The 2007 Palm Springs Film Festival presents Skol! Scandinavia

Events: Page (1) of 1 - 01/05/07

The 2007 Palm Springs Film Festival presents Skol! Scandinavia A Celebration of Films from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden By Leslie Feibleman

The 18th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will kick off on January 4th, 2007 with a record setting lineup of 254 films from over 70 countries. The twelve day long Festival will host seminars, special events, Gala receptions and a red carpet Awards Gala honoring big name celebrities and notable filmmakers from around the world.

Building on its strong tradition of bringing outstanding international programming to Southern California, the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival will introduce Skøl! Scandinavia, a new showcase of Scandinavian cinema spotlighting17 films from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Skøl! Scandinavia boasts an impressive slate of feature length narrative films from emerging and seasoned filmmakers, a host of U.S. and North American Premieres, the official Academy Award® submissions in the Best Foreign Language film category from Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, as well as some co productions.

?It is amazing that the Festival will present films from a record-setting 73 countries, truly making this a world-class event,? said Carl Spence, director of programming. ?This selection of films showcases the best the world has to offer including the new program Skol! Scandinavia which spotlights some of the best films being made in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, as a result of the strong creative and financial support filmmakers receive in the region.?

Skøl! Scandinavia will feature seven films from Denmark, including works from award-winning filmmakers and several notable Danish women filmmakers. The PSIFF will screen After the Wedding (Efter Brylluppet) (Denmark, 2006, 120 min, Drama), Denmark?s official submissions for Academy Award® in the Best Foreign Language film category. Directed by Susanne Bier (Brothers, Open Hearts) and written by Oscar winning filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen (Adam?s Apple, Mifune?s Last Song), After the Wedding stars Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen and Rolf Lassgård. When Jacob, (played by Mads Mikkelsen, the arch villain from the bond film Casino Royale) who runs a struggling orphanage in Bombay, returns to Denmark to secure new funds, he discovers that his new benefactor has a secret path that will forever alter his charitable present and unknown future. Plot twists and turns make each character confront the difference between how they present themselves and who they really are.

From Danish Oscar nominated director / screenwriter Lars von Trier (Manderlay, Dogville, Dancer in the Dark), The Boss of it All (Direktøren for det Hele) (Denmark, 2006, 100 min, Comedy) will make its US Premiere as one of the Festival?s Gala Presentations. The film features an ensemble cast of Jens Albinus, Peter Gantzler, Iben Hjejle, Louise Mieritz and Mia Lyhne. Danish provocateur Lars von Trier returns with an unexpectedly breezy comedy about a company director who blames his office policies on an imaginary superior, but later must hire an actor to impersonate ?the boss of it all.? Von Trier deviously pulls the strings for the unwitting marionettes in one of his most enjoyable works to date.

Director Annette K. Olesen (Minor Mishaps, Tifanfaya), 1:1 (En Til En) (Denmark, 2006, 90 min, Drama) bravely explores the growing issue of racial conflict in Denmark in this story about how the near-deadly assault on a white boy destroys fragile peace between the local European and Palestinian communities. One of two films at the PSIFF by screenwriter Kim Fupz Aakeson, 1:1 features an international cast including, Mohammed Ali Bakier, Joy K. Petersen, Anette Støvelbæk, Helle Hertz, Subhi Hassan and Brian Lentz

Making its North American Premiere at PSIFF, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Liv) (Denmark, 2006, 59 min, Coming of Age) is the debut feature from Danish director and screenwriter Heidi Maria Faisst. The mother of 14-year-old Liv and 16-year-old Danny is not feeling very cheery this holiday season because of her impending bitter divorce. When she confounds family tradition by bringing home a younger male co-worker, she allows herself to become entangled in a dangerous erotic power game with her daughter. Filmed on location in Copenhagen, the film?s cast includes Malou Leth Reyman, Nastja Arcel, Paw Henriksen and Frederick Paarup.

Nominated for the Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic category at the Sundance Film Festival, Allegro (Denmark, 2006, 88 min, Drama, Fantasy) comes to the PSIFF from Danish director / screenwriter Christoffer Boe (Reconstruction) and screenwriter Mikael Wulff. In this cinematic tour de force from Denmark, a concert pianist, Zetterstrøm (Ulrich Thomsen from The Celebration), returns home to Copenhagen and finds himself a lost in a dreamlike odyssey to rediscover the love that he lost many years ago. Allegro stars Ulrich Thomsen and Helena Christensen Henning Moritzen.

