20/04/2009

Kicking off today in Linz, the 6th Crossing Europe Film Festival (April 20-26) will present 177 features, documentaries and shorts from 33 different countries.

Among the 11 titles in competition are films that have won acclaim at other festivals. These include Berlin contenders Calimucho by Eugenie Jansen (Holland) and Light Gradient [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Jan Krüger (Germany, see review); and Cannes titles Grown Ups [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Anna Novion (see review), Versailles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Geraldine Michelot
interview: Pierre Schoeller
film profile] by Pierre Schoeller, Involuntary [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erik Hemmendorff
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] by Sweden’s Ruben Östlund (see review) and Snow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Bosnian director Aida Begic.

Also screening in competition are Vincent Pluss’ The Noise In My Head [+see also:
trailer
interview: Céline Bolomey
film profile] (Swiss Film Award for Best Actress); and Gianni Di Gregorio’s Italian hit Mid-August Lunch [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (prize-winner at the latest Venice Film Festival).

The Panorama section features 20 titles, including French director Claire Denis’ 35 Shots of Rum [+see also:
trailer
film profile]; Maren Ade’s Everyone Else [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maren Ade
film profile] (see review), which won two awards at the latest Berlinale; Peter Strickland’s superb Hungarian/Romanian co-production Katalin Varga [+see also:
film review
trailer
Interview Peter Strickland - Director …
film profile] (see review), which also scooped honours at Berlin; and Helena Trestikova’s acclaimed Czech film René.

Besides the Panorama Special section – showcasing 34 films – Crossing Europe will host the "Working Worlds" sidebar, the "Night Sight" programme (dedicated to genre films) and a vast selection of Austrian titles. There will also be a homage to Swiss-French filmmakers Lionel Baier and Ursula Meier and a special section focusing on the work of Norwegian director and video artist Inger Lise Hansen.

(Translated from French)