Oslo, 31st August screens in Moscow on May 30 to launch Norwegian showcase

by Jorn Rossing Jensen

29/05/2012 - Norwegian director Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st [trailer, film focus], which Strand Releasing launched last week (May 25) in the US to favourable reviews, including the New York Times - will open the 3rd Festival of Norwegian Cinema in Moscow, which runs between May 30-June 6 at Moscow's leading arthouse cinema, Kino 35mm.

Trier's second feature, which had its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at last year's Cannes - and which has now reached 150,000 admissions in France, twice as many as in Norway - will be introduced to Russian audiences by the director and his lead actor, Anders Danielsen Lie.

Norwegian director Marius Holst will also be in Moscow to show his latest film, King of Devil's Island [trailer], in the festival programme, which will be concluded by German director Matthias Glasner's Mercy [trailer, film focus], the first German-Norwegian co-production in 35 years, selected for competition in Berlin.

"Humanity is the keyword to these films - they are outstanding, and in no way characterised by the heartlessness and assembly line you see in Hollywood movies. It is as if each film was made especially for you and your friends," said Aleksey Layfurov, of Russian distributor Cool Connections/Kino 35mm, organising the event with the Norwegian Film Institute and Norway's Moscow Embassy.

The festival showcase also includes Norwegian directors Aleksander Nordaas's fantasy-thriller, Thale, Ole Endresen's comedy Curling King [trailer], Arild Andresen's drama The Orheim Company [trailer], Anne Sewitsky's drama-comedy Happy, Happy [trailer] and Jens Lien's drama, Sons of Norway [trailer].