20/02/2006

A Soap [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lars Bredo Rahbek
interview: Pernille Fischer Christensen
film profile], the debut feature by Pernille Fischer Christensen, was awarded both the Jury Grand Prix – Silver Bear for Best Film (along with Jafar Panahi’s Offside) and the Best First Feature Award at Saturday’s closing night ceremony of the 56th Berlin Film Festival.

Among the favourite competition entries throughout the festival, A Soap got its inspiration from soap operas and their clichéd ideas about love. However, with the help of experienced scriptwriter Kim Fupz Aakeson, Christensen offers a wholly unconventional love story between 32 year-old Charlotte (Trine Dyrholm) and her transvestite neighbour, Veronica (David Dancik).

“It’s an incredibly big thing for me to receive two grand prizes like these”, said the 35 year-old Danish director, whose graduation short film India (1999) won 3rd Prize at the Cine Fondation in Cannes. “It’s simply so overwhelming and fantastic to get such a huge response the first time I venture into making a feature film. And it feels great to contribute something to the world that is Danish and positive at the same time”.

Lars Bredo Rahbek, the film’s producer, added: “Nimbus Film is enormously proud to contribute once again to establishing a new Danish filmmaker. Pernille and Fupz have shown that Danish film can make its mark internationally in spite of tight resources, simply by using an original cinematic approach and a good story”.

One of the cheapest Danish films of the last decade, with a budget of only €900,000, A Soap was the first feature to come out of the Danish Film Institute’s new subsidy program New Danish Screen, set up to promote continued innovation in Danish cinema by encouraging directors to stretch their horizons and try out new ideas. The film was also made in cooperation with Zentropa Entertainment , Garage Film AB and Filmgear Aps, and with the support of the Swedish Film Institute. International sales are being handled by Trust Film Sales.