Cecilie (Denmark, 2006, 100 min, Drama) will make its North American Premiere at the PSIFF.
Directed by Hans Fabian Wullenweber (Gemini, Catch That Girl) and written by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg, the film stars CaAnders W. Berthelsen, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Lars Mikkelsen, Claus Riis Østergaard and Sonja Richter. Thriller Cecilie sees and hears things no one else does. After she experiences an assault of which no traces are found, her husband commits her to a psychiatric hospital. With the help of a psychiatrist, Per, she begins to unravel the past, with shocking results, in this tense, psychological thriller that is reminiscent of the films of David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club).

From one of Denmark?s most accomplished young filmmakers, Prague (Prag) (Denmark, 2006, 92 min, Drama/Romance) will make its U.S. Premiere at PSIFF. Director and screenwriter Ole Christian Madsen (Angels in Fast Motion, Kira's Reason - A Love Story) and screenwriter Kim Fupz Aakeson bring audiences an intense drama about love, loss and loneliness. When Christoffer and his wife go to Prague to bring back the body of the father he has not seen for 25 years, the city unleashes forgotten longings?causing a rift in the marriage and a fight to avoid being destroyed. Prague stars versatile Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (from Casino Royale and After the Wedding), Stine Stengade, Borivoj Navratil, Jana Plodková and Josef Vajnar

Skol! Scandinavia will highlight two films from Finland. PSIFF will present Frozen City (Valkoinen Kaupunki) (Finland, 2006, 90 min, Drama) by director Aku Louhimies (Frozen Land, Lovers & Leavers,Restless) and screenwriters Paavo Westerberg and Mikko Kouki. Unfolding in ice-encrusted Helsinki, Frozen City is a raw and realistic portrait of a marital breakdown that shows the battling partners fueled by remnants of the feelings they still have for each other, and also by an irrational desire to hurt the other as much as possible. The film cast includes Janne Virtanen, Susanna Anteroinen, Aada Hämes, Santtu Nuutinen and Viivi Hämes

Nominated for the Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Lights in the Dusk Laitakaupungin Valot (Finland, 2006, 80 min, Comedy) from award-winning Finnish director / screenwriter Aki Kaurismäki (The Man Without a Past, I Hired a Contract Killer) stars Janne Hyytläinen, Maria Järvenhelmi, Maria Heiskanen and Ilkka Koivula. Aki Kaurismäki?s latest deadpan, black comedy presents a lonely and unassuming security guard who meets a beautiful blonde, but finds himself brutally enmeshed in a criminal heist plot of which he will become the fall guy.

Skol! Scandinavia will spotlight two films from Iceland including Children (Börn) (Iceland, 2006, 93 min Drama) Iceland?s official submissions for Academy Award® consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category. From director / screenwriter Ragnar Bragason (Love is in the Air, Fiasco) and screenwriters Gísli Örn Garoarsson Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Children brings to light the failure of a supposedly caring society to protect its most vulnerable members. Karitas, a single mother trying to survive in contemporary Icelandic society, fights a custody battle for her three young daughters, oblivious to the needs of her son Gudmund. Then her hoodlum ex enters the mix after burning his bridges elsewhere. The film stars Gísli Örn Garoarsson, Nína Dögg, Filippusdóttir, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Andri Snær Helgason and Margrét Helga Jóhannesdóttir

The PSIFF will present director Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson?s debut feature Thicker Than Water (Blódbönd) (Iceland, 2006, 90 min, Drama). When happy couple Pétur and Ásta?s young son Örn needs a blood transfusion after a soccer accident, Pétur is shocked to find Örn?s blood type matches neither parent. This event throws the boy?s paternity into question and removing the cornerstones of Pétur?s world in this chilling family drama. Written by Denijal Hasanovic Jón Atli Jónasson, Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson, Thicker Than Water stars Hilmar Jónsson, Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir, Laufey Elíasdóttir, Aron Brink Sigurjónsson and Jón Páll Eyjólfsson.

Skol! Scandinavia will highlight three feature films from Norway. Sons (Sønner) (Norway, 2006, 103 min, Drama) will make its North American Premiere at PSIFF. Director Erik Richter Strand?s debut feature, Sons is a gritty drama about a young man's angry reaction to the discovery of disturbing man from his past lurking near the community pool. Structured as a thriller the film chronicles his personal crusade to expose the truth portraying all of the characters involved with an honest and sympathetic brush as it reaches an unexpected but ultimately satisfying conclusion. Written by Thomas Seeberg Torjussen and Erik Richter Strand, the film?s cast includes Nils Jørgen Kaalstad, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Edward Schultheiss, Henrik Mestad, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Marika Enstad.

