24/08/2006

Child abuse and child-parent relationships are at the heart of three very different feature films by up-and-coming Scandinavian filmmakers Erik Richter Strand (Norway), Peter Schønau Fog (Denmark) and Ragnar Bragason (Iceland), who will unveil their respective films Sons,The Art of Crying and Children at the Zabaltegi-New Directors showcase of the 54th San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 21-30).

32-year old Strand, a multiple award winner for his 2001 short film Vanished, has chosen the tough subject of child abuse for his feature debut Sons, co-written with Thomas Seeberg Torjussen. It is the story of a hot-tempered 25 year-old Lars (Nils Jørgen Kaalstad), who embarks on a crusade to stop an elderly man from abusing teenage boys in his neighborhood.

The drama was produced by Eric Vogel for Tordenfilm, co-founded by Vogel, Strand and producer Jørgen Storm Rosenberg (The Bothersome Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jens Lien
interview: Jørgen Storm Rosenberg
film profile]), all three graduates of the National Film School in Lillehammer.

Before screening in San Sebastian, Sons will close the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund tonight. It will open in Norway on September 15 through Sandrew Metronome and Bavarian Film International is handling world sales.

For his feature debut The Art of Crying, 35 year-old Danish born Schønau Fog, a graduate of Prague’s FAMU school, asked scriptwriter Bo Hansen (Nordkraft) to adapt Erling Jepsen’s bestselling novel. Set in South Jutland in the early 1970s, it tells the story of 11 year-old Allan who struggles to keep his family together.

The film, produced by Thomas Stenderup for Final Cut Productions, will be released in Denmark by SF in April 2007 and world sales are being handled by AB Svensk Filmindustri.

35 year-old Icelandic filmmaker Bragason toured several international festivals with his feature debut Fiasco. This second feature film is the first part of a twin feature exploring the different roles of children and parents in contemporary Reykjavik. It portrays the lives of an underworld thug, a single mum with four kids and a schizophrenic. The film was produced by Vesturport, a company founded by Iceland’s most innovative group of theatre artists, who are also handling world sales.