer] by Nicolaj Arcel (review), who was recently honoured with two awards in Berlin for his last opus A Royal Affair [trailer, film focus].

Iceland will also be at the festival with Volcano [trailer] by Rúnar Rúnarsson (well-received at the last Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes - review), Brim (Undercurrent) by Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson (who last year won Best Film in his country), and Jitters by Baldvin Zophoniasson (article).

Finally, Finland will screen The Good Son [trailer] by Zaida Bergroth (seven nominations at the Jussi Awards), and Marjane Satrapi will on Thursday present her Nordic film of choice: Cries and Whispers by Ingmar Bergman.

(Translated from French)