email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

VENICE 2014 Sweden

Andersson’s first in seven years selected for competition at Venice

by 

- Roy Andersson’s A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence will compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st edition of the festival

Andersson’s first in seven years selected for competition at Venice
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence by Roy Andersson

Swedish director Roy Andersson’s first film in seven years, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile
]
, will have its world premiere in competition for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival, which runs from 27 August-6 September.

Andersson, whose most recent feature, You, the Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pernilla Sandström
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile
]
(2007), won the Nordic Council Film Prize and four Guldbagges – Sweden’s national film award – has himself scripted the story about two weary, travelling salesmen of party novelties and a chaotic world between past, present and future, between reality and fantasy. 

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

“For me it is an honour to show my film in Venice, considering the fact that Italy has originated so many innovative and unforgettable masterpieces in the history of cinema, by such directors as Vittorio De Sica, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini, to name a few. In my opinion, De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves is still unsurpassed,” said Andersson.

Acknowledged for having set a new standard for psychological realism, subtle dark humour and visual narrative (and also for being a notorious perfectionist and a slow mover), Andersson has only made five full-length features since 1970, including A Pigeon. His Songs from the Second Floor (2000) won half a Jury Prize at Cannes; in 2009, New York’s Museum of Modern Art showed a retrospective of his work. 

Sweden’s first pursuer of the Golden Lion for 25 years was produced by Pernilla Sandström for Roy Andersson Filmproduktion, and co-produced by France’s Société Parisienne de Production, Norway’s and Germany’s Essential Filmproduktion. The Coproduction Office-Paris is handling international sales.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy