Lübeck, Oct. 26, 2016. The locales on display in the 17 films in Competition at the 58th Nordic Film Days Lübeck (Nov. 2 - 6, 2016) may be remote from the urban hustle and bustle, but they are anything but unspectacular. Deep in the imposing fjord landscapes of western Norway, a young woman seeks “Revenge” with a plan no less ingenious than that of Baltasar Kormákur, who chases across Iceland’s lava fields in “The Oath” to protect his daughter from her boyfriend. The Icelandic actor, director and producer, who is also presenting the TV series “Trapped” in Lübeck, will be a festival guest. In a fishing village on the Icelandic coast in “Heartstone”, first love ignites between two boys. Lübeck is happy to welcome as guests the film's director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson, who recently won the best director award for the film in Warsaw, as well as producer Anton Máni Svensson. A “Pyromaniac” wreaks havoc in the mountain villages of Norway – producer Gian-Piero Ringel and actor Liv Bernhoft Osa will be in Lübeck with the film by Erik Skjoldbjærg based on the novel by Gaute Heivoll. Osa was awarded the Norwegian film prize “Amanda” as actor of the year for her role as the mother, while her colleague Maria Bock, also a guest at this year’s NFL, won best supporting actor for her role in Kjrsti Steinbø’s "Revenge", based on the novel "Dukken i taket" by Ingvar Ambjørnsen.
Spectacular and historical locales are the setting of “Devil’s Bride” by Finnish director Saara Cantell, which recalls a cruel 17th century witch hunt on the Åland Islands, far from the mainland. The director and lead actor Tuulia Eloranta will be guests in Lübeck – along with Danish director Nicolo Donato, who will be presenting the world premiere of his film "Across the Waters" about a Jewish family fleeing to Sweden in 1943. Donato once again worked with Danish actor Morten Holst, who was seen in the director's 2010 feature debut “Brotherhood”, and the actor will be at the NFL, where he can also be seen in Lisa Ohlin’s Competition entry “Walk with Me”, a sensitive love story set between the horrors of war and the power of art. Other Danish entries in the Competition are Jesper W. Nielsen’s “The Day Will Come”, which tells the disturbing story of two brothers in a Danish borstal in the 1960s, and the directing debut of prize-winning screenwriter Rasmus Heisterberg with "In the Blood”, a contemporary study of growing up, which sees its young protagonists drifting on the streets of summertime Copenhagen.
From Sweden, we will be welcoming actor and director Helena Bergström with the German premiere of her film “A Holy Mess”, as well as actor Malin Levanon, who won the Swedish "Guldbagge" film prize for her haunting portrayal of dealer Minna, fighting for survival at the margins of society in Peter Grönlund's film "Drifters". Actor Tiina Mälberg from Estonia will be in Lübeck as the star of the original and tangled caper comedy “Mother”, in which an unsolved crime arouses suspicion about half the villagers, who display an unexpected side of their nature. The film is Estonia’s submission for the foreign-language Oscar. Finland’s Oscar entry, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki”, will also be at the Nordic Film Days, and we'll welcome actors Eero Milonoff and Jarkko Lahti, who plays boxer Olli Mäki during his the turbulent period surrounding his battle for the World title in Helsinki in 1962. They will be accompanied by actor and singer Oona Airola, who plays Olli’s great love “Raija”.
Poland’s Competition film “Strange Heaven” is about a young Polish couple who come into conflict with the child protection authorities after emigrating to Sweden and have to fight for custody of their daughter. Director Dariusz Gajewski will be in Lübeck to introduce the film – as will Andius Blazevicius from Lithuania, along with his producer Marija Razgute, to present his feature debut "The Saint". Finally, Swedish director Johan Löfstedt will be bringing half of his family to the NFL for the world premiere of his “Small Town Curtains”. His brother, Nils Petter Löfstedt, was the film’s cinematographer, while uncle Björn Löfstedt plays the lead, a shy man who changes his life after the death of his father; a selection of Löfstedt’s aunts and cousins also have roles in the film.
This year’s Competition programme, like the filmmakers and actors coming to Lübeck to celebrate it, will be a diversified journey of discovery. The festival, presented by the city of Lübeck, will open on November 2, 2016 with the international premiere of the Norwegian film "Rosemari" (German distribution by Farbfilm). Director Sara Johnsen, along with charming young actor Ruby Dagnall, who plays the lead “Rosmari”, Laila Goody as “Hilde” and producer Turid Øversveen, will attend the opening celebrations and the first official presentation of their film at the Nordic Film Days Lübeck.
The complete schedule for the 58th Nordic Film Days Lübeck, with details of all films, times and events is online. Advance ticket sales begin on October 29, 2016 at 3:00 pm in the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle, Mühlenbrücke 11 in Lübeck and online at www.filmtage.luebeck.de and www.cinestar.de.
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Press contact:
Silke Lehmann
Wiebke Reichenbach
Zara Zerbe
Press and publicity department
Nordic Film Days Lübeck
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Tel: +49 451 122 1455
presse@filmtage.luebeck.de
www.filmtage.luebeck.de
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