Freshly unveiled today, 270 titles from 83 countries are getting ready to grace screens at the 48th edition of the Göteborg Film Festival, taking place from 24 January-2 February. The tenure of new artistic director Pia Lundberg, succeeding Jonas Holmberg’s ten-year stint, bodes well for the maintenance of the festival as a true stronghold of the Nordic region, yet with a universal perspective.

The festival will open with the Norwegian title Safe House, directed by Eirik Svensson and starring Kristine Kujath Thorp (Sick of Myself [+lee también:
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entrevista: Kristine Kujath Thorp
entrevista: Kristoffer Borgli
ficha de la película]) as a Doctors Without Borders medic who gives shelter to a Muslim refugee during the Central African Republic civil war in 2013. Alexander Karim (Gladiator II) and Alma Pöisty (Tove [+lee también:
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entrevista: Zaida Bergroth
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entrevista: Maria Eriksson-Hecht
ficha de la película], and Fanny Ovesen, whose Live a Little [+lee también:
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entrevista: Fanny Ovesen
ficha de la película] follows two female friends couchsurfing through Europe. From Denmark comes Sauna [+lee también:
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entrevista: Mathias Broe
ficha de la película], a queer love story by Mathias Broe, and Sylvia Le Fanu’s debut feature, My Eternal Summer [+lee también:
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entrevista: Sylvia Le Fanu
ficha de la película]. Also competing in this section for a first prize of 400,000 SEK (roughly €35,000) is Magnus von Horn’s The Girl with the Needle [+lee también:
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entrevista: Besir Zeciri
entrevista: Directors Talks @ European…
entrevista: Magnus von Horn
ficha de la película], Rúnar Rúnarsson’s When the Light Breaks [+lee también:
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entrevista: Elín Hall
entrevista: Rúnar Rúnarsson
ficha de la película], Dag Johan Haugerud’s Love [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dag Johan Haugerud
ficha de la película] and Pirjo Honkasalo’s Orenda [+lee también:
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entrevista: Pirjo Honkasalo
ficha de la película].

In all, 26 features will world-premiere, including Ragnhild Ekner’s study of Swedish football supporters, Ultras [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ragnhild Ekner
ficha de la película]; Norwegian helmer Trond Kvig Andreassen’s Kyiv Soloists, about a Ukrainian music ensemble that, while touring in Italy, receives news of the war at home and decides to remain on the road; and Swedish filmmaker Susanna Edwards’ account of the special force assigned to act as a buffer zone between activists and police during demonstrations, The Dialogue Police. All three are entered in the Nordic Documentary Competition section. Additional Nordic treats include Tomas Alfredson’s series adaptation of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann’s Faithless, Jimmy Olsson’s absurdist new miniseries starring Anna Odell and Tuva Novotny At Arm’s Length, and veteran auteur Jan Troell’s ongoing essay project Once Upon a Time, There Was a Now.

Special career honours will be bestowed upon Julie Delpy and Thomas Vinterberg, both in attendance, as will be Mohammad Rasoulof, bringing along his Cannes-awarded The Seed of the Sacred Fig [+lee también:
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entrevista: Directors Talks @ European…
entrevista: Mohammad Rasoulof
ficha de la película], which is also highlighted among the 14 feature-length entries in this year’s special Göteborg focus, dubbed “Disobedience”. Other titles represented here are Havana Marking’s Undercover: Exposing the Far Right, Nishtha Jain’s Farming the Revolution, Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dea Kulumbegashvili
ficha de la película] and Alessandra Celesia’s The Flats [+lee también:
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entrevista: Alessandra Celesia
ficha de la película].

“We will twist and turn the concept of disobedience. When does it go too far, and is the disregard for laws and rules a reasonable price for change in a democratic society?” ponders the presentation of this theme, continuing: “We hope and believe that the films and conversations in this focus will be able to inspire hope by showing that every individual has the power to exert an influence, and that every courageous ‘no’ can be the beginning of something greater. We are ready for it now.”

The full programme is available to peruse here.