17/06/2005

The upcoming Moscow International Film Festival from 17-26 June has chosen three Scandinavian feature films as part of this year’s competition line-up.
The Guitar Mongoloid, the feature film debut of the Swedish 31-year-old Ruben Östlund will have its world premiere in Moscow. A graduate from the International Film School of Göteborg, Östlund received the top ‘Gulddraken Award’ at the Valborgfesten in Göteborg last May, an award given to a promising talent from Western Sweden. His first feature film about a 12-year old boy, who guides us through his fragmentary life, was then described as "a pleasant punch in the stomach alltogether daring, funny, sad, beautiful and unconventional." Produced by Hinden/Länna-Ateljéerna AB with support from the Swedish Film Institute, The Guitar Mongoloid was released last autumn in Sweden by Triangelfilm.

Also competing in Moscow is Thomas Vinterberg’s Danish film Dear Wendy produced by Nimbus Film and Zentropa Entertainment, and Aku Louhimies’ Finnish film Frozen Land which already won four major awards at the last Göteborg Film Festival including the Nordic Film Prize and the FIPRESCI Award. The film produced by Solar Films is the biggest local hit with over 170,000 tickets sold since its January release.

The 27th Moscow Film Festival will also organise a Special Focus on Denmark with eight feature films screening including Susanne Bier’s Brothers [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Nikolaj Arcel’s box office and critical hit King's Game, and the Berlin 2005 competition entry Accused by Jacob Thuesen. Lars von Trier’s Manderlay [+see also:
trailer
film profile] will screen separately as part of a special gala evening.