Directed by Jens Lien (Jonny Vang) and written by Per Schreiner, The Bothersome Man (Den Brysomme Mannen) (Norway / Iceland, 2006, 95 min, Comedy) is a surreal parable infused with a strong shot of new Nordic humor. Andreas arrives in a strange city with no memory of how he got there. He is presented with a job, an apartment, and soon finds a girlfriend. But before long, he notices that something is wrong. The winner of three Norwegian Amanda Awards for Best Actor (Trond Fause Aurvag), Best Director and Best Screenplay and nominated for Best Film, the film?s cast includes Johannes Joner, Birgitte Larsen, Per Schaanning, Petronella Barker and Trond Fause Aurvag.

Director Christopher Nielsen?s debut animated feature Free Jimmy (Jimmy Fri) (Norway, 2006, 80 min, Cult) will make its U.S. Premiere at PSIFF. Woody Harrelson (The People vs. Larry Flynt, A Prairie Home Companion, Frasier), Samantha Morton (In America), Kyle MacLachlan (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) and Jim Broadbent (Iris, Moulin Rouge) lend their voices to his outrageous Norwegian animated adventure in which a drug-addicted elephant escapes from the circus, only to be chased down by circus employees, sober animal activists, big-game hunters and the mafia. Written by cartoon legend Christopher Nielson and adapted by Simon Pegg Principal, Free Jimmy is Norway?s first ever computer generated full length animated feature.

Norwegian director Stefan Faldbakken?s and screenwriter Harald Rosenløw-Eeg?s film Uro (Norway, 2006, 98 min, Drama) explores Norway?s zero tolerance policy to drug dealing. Turning his back on a delinquent past, Hans Petter becomes a cop, determined to follow the straight and narrow. He soon realizes everything his past is quickly catching up with him. Faldbakken?s debut feature stars Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ane Dahl Torp, Ahmed Zeyan, Ingar Helge Gimle, Eivind Sander, Kim Sørensen and Bjorn Floberg.

Two films from Sweden will screen in Skol! Scandinavia. The PSIFF will present Sweden?s official submission for Academy Award® consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category, Falkenberg, Farewell (Farväl Falkenberg) (Sweden, 2006, 88 min, Drama) from young Swedish director / screenwriter Jesper Gansladt and screenwriter Wenzel. The struggle of five 20-something male friends to find their place in the world provides the focus for Falkenberg, Farewell, which captures the energy of youth, and with it, a strong undercurrent of melancholy. Set in Falkenberg, a small town on Sweden's west coast, the film stars Holger Eriksson, John Axel Eriksson, Jörgen Svensson, David Johnson and Jesper Ganslandt.

Nina?s Journey (Ninas resa) (Sweden / Poland, 2006, 120 min, Drama) from director / screenwriter Lena Einhorn, will make its North American Premiere at the PSIFF. Based on the true story of the writer-director?s mother, it is a powerful drama about a young Jewish woman's remarkable odyssey of survival during World War II in Poland. The Winner of the Best Film and Best Script at the Swedish Film Awards, the film stars Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Chwalibóg, Andrzej Brzeski, Pawel Iwanicki and Nina Einhorn.

Founded in 1990 by then Mayor Sonny Bono, the PSIFF is one of the largest film festivals in North America. The Festival has an attractive film sales and distribution record and is seen by American distributors as one of the best Academy Award campaign marketing tools. The Festival also features cultural events, filmmaker tributes, industry seminars and an annual black-tie gala award presentation. The 18th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival will take place from January 4th to 15th, 2007. For tickets, passes and information visit www.psfilmfest.org.

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Based in Orange County, California, Leslie Feibleman is a freelance arts writer and the director of special programs and the senior film programmer at the Newport Beach Film Festival and the Orange County Film Society. Leslie is the curator of the Art, Architecture + Design Film Series and the director of the Action Sports Film Series film programming at the Festival. Leslie oversees the Festivals family, youth, film education and outreach programs and specializes in organizing community cultural cinema programs. Leslie is the co-creator and curator of the Cinema Orange film series at the Orange County Museum of Art and the Cinema Sage Hill film series at The Studio at Sage Hill. Leslie also works as the marketing director for the celebrity, culinary venture, The Hollywood Cookbook: Cooking for Causes. Leslie holds a BA degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and has over ten years experience in design, 3D CAD and project management.

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