Lübeck, Oct. 27, 2017. The 59th Nordic Film Days Lübeck present 18 international short films, the “Nordic Shorts”, in three programme blocks, “Bizarre Episodes”, “Transported and Uncoupled”, and “Day-to-day Routine”, including 13 German premieres. The “Children and Youth Film” section will also screen shorts divided into blocks for various age groups, and the Filmforum, the northern German section of the festival will show a total of five blocks of shorts.
“From mundane dullness to a chaotic mess – the 18 international films in the short film programmes make it clear just how broad a spectrum “normality” can encompass. After all, what exactly is “normal”? says Sebastian Apel, who put the programme together and will be moderating in the cinemas.
The “Bizarre Episodes” portray characters who are perhaps not entirely ordinary in situations that are even less ordinary – whether it’s a debate in the city council, or a dialogue in a wreck after a car crash. “Cubs” (Ungar / Die Kleinen) by Iceland’s Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir plays on the doubts of a mother - and the expectations of the audience - when her young daughter wants to sleep over at a friend's, who lives with her single father. Also in that block are the shorts “Nothing Ever Really Ends” (Ingenting tar noensinne slutt / Nichts hat wirklich ein Ende), “My Sweet Runner” (Min elskede løper / Meine geliebte Läuferin), “Helen's Birthday” (Heleni sünnipäev / Helens Geburtstag), “Taking the Floor” (Puheenvuoro / Redezeit), “The Dijon Story” (Dijon-Juttu / Die Dijon-Geschichte), and “A Swedish Classic” (En Svensk Klassiker / Ein schwedischer Klassiker).
“Transported and Uncoupled” highlights stories of role expectations and the surroundings of the films' protagonists. They have to learn to live with OCD, or they tread on thin ice looking for lost connections – “OverLove” (ULYST / Unlust), “Forever Now”, “Ice” (Jää / Eis), “Little Bird” (Qooqu / Kleiner Vogel), and “Where Things, Where People Disappear” (Kur dingsta daiktai, kur dingsta žmonės / Wo die Dinge, wo die Menschen verschwinden) byJore Janaviciute are in that group. That last, Lithuanian short is about an encounter at a gym. Simona’s handbag is stolen and Donas offers to drive her home. It’s a night that will change both their lives.
“Day-to-day Routine” includes the usual suspects: Satanists move in next door, the ceiling falls in. Sometimes life surprises you, and sometimes it’s high time to rock the boat of everyday life. Among the six films in this block are “Make a Wish” (Önskedrömmar / Wünsch dir was) by Swedish director Jonatan Etzler, which depicts the end of the quiet life of pensioners Anita and Gunnar after Anita’s dream of a little hanky-panky with TV host Rickard Swahn suddenly comes true. The other films about life's treadmill are “Fucking Bunnies” (Saatanan kanit / Wie die Karnickel), “Angry Hamster” (Vihainen marsu / Ein wütender Hamster), “The Burden” (Min börda), “The Ceiling” (Katto / Die Decke) and “Munda”.
In addition, the Children and Youth Film section is screening the short film blocks “Shorts for Shorties”, for children age six and over, “Growing Up” for ages 12 and up, and “Dreams and Trauma” approved for young adults over 16. And in the Filmforum programme, audiences can take a short(s) break with “Landscape:Time”, “Short Docs”, “Portraits”, “Best of Film Schools” and “Short and Dramatic”. Those Filmforum films are in the running for the CineStar Prize, which is endowed with 3,000 euros, and has been awarded by the CineStar Group since 2012 to a short film from northern Germany. The 360° section of films showing in the Fulldome cinema, is also made up of shorter films. Various programmes, such as “Ghost Stories” or “Northern Lights” will provide a range of choices to audiences each day from November 1 to 5, 2017. The Film Days invite the public to use #nordicfilmdays2017 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to capture their cinema experiences and reveal their favourite short film.
The complete programme of short films, and the rest of the festival, has been online since October 21. Advance ticket sales begin at 3 pm on October 28th. Highlights, news, and videos by NFL guests can be found on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram.com/nordicfilmdays. Press photos for festival films are available online at: www.luebeck.de/filmtage/de/presse/pressefotos
Press contact:
Silke Lehmann, Luisa Wellhausen, Svenja Knoke, Melissa Harms
Nordic Film Days Lübeck
Press and publicity department
Schildstr. 12, 23539 Lübeck
Tel: + 49 / (0) 451 / 122 1455
presse@filmtage.luebeck.de
www.filmtage.luebeck.de
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