Please join us for the
EFP Screenings of Academy Award® Entries from Europe Fourteen films submitted in the BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM category
November 6 - 14 Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills For AMPAS, HFPA, guild members RSVP: MediaplanRSVP@gmail.com, 310 260 2800 For buyers and press RSVP: Screenings@efp-online.com Spain: 15 YEARS + 1 DAY
Belgium: THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Directed by Gracia Querejeta Wed, Nov 6 / 6:15 pm
Directed by Felix van Groeningen Wed, Nov 6 / 8:00 pm (with Q&A)
Sweden: EAT SLEEP DIE
Montenegro: ACE OF SPADES - BAD DESTINY
Slovak Republic: MY DOG KILLER
Bulgaria: THE COLOR OF THE CHAMELEON
Finland: THE DISCIPLE
Greece: BOY EATING THE BIRD'S FOOD
Germany: TWO LIVES
Iceland: OF HORSES AND MEN
The Netherlands: BORGMAN
Norway: I AM YOURS
Slovenia: CLASS ENEMY
Croatia: HALIMA’S PATH
Directed by Gabriela Pichler Thu, Nov 7 at 3:00 pm
Directed by Ulrika Bengts Sun, Nov 10 / 2:00 pm (with Q&A)
Directed by Alex van Warmerdam Tue, Nov 12 / 8:00 pm (with Q&A)
Directed by Drasko Djurovic Fri, Nov 8 / 4:00 pm (with Q&A)
Directed by Ektoras Lygizos Sun, Nov 10 / 4:00 pm
Directed by Iram Haq Wed, Nov 13 / 6:15 pm (with Q&A)
Directed by Mira Fornay Sat, Nov 9 / 4:00 pm
Directed by Georg Maas Sun, Nov 10 / 6:00 pm (with Q&A)
Directed by Rok Biček Wed, Nov 13 / 8:15 pm
European Film Promotion, Friedensallee 14-16, 22765 Hamburg, Germany info@efp-online.com, www.efp-online.com With the support of EU‘s MEDIA Programme
EFP is financially supported by
Directed by Emil Christov Sat, Nov 9 / 6:00 pm (with Q&A)
Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson Tue, Nov 12 / 6:15 pm
Directed by Arsen Anton Ostojic Thu, Nov 14 / 4:00 pm (with Q&A)
Visit the EFP Umbrella Office during the AFM at Loews Hotel #863 In cooperation with
Bulgarian National Film Center, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, EYE International, The Netherlands, Finnish Film Foundation, Flanders Image, German Films, Greek Film Centre, Icelandic Film Centre, Instituto de la Cinematografa y de las Artes Audiovisuales / ICAA (Spain), Ministry of Culture of Montenegro, Norwegian Film Institute, Slovak Film Institute, Slovenian Film Centre, Swedish Film Institute
European Film Promotion invites you to the screenings of fourteen films submitted in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 86th Academy Awards®.
European Film Promotion Hamburg, Germany +49 40 390 6252 www.efp-online.com Contact during AFM EFP Umbrella Office Loews Hotel #863 +1 310 458 6700 ext. 863
The films will be presented to buyers, selected journalists, and Academy members. Wednesday, November 6 6:15 pm Spain: 15 YEARS + 1 DAY by Gracia Querejeta, 96 min 8:00 pm Belgium: THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN by Felix van Groeningen, 100 min followed by Q&A with the director
Thursday, November 7 3:00 pm Sweden: EAT SLEEP DIE by Gabriela Pichler, 104 min
Jo Mühlberger Project Director muehlberger@efp-online.com
Friday, November 8 4:00 pm Montenegro: ACE OF SPADES – BAD DESTINY by Drasko Djurovic, 103 min
Tatiana Detlofson LA publicist tatsfilm@gmail.com +1 310 260 2800
Saturday, November 9 4:00 pm Slovak Republic: MY DOG KILLER by Mira Fornay, 90 min 6:00 pm Bulgaria: THE COLOR OF THE CHAMELEON by Emil Christov, 114 min
followed by Q&A with the director
followed by Q&A with the producers
Sunday, November 10 2:00 pm Finland: THE DISCIPLE by Ulrika Bengts, 94 min followed by Q&A with the director and the producer
4:00 pm 6:00 pm
Greece: BOY EATING THE BIRD’S FOOD by Ektoras Lygizos, 80 min Germany: TWO LIVES by Georg Maas, 97 min followed by Q&A with the director
Tuesday, November 12 6:15 pm Iceland: OF HORSES AND MEN by Benedikt Erlingsson, 80 min 8:00 pm The Netherlands: BORGMAN by Alex van Warmerdam, 113 min followed by Q&A with the lead actress
Wednesday, November 13 6:15 pm Norway: I AM YOURS by Iram Haq, 96 min followed by Q&A with the director
8:15 pm
Slovenia: CLASS ENEMY by Rok Biček, 112 min
Thursday, November 14 4:00 pm Croatia: HALIMA’S PATH by Arsen Anton Ostojic, 93 min followed by Q&A with the director
SCREENING ADDRESS Wilshire Screening Room 8670 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills Free parking available
Please RSVP for the individual screenings to Screenings@efp-online.com
