“There is something in the air they breathe up here – something about the resourcefulness and talent of the producers – which is really magical. Scandinavian filmmakers seem to get more out of less,” said director of acquisitions Peter van Steemburg, of US independent distributor Magnolia Pictures.

Currently attending New Nordic Films (August 19-22) at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, he had already purchased the festival opener, Norwegian director Erik Skjoldbjærg’sPioneer [+lire aussi :
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“Skjoldbjærg is possibly one of the finest directors working today, and Pioneer sort of epitomises what we from Magnolia Pictures like in Scandinavian films – it is a commercial thriller, but it stands out in many ways: the images, the performances from these actors,” he added.

“Scandinavian cinema has always been important in film history, but now you see movies which have this almost Hollywood aspect to them, telling stories which are so unique that you are pulled into a world you would not think was possible.”

The distribution arm of American cinema circuit, Landmark, with more than 200 screens, Magnolia Pictures caters for app 40 releases annually – the upcoming line-up also includes Danish directors Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt [+lire aussi :
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interview : Thomas Vinterberg
interview : Thomas Vinterberg
fiche film] and Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac [+lire aussi :
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interview : Louise Vesth
fiche film].

Von Trier’s Melancholia [+lire aussi :
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interview : Lars von Trier
fiche film]has so far been the company’s biggest Nordic success, which started on its Scandinavian trip when buying Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’sPusher [+lire aussi :
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“If we pick up a martial arts movie, it has to be a little smarter than the average martial movie, and a horror feature should also be a family drama – Swedish director Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In [+lire aussi :
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interview : John Nordling
interview : Tomas Alfredson
fiche film] (2008) is a perfect example,” van Steemburg concluded.