60th Nordische Filmtage Lübeck – Baltic night for the German premiere of the opening night film “The Little Comrade” (Seltsimees laps)

Lübeck, Oct. 31, 2018. At Tuesday’s opening of the Nordische Filmtage Lübecks Lübeck (Oct. 30 – Nov. 4, 2018), moderator Mille Maria Dalsgaard from Denmark, making her first appearance at the festival, presented introduced to the Lübeck audience six members of the Estonian crew behind the opening night film “The Little Comrade” (Seltsimees laps). It was a double-barrelled premiere, since it was the first time in the history of the Film Days that a film from a Baltic country opened the festival. Director Moonika Siimets, three of her actors – young Helena Maria Reisner, Eva Koldits, and Tambet Tuisk – as well as producer Riina Sildos (Amrion Production) from Estonia, and writer Leelo Tungal were greeted with a long round of applause by the opening night guests. Leelo Tungal’s autobiographical novels “The Little Comrade” and “Velvet and Sawdust” formed the basis for the touching film.

The Nordic Film Days Lübeck, presented by the city of Lübeck, represents the largest festival in Europe outside Scandinavia showing films from the Nordic and Baltic countries, with a particular emphasis on current filmmaking in northern Germany. The festival juries were also introduced on opening night. Among the luminaries on the juries are actors Lisa Karlström (soon to be seen in “Windstorm 4”) and Mette Lysdahl (TV’s “Grossstadtrevier”), Tristan Göbel (“Goodbye Berlin”), as well as director Susanna Salonen (“Patong Girl”).

“For the anniversary of the Nordische Filmtage Lübeck Lübeck, we’ve expanded the festival with an extra day – no mean feat, and one that would not have been possible without the loyal support of our long-term financers and sponsors”, said Florian Vollmers, festival manager for the Nordic Film Days Lübeck, “We’re particularly grateful to the Possehl foundation in Lübeck, the Schleswig-Holstein state ministry of education, science, and culture, Creative Europe media subsidies, and our two main sponsors, CineStar and the Radisson Blu Senator Hotel”.

The red carpet at the opening night screening in the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle sparkled with numerous invited guests, such as the Swedish ambassador, his excellency Per Thöresson, and his excellency William Mart Laanemäe, ambassador from Estonia. Dr Oliver Grundei, representing the Schleswig-Holstein ministry of education, science and culture, Lübeck’s mayor Jan Lindenau, lord mayor Gabriele Schopenhauer, the city’s senator for culture, education, and schools Kathrin Weiher, as well as the programming director of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk broadcaster Frank Beckmann were also glimpsed. Also on hand were consular representatives from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. After the screening, the 520 invited guests and the film crew moved to the opening night reception in Lübeck cathedral. There, a 60-strong choir from the University of Lübeck gave a rousing performance of a selection of Baltic songs, and a horn ensemble from the Lübeck Academy of Music performed a piece composed especially for the occasion by Danish composers Frans Bak and Søs Gunver Ryberg.

“We are pleased to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Nordische Filmtage Lübeck Lübeck, with so many old and new friends, with previous prize-winners and young talents. And we are proud and happy that we can help celebrate the centenary of their founding with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and 100 years of independence with Iceland”, said Linde Fröhlich, artistic director of the festival.

The 60th Nordische Filmtage Lübeck Lübeck will show 199 films in its anniversary year; the festival has been expanded to six days, through November 4, 2018. Many of the films’ directors and actors will be at the screenings to engage in Q&A with the enthusiastic festival audiences. Among the guest in Lübeck this year are directors Miguel Alexandre, Christian Theede, Jörn Donner, Klaus Häro, Rasmus Gerlach, Bragi Thór Hinriksson, Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken, Moonika Siimets, Giedrė Beinoriūtė, Maria Blom, Marija Kavtaradze, Sandra Trostel, Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir, Dorte Bengtson, Sofia Haugan, Maria Solrun, and Esther Bialas, as well as actors Albert Dyrlund Jensen, Gelminė Glemžaitė, Magnus Mariuson, Ditte Hansen, Marie Louise Mieritz, and Rasmus Hammerich. With the addition of a new prize for best narrative feature, a total of nine jury prizes will be awarded this year to films in the Competition, Filmforum, and Children’s and Youth Films sections. The new award is endowed by the Friends of the Nordic Film Days Lübeck. (Total prize money: 50,000 euros.) Winners will be announced at the Prize Gala on November 3, 2018 in Theater Lübeck.

Additional information on the festival programme is available on our homepage www.nordische-filmtage.de. News, highlights, and film clips can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Press photos for festival films are available here, and photos of special events and celebrity guests here.

Press contact:

City of Lübeck
Nordic Film Days Lübeck
Press and Publicity Department
Schildstr. 12,
23539 Lübeck
+49 / (0) 451 / 122 1455
presse@nordische-filmtage.de
www.nordische-filmtage.de