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Wednesday, November 6 at 6:15 pm
Spain
15 YEARS + 1 DAY (15 AÑOS Y UN DÍA) in cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Gracia Querejeta Genre Drama Language Spanish Country Spain Year 2013 Length 96 min Format 35 mm Screening ratio 1:1.85 Director Gracia Querejeta Screenplay Gracia Querejeta Antonio Mercero Santos Main cast Tito Valverde Maribel Verdú Arón Piper Belén López Production Company Tornasol Films Gerardo Herrero Mariela Besuievsky Madrid, Spain +34 91 1023 024 tornasol@tornasolfilms.com www.tornasolfilms.com Co-producing company Castafiore Films (Spain)
Synopsis The film depicts the relationship between Jon, a troubled teenager and his grandfather Max, a retired military man who lives in a village on the Costa de la Luz. After Jon is expelled from school, his mother decides to send him away with Max to teach him a lesson. But it won’t be that simple, Jon likes to flirt with danger and the veteran has now settled down into a comfortable life. Both characters will have to confront their fears and limitations.
Director’s Statement “15 Years and One Day” talks about being a teenager, a vast, overwhelming subject that echoes and resonates in cinema and literature. I wanted to take an original stance, step away from the typical clichés used when portraying a teenager. I did not want to describe this teenager as a drunkard or a drug addict, or a delinquent or a videogame addict, or as an aggressive and cheeky, disrespectful son. I was far more interested in approaching a teenager full of contradictions, full of doubts typical of his age, a bit selfish, who makes some bad choices, but who is also affectionate, athletic, romantic and full of life. I also thought it would be interesting to approach the subject from an adult’s point of view, a point of view full of prejudices. Adults look at teenagers with fear and worry, but actually, oftentimes it is their own lives that are floundering. The only problem the teenager really has is that he is going to turn fifteen, and that age is an undefined one. However, in this story, the lives of the adults are at a standstill: the mother cannot yet accept her husband’s death, the grandmother cannot accept her divorce, the grandfather is bitter and has closed his heart to the world. Being in contact with a teenager will be like a breath of fresh air for them all, and it will force them to take a hard look at themselves.
Instituto de la Cinematografa y de las Artes Audiovisuales / ICAA Madrid, Spain Rafael Cabrera Madrid, Spain +34 917 017 259 rafael.cabrera@mecd.es www.mcu.es/cine/index
International Sales Latido Films Miren Zamora Madrid, Spain +34 91 548 8877 latido@latidofilms.com www.LatidoFilms.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) Malaga Film Festival • Best Movie • Best Screenplay • Best Original Soundtrack • Award Special Jury Criticism Fnac Spanish entry for Ariel Awards
The paradox lies in appearances, on the surface, it is the boy who needs help but, in reality, the adults need it far more.
http://vimeo.com/76441570
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Wednesday, November 6th 8:00 pm
Belgium
THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN in cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Felix van Groeningen Genre
Intense Drama
Synopsis
Language
Dutch
Country
Belgium
Year
2012
Length
100 min
Format
DCP
Elise (Veerle Baetens) and Didier (Johan Heldenbergh) fall in love at first sight. She has her own tattoo shop and he plays the banjo in a bluegrass band. They bond over their shared enthusiasm for American music and culture, and dive headfirst into a sweeping romance that plays out on and off stage – but when an unexpected tragedy hits their new family, everything they know and love is tested. An intensely moving portrait of a relationship from beginning to end, propelled by a soundtrack of foot-stomping bluegrass, The Broken Circle Breakdown is a romantic melodrama of the highest order.
Screening ratio
1:2.35
Director’s Statement
Co-production country The Netherlands
Director Felix van Groeningen Screenplay Carl Joos Felix van Groeningen
I can only be intensely grateful and happy that the unique combination of this unusual story and the talent and the passion of a very motivated cast and crew resulted in a film that I could only have dreamt of three years ago.
