This year's Retrospective “Travelogues & Road Movies” takes us on “northern journeys” to see Scandinavia from a tourist’s perspective – opening with a world premiere and including several special presentations.

Lübeck, Oct. 8, 2015. - The Retrospective of the 57^th Nordic Film Days Lübeck opens on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 7:45 pm with the world premiere of HIT THE ROAD GUNNAR by Nicolas Ehret. The director, actors and crew will be at the screening. In keeping with this year’s them "Northern Journeys, Travelogues & Road Movies”, the film is the story of the inner and outward journeys of a mismatched couple that will return changed from Sweden – if they return at all. Those kinds of stories, of (de)tours through the Scandinavian landscape are prominent in the Retrospective’s road movies, most of which were made in the 1980s and 1990s. But even as early as WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957), no less a director than Ingmar Bergman undertook a film about a car trip through Sweden, which also takes us on a journey into the sobering past of the protagonist. Finland’s ‘film ambassador’ Mika Kaurismäki is represented with two road movies, THE WORTHLESS (1982) and ROSSO (1985), which give us the wanderings of socially marginalised characters - much like in  IL CAPITANO (1991) directed by the Swedish old master Jan Troell. Mika Kaurismäki will also be a guest in Lübeck. Audiences will also get another chance to see the Danish winner of the 1999 NFL main prize, BYE BYE BLUEBIRD, featuring two ‘exotic birds’ who return to their home on the Faro Islands after many years away. A brilliant example of the use of film technology is the cinematic experiment THE RING ROAD (1982), in which Icelandic director Fridrik Thór Fridriksson travelled all 1339 kilometres of the country’s ring road, creating a mesmerising road trip.

Jörg Schöning, the director of the Retrospective, said “It’s fascinating how the filmmakers reinvent this quintessentially American genre in their own distinctly personal ways using northern European conditions and characters.”  

Films from the 1920s and 1930s provide a narrative of the long history of international travel. Of particular note in that regard are the maritime stills and footage of onboard photographer RICHARD FLEISCHHUT (1881 – 1951).In addition to a screening of his films about “Polar cruises”, the NFL will present a special exhibition of his photographs in the Kolosseum during the Film Days. The Retrospective is also screening two unique cinematic treasures from the Norwegian National Library. NORWAY, OUR NORWAY (1929) and NORTHERN SYMPHONY (1938) will transport audiences on a cruise through time and space. The Swedish silent outdoor drama THE STRONGEST (1929) will also transport audiences, in a screening with live accompaniment provided by the students of the Lübeck Academy of Music, in the impressive venue of St. Jakobi church.

Lübeck residents - and anyone else interested in local history – should not miss the screening on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10:30 am in the CineStar, where the Lübeck port of the 1970s provided the location for the documentary ROLL-ON/ROLL-OFF DOCKWORK. With Lübeck loader Frank Harksen providing the framework, the film reveals the pressures and uncertainty of a dockworker’s day-to-day existence. Director Peter Schubert and the film’s protagonist will attend the screening and a follow-up Q&A.

To set the mood for the Retrospective, there will once again be an expert presentation at the Gemeinnützige charitable association in Lübeck. Admittance is free. The cultural and art historical perspectives of northern journeys will be explored by Dr. Doris Tillmann, director of the Kiel city museum of shipping. (Nov. 3, 7.30 pm, Die Gemeinnützige, Königstr. 5, Lübeck.)  

For the second time this year, the NFL is mounting the “Lübeck Film Studies Colloquium“, led by Dr. Anders Marklund, professor at the University of Lund and editor-in-chief of the  “Journal of Scandinavian Cinema”.  Seminars and panel discussions will offer cineastes and (film) students the opportunity to learn and exchange information and ideas on both historical and contemporary aspects of cinema over two days on November 6th and 7th.  The theme of this year’s colloquium is “northern journeys”. Participation is free following registration by e-mail to  anders.marklund@litt.lu.se.

With its spectrum of 21 narrative, documentary and short films, along with numerous guests, the Retrospective of the 57^th Nordic Film Days once again presents a fascinating programme. The complete programme for the 57^th Nordic Film Days Lübeck will be available from October 24th on the festival homepage www.filmtage.luebeck.de. Advance ticket sales begin at 3 pm on October 31, 2015. Additional information and news can also be found at www.facebook.com/nordicfilmdays and www.twitter.com/nordicfilmdays.

Press contact:

Silke Lehmann

Niko Körner

Antonia Huckle

Press and publicity department

Nordic Film Days Lübeck

Schildstr. 12, 23539 Lübeck

Tel: +49 451 122 1454

presse@filmtage.luebeck.de