Lübeck, Nov. 5, 2020. The 62nd Nordic Film Days Lübeck opened its online festival yesterday. It was the first time that festival films were made available for online streaming across Germany. A total of 146 of the original 160 films from the Nordic and Baltic states and northern Germany selected for the festival can now be streamed at nordische-filmtage.culturebase.org. Among them are the opening film “The Good Traitor” (orig title: Vores mand i Amerika) directed by Christina Rosendahl from Denmark. Inspired by true events, the film is the story of Henrik Kauffmann, who was the Danish ambassador to the USA at the start of World War II, and who fought for the freedom and independence of Denmark after the Nazis occupied the country. A political rebel and man of the world, Kauffmann is masterfully embodied in the film by Ulrich Thomsen (“The Celebration”, “The World is not Enough”, “The International”).
Although “The Good Traitor” is set in the past, its subject matter is highly topical, says Linde Fröhlich, the artistic director of the festival. “It is about taking a stance, strength of character, and making decisions in complex situations and taking responsibility for them. The films shows that a single person can make a difference and influence the course of history. Especially right now, I think we need those kinds of positive role models. And, of course, it’s also an intelligent, absorbing film with high-end production values and excellent acting”. The festival manager Susanne Kasimir was also feeling upbeat as the NFL began, “The initial response to the streaming availability in Germany of almost our entire film line-up has been so positive that we will definitely plan to incorporate it into the live festival next year”. She went on to say “creating the feeling of a festival without face-to-face encounters is another challenge we tackled. So we are pleased with the “virtual festival plus” with a lot of online bonus material, interviews, and discussions that brings that Nordic feeling into audience living rooms”.
The recorded opening ceremony of the 62nd Nordische Filmtage Lübeck was posted on the NFL website www.nordische-filmtage.de and on Facebook/nordicfilmdays yesterday evening. The online event was moderated by Susanne Klische, an expert in Danish cinema who has moderated numerous discussions at the NFL over the years. Susanne Kasimir, the festival manager, and Linde Fröhlich, artistic director, officially opened the 62nd festival, introducing this year’s film programme, as well as the prizes, juries, and sponsors. Moderator Susanne Klische also discussed the opening film with its director, Christina Rosendahl. The prize ceremony on Saturday, November 7, will also be recorded and posted on the NFL website and Facebook page for anyone to watch.
A wealth of other bonus material is also available on the festival homepage www.nordische-filmtage.de and on social media. The “virtual festival” film streaming will thus be completed with interviews with filmmakers, videos providing a look behind the scenes at the festival, film tips, and numerous “director’s voice” clips, in which the filmmakers introduce themselves and their films. On Nov. 5 and 6, industry events will also be mounted as video conferences or live streams, including the Lübeck Meetings and a master class titled “ANIMADOC: Making the Invisible Visible”. The 7th Lübeck Film Studies Colloquium, which tackles the subject of cinema from an academic perspective in a series of lectures, will be held online this year.
The Nordic Film Days Lübeck, presented by the city of Lübeck, represent the largest festival on the European continent devoted to films from Europe’s north and northeast, with a special eye to current filmmaking in northern Germany.
Additional information on the festival’s streaming programme is available on our homepage www.nordische-filmtage.de. The streaming platform is accessed via nordische-filmtage.culturebase.org. Press photos for festival films are available online at: https://www.nordische-filmtage.de/de/presse/pressefotos/index.html.
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