Flanders Image Christian De Schutter Brussels, Belgium +32 2 226 0630 cdeschutter@vaf.be www.flandersimage.com
International Sales The Match Factory Michael Weber Cologne, Germany +49 221 539 7090 info@matchfactory.de www.the-match-factory.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) Ghent Film Fest Berlinale · Panorama Audience Award · Europa Cinemas Label Tribeca · Best Actress · Best Script CPH Pix · Audience Award Haugesund · Audience Award Paris Cinéma; Karlovy Vary (10 Euro Directors to Watch)
Cast Veerle Baetens Johan Heldenbergh Nell Cattrysse Production Company Menuet Dirk Impens (producer) Ghent, Belgium +32 9 235 7370 info@menuet.be www.menuet.be
www.thebrokencirclebreakdown.be/en www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TOTOwrgOzw
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills Thursday, November 7 at 3:00 pm Sweden
Eat Sleep Die (ÄTA SOVA DÖ)
In cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Gabriela Pichler Genre Drama Language Swedish, Montenegrin, Serbian Country Sweden Year 2012 Length 104 min Format DCP Screening ratio 1:1.85 Director Gabriela Pichler Screenplay Gabriela Pichler Main cast Nermina Lukač Milan Dragišić Jonathan Lampinen Peter Fält Ružica Pichler Cinematographer Johan Lundborg Production Company Anagram China Åhlander Lund, Sweden +46 70 576 59 59 china@anagram.se www.anagram.se
Synopsis Ever wondered who packs the fresh plastic-sealed salad you are having for lunch? Who the people losing their factory jobs in dead end small towns would be? Ready for a visit to the “new” Sweden? When the forceful young Muslim Swedish/Balkan ”take-no-shit” factory worker Raša loses her job, she faces the system of unemployment. With no high school diploma, no job – but her boots deeply stained with the mud of the small town she grew up in – Raša finds herself on collision course with society and it’s contradictable values and expectations. First time amateur actors play all of the main characters in the film.
Director’s Statement I wanted to make a film about the people I have always loved, but was sometimes ashamed to be part of. Sweden has an uneasy relationship with its self-image that has to come to terms with its status as an immigration and asylum country. I want to be part of the process of redefining Sweden’s national identity. Someone like Raša, an intense, cocky, straight-forward Muslim working class girl who doesn’t give a shit of what others think about her is an obvious challenge to the way Swedes have traditionally seen themselves. Raša’s story has a lot to do with her own identity and the way people see her, but it also plays out against the background of experiences many young people have in the ongoing European economic crisis with high unemployment and increasing internal contradictions within society. But just as importantly I wanted to develop a more personal topic and show the kind of portrait of a father-daughter relationship hat I never got to see on screen when I was a young girl.
Co-producing companies Film i Skåne (Sweden) Sveriges Television Film i Väst (Sweden) www.anagram.se/projekt/eat-sleep-die www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWoacp0nAnI
Trailer
The Swedish Film Institute Pia Lundberg Stockholm, Sweden +46 8 665 1100 pia.lundberg@sfi.se www.sfi.se
International Sales The Yellow Affair Miira Paasilinna Stockholm, Sweden +46 76 199 3166 miira@yellowaffair.com www.yellowaffair.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) Nominated Nordic Council Film Prize 2013 Nominated in LUX Prize 2013 (Official Selection) Angers Film Festival 2013 • Grand Prix du Jury – Best Picture Angers Film Festival 2013 • Best Actress in a Leading Role The Swedish Federation of Film Critics • Greta Award 2012 Guldbagge Award 2013 • Best Picture / Best Director / Best Screenplay / Best Actress in a Leading Role Venice Film Festival • Audience Award American Film Institute Festival • Grand Jury Prize -New Auteur Section Nominated European Film Award
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Friday, November 8 at 4:00 pm
Montenegro
ACE OF SPADES – BAD DESTINY (AS PIK – LOSA SUDBINA) In cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Drasko Djurovic Genre Drama/Action Language Montenegrin/English Country Montenegro Year 2012 Length 103 min Format Blu-ray Screening ratio 1:2.35 Director Drasko Djurovic Screenplay Obrad Nenezic Main cast Michael Madsen Branimir Popović Pedja Bjelac Momcilo Otašević Jelena Simić Milica Milsa Olja Vuković Branka Otasević George Pusep Danilo Čelebić Dragan Raočić Slavko Klikovac
Synopsis Set in the nineties of the past century, Bad Destiny explores the consequences of war on its protagonists and the tragedy which those people carry. Beli returns to a small Montenegrin town, after years in prison. During the war in former Yugoslavia, he was a member of the paramilitary unit Shadows, which participated in cruel executions. After returning to his birth place, Beli gradually develops a bond with his younger brother Kenta, a gambler, who lives as an foreign businessmen‘s ladies entertainer. But Beli’s dark habits, which emerge day after day, will force Kenta, who is in love with Sanja, a refugee from Sarajevo, to question life outside social norms. In the same time, former members of Shadows find Beli, who managed to sell the video footage of their war crimes some time ago. The old debts are ready for payment.
