02/11/2016 - A major contingent of Scandinavian filmmakers will attend the 2-11 November programme in the German city, comprising 185 titles

When the 58^th Nordic Film Days in Lübeck, Germany, opens today with Norwegian director Sara Johnsen’s Rosemari [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Johnsen herself will attend the international premiere of her film with her lead actresses, Ruby Dagnall and Laila Goody, and Norwegian producer Turid Øversveen, of 4½ Fiksjon. 

And they are only four of the many names on the extensive list of filmmakers invited to the competition at the largest Scandinavian film showcase outside the Nordic countries, also featuring Baltic cinema, which runs until 11 November. Seventeen features will compete for the top €12,500 NDR Film Prize. 

Norway is also represented by Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Pyromaniac [+see also:
film review
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interview: Erik Skjoldbjærg
film profile] (actress Liv Bernhoft Osa, who won an Amanda – Norway’s national film prize – for her role, and German co-producer Gian-Piero Ringel will both be in Lübeck) and Kjersti Steinsbø’s Hevn (Revenge) [+see also:
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interview: Kjersti G Steinsbø
film profile] (with a visit from Maria Bock, winner of the Amanda for Best Supporting Actress). 

Danish contenders for the festival, which last year took more than 30,000 admissions, include Nicolo Donato’s Across the Waters [+see also:
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film profile] and the directorial debut by prize-winning screenwriter Rasmus Heisterberg, In the Blood [+see also:
film review
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interview: Elliott Crosset Hove
interview: Rasmus Heisterberg
film profile].

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur will be in Lübeck to present both The Oath [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which was also screened at San Sebastián, and his Prix Europa-awarded TV series Trapped, while Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Heartstone [+see also:
film review
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interview: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
film profile], which took home a Gold Q Hugo from Chicago, is also on show.

Juho Kuosmanen’s Oscar contender The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki [+see also:
film review
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interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile] (whose actors Eero Milonoff, Jarkko Lahti and Oona Airola will be in attendance) and Saara Cantell’s 17^th-century witch-hunt Devil’s Bride [+see also:
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film profile] (with visits from Cantell and actress Tuulia Eloranta) are in competition for Finland. 

Swedish director (and actress) Helena Bergström will introduce A Holy Mess [+see also:
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film profile], while actress Malin Levanon will talk about Peter Grönlund’s Drifters [+see also:
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film profile], which earned her a national Guldbagge Award. Lisa Ohlin’s Walk with Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Johan Löfstedt’s Small Town Curtains are also on the line-up. 

Part of the 185-strong film programme will be screened in 360° format in a full-dome tent specially erected for the festival, and at virtual-reality stations in the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle. Audiences can look around them and explore these 360° environments – in Sheepview 360°, for example, they can join happy sheep as they wander along the steep cliffs and beautiful fjords of the Faroe Islands. 

Lübeck’s documentary section will focus on people in crisis situations: “Every day, politics, society and social media are shaped by violence, war and flight – but in contrast with the daily media flood, these films take a closer, longer, more detailed look, showcasing personal stories and giving their protagonists a face and a voice,” according to the gathering. The festival also has an extensive programme of movies for children and young people.