Lübeck, Oct. 12, 2016. At a press conference today, the directors of the Nordic Film Days Lübeck, Linde Fröhlich (artistic director) and Christian Modersbach (managing director) took to the podium alongside section curators to provide an overview of the programme for the upcoming 58th festival (Nov. 2 - 6, 2016). 185 films, including 17 in competition for the NDR Film Prize, endowed with 12,500 euros, will be shown over five days in the four festival cinemas as well as a variety of special venues. That includes a fulldome installed specifically for the NFL, showing immersive 360° films, and made possible by our partner at Lübeck’s public utilities. Norway, Sweden and Denmark have a strong presence in this year’s feature film programme. Mounted by the city of Lübeck, the Nordic Film Days festival is the only one of its kind in Germany or Europe that focuses exclusively on presenting films from the continent’s North and Northeast.
Many of the films in competition were shot at spectacular locations, far from the big cities. Important roles are played by imposing fjord landscapes or mountain villages in the films “Revenge” and “Pyromaniac”, lava fields in Iceland in “The Oath” by and with star Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, and the rounded cliffs of the Åland Islands. Unfulfilled desires, solidarity among people at the margins of society and aspects of friendship are important connecting links in many of the films. Other films take as their subject historical events, such as Danish Jews escaping to Sweden in "Across the Waters”, with an all-star cast of David Dencik, Danica Curcic, Jakob Cedergren and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, or the traumatic conditions in 1960s youth homes (“The Day Will Come”). Audiences will get a chance to see the world premiere of the Swedish film “Small Town Curtains” by Johan Löfstedt.
In addition to productions from the Nordic countries, the competition for the prize awarded by the NDR jury also features powerful entries from Estonia ("Mother”), Lithuania (“The Saint”) and Poland (“Strange Heaven”).
The number of German co-productions in this year’s competition has risen again against last year, with almost one-third of the films produced with German participation, including“Pyromaniac”, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki”, the opening night film “Framing Mom”, “The Oath” and “Devil’s Bride”. In the Film Forum section, with its emphasis on films from northern Germany including Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, seven of the total 38 films saw German production companies working with international co-producers.
The 58th Nordic Film Days will open on November 2, 2016 with “Framing Mom” by Norwegian director Sara Johnsen.Numerous international guests have accepted the invitation to accompany their films to Lübeck.Swedish director and actor Helena Bergström will introduce “A Holy Mess” in the competition section, and “Spring Tide” (working title) in the newly-created section “TV drama series”.NDR jury member Inger Nilsson looks forward to being in Lübeck for a preview of "The Inspector And The Sea: Forever Yours“ (Specials section), in which she stars as forensic pathologist Ewa. Finnish actors Jarkko Lahti, Eero Milonoff and Oona Airola will present “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki”. Director Jesper W. Nielsen from Denmark will take questions from the audience in Lübeck when he presents "The Day Will Come”, starring Sofie Gråbøl (“The Killing") and Lars Mikkelsen (“House of Cards”). In support of "The Florence Foster Jenkins Story” in the Film Forum, we are expecting prominent guests with US opera star Joyce DiDonato, best-selling author Donna Leon and director Ralf Pleger.
Above and beyond the movie theatres, numerous exceptional venues, such as St. Katharine museum church or the prison yard of the European Hanse Museum, will provide Lübeck audiences with special environments to enjoy silent film concerts, open-air installations accompanied by a shanty choir (“Windjammer”) and fascinating 360° films in the fulldome cinema tent. And they can produce their own movies in their head on the ''Nachtbus mit Tonspur" – an audiovisual night-time bustrip through Lübeck mixed with a composed soundtrack of everyday life.The very popular 2015 Crisis Cuisine is also back, inviting the public to eat and mingle with people introducing their own cultures.
A total of eight prizes will be awarded on November 5, 2016 during the Film Prize Night ceremony in Theater Lübeck. The main festival venues are the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle, in addition to the Kolosseum and Kino Koki, as well as Filmhaus Lübeck for the school programme.
Our committed media partners are the Lübecker Nachrichten newspaper and Norddeutsche Rundfunk broadcaster.
Press photos from the films showing in the 58th Nordic Film Days Lübeck are available now as downloads in the press section at www.filmtage.luebeck.de. The screening schedule and additional details on the films, special events and the side-bar programme will be posted on the festival homepage on October 21, 2016. Advance ticket sales begin on October 29 at 3:00 pm at the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle cinema, online at the festival website and at www.cinestar.de.
In addition to the complete screening schedule, special events are regularly posted at www.filmtage.luebeck.de, and the newest highlights and news can be found on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram.com / nordicfilmdays.
Press contact:
Silke Lehmann
Wiebke Reichenbach
Zara Zerbe
Press and publicity department
Nordic Film Days Lübeck
Schildstr. 12
23539 Lübeck, Germany
Tel: +49 451 122 1455
presse@filmtage.luebeck.de
www.filmtage.luebeck.de
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