07/05/2015 - Bo Widerberg’s 1972 winner, Joe Hill, and Sanna Lenken’s feature debut, My Skinny Sister, join the four previous Swedish selections

“Not only will Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman adorn this year’s official Cannes poster, but we will also have six films in the official programme – we must go back 12 years to find a similar representation,” said Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute.

The two latest additions to the Swedish Cannes 2015 package are the late Swedish director Bo Widerberg’s Joe Hill, which won the Special Jury Prize in 1972 – it will screen on the beach as part of Cinéma de la Plage – and Sanna Lenken’s feature debut, My Skinny Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sanna Lenken
film profile], which has been included in Écrans Juniors.

Widerberg, who died in 1997, developed a strong relationship with Cannes. His 1963 feature debut, The Baby Carriage, and six of his other films were selected in competition, and three of them won awards: Elvira Madigan (1967, Best Actress for Pia Degermark), Ådalen 31 (1969, Special Jury Prize) and Joe Hill. 

Starring Thommy Berggren, Joe Hill follows the Swedish-American labour activist, aka Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, and his involvement in IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), as well as a murder trial that led to his execution in 1915. The film will screen in a 2K, digitally restored version. 

With newcomer Rebecka Josephson and Amy Deasismont, aka pop star Amy Diamond, in the leading roles, My Skinny Sister follows 12-year-old Stella, who has always compared herself to her perfect elder sister, a figure-skating talent. When she realises that she is not all that perfect, her life begins to fall apart. Produced by Annika Rogell, for Tangy, Lenken’s feature debut received the Crystal Bear for Best Film and a Special Mention from the international jury in Generation Kplus at this year’s Berlinale. 

The other Swedish Cannes entries include the world premiere of Swedish director Stig Björkman’s biopic Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words, Magnus von Horn’s The Here After [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile] and David Sandberg’s action-comedy Kung Fury in the Directors’ Fortnight.