31/10/2008

The Stockholm International Film Festival is launching numerous new directors for its 19th edition (November 20-30).

“This year’s programme keeps up the momentum. Out of the 175 films at the festival [from 40 countries], a third are made by first-time directors. This is where the exciting directors are introduced,” said Artistic Director Git Scheynius.

Twenty films will vie for the Bronze Horse in the main competition programme, such as opening film The Wrestler (Golden Lion in Venice), Ruben Östlund’s Involuntary [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erik Hemmendorff
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] (Sweden), Downloading Nancy, the feature debut of Swedish music video filmmaker Johan Renck, Eva Sørhaug’s Cold Lunch [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Norway), Anna Novion’s Grown Ups [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France/Sweden), and Steve McQueen’s Hunger [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Hastings-Smith Rob…
interview: Steve McQueen
film profile] (UK).

Nine sidebars will focus on US independents, Asian Images, Russia, genre films in the Twilight Zone, the best international films in the Open Zone, short films, TV productions and art films (Collage), as well as filmmakers Sydney Pollack (to whom the festival is dedicated) and Wong Kar Wai, recipient of this year’s Stockholm Visionary Award.

Seven films by Swedish directors will screen in the Work in Progress section, including Shelter, the Hollywood debut of filmmaking duo Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, starring Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The Face2Face section will host discussions about the digital revolution and an introduction to the world of animation by 3D specialist White Shark (Gnomes and Trolls).

French-English actress Charlotte Rampling will attend the festival to receive the Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award and present her latest film, The Duchess [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].