Ministry of Culture of Montenegro Ilija Subotic Cetinje, Montenegro +382 41 232 583 ilija.subotic@mku.gov.me www.ministarstvokulture.gov.me
International Sales Princ Films Igor Princ Eden Prairie, MN, USA +1 763 458 1967 igor@princfilms.com www.princfilms.com
Director’s Statement One country in Europe –Yugoslavia – fell apart. Beli is an ex-war dog during the 1990’s, escapes to Italy with his younger brother Kenta. But Kenta meets Sanja a refugee from Sarajevo, and war buddies are looking for Beli. I wanted to make story about fear. I wanted to make a story about revenge. And I wanted to make a story about love, first of all.
Production Company B-Film Montenegro Branko Baletic Podgorica, Montenegro +382 67 810 200 bfilmmontenegro@gmail.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) Montenegro Film Festival, 2012 • Award for Best Actor Branimir Popovic • Special Award from the Council of the Festival Balkan New Film Festival, Stockholm, Sweden, 2013 · Special Award SEE a Paris" South-East European Film Festival, France 2013 · Award for Best Actor Branimir Popovic Motovun Film Festival, Croatia, 2013 · Nomination for Bauer Award – Film of the Year Sarajevo Film Festival, 2013 Lescovac International Festival of Film Directing - LIFFE, Serbia, 2013 · Award for the Best Actress Jelena Simic
Co-producing company Filmmakers’ Association of Montenegro - UFSCG www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDn5ctqTamI
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Saturday, November 9 at 4:00 pm
Slovak Republic
MY DOG KILLER (MÔJ PES KILLER) in cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Mira Fornay Genre Drama Language Slovak, Czech Country Slovak Republic Co-prod. country Czech Republic Year 2013 Length 90 min Format 35mm / digital Screening ratio 1:1.85 Director Mira Fornay Screenplay Mira Fornay
Synopsis Shame and pride can kill Eighteen year old Marek lives near the Slovak-Moravian border with his dad and his hooligan pals, however Marek’s best friend is his dog. Alienated from everyone, he is on his own in the racist circle that surrounds him - and suddenly the cause of an incident…
Director’s Statement
International Sales
Shame is the most powerful, painful and potentially very dangerous emotion – especially for those who don’t understand its origins or don’t know how to manage it. This is Marek’s case, who starts to act anxiously after he finds out about the secret of his lost mother. His feeling of shame comes from the absurd idea of racism. In Marek’s opinion, the revelation of this secret might not just damage his family dignity in the eyes of others, but mainly his own self-respect and his position in the group of skinheads.
m-appeal Maren Kroymann Berlin, Germany +49 30 61 50 75 05 mk@m-appeal.com; berlinoffice@m-appeal.com www.m-appeal.com
Festivals & Awards (selection)
Main cast Adam Mihál Irena Bendová Marián Kuruc Libor Filo Production Company MIRAFOX Juraj Buzalka Pezinok, Slovak Republic +421 904 881 384 juraj.buzalka@mirafox.sk www.mirafox.sk Co-producing companies Cineart Tv Prague (Czech Republic) Česká televize (Czech Republic) Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska (Slovak Republic)
www.mirafox.sk/project_my_dog_killer.php www.m-appeal.com/M-Appeal.com/our_films/Seiten/MY_DOG_KILLER.html
Trailer
Slovak Film Institute Alexandra Strelkova Bratislava, Slovak Republic +421 2 5710 15 27 alexandra.strelkova@sfu.sk www.sfu.sk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBF5Sb4xhNo
Rotterdam IFF 2013 • Hivos Tiger Award Vilnius IFF 2013, Lithuania • Best Director Award Titanic FF 2013, Hungary • Special Jury Award München FF 2013, Germany • CineVision Award Zerkalo IFF 2013, Russia • Best Director Award Split FF 2013, Croatia • Special Award Busan IFF 2013, South Korea Warsaw IFF 2013, Poland La Rochelle IFF Edinburgh IFF, United Kingdom
EFP Screenings of European OscarÂŽ Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Saturday, November 9 at 6:00 pm
Bulgaria
The Color of the Chameleon (Cvetat na hameleona)
in cooperation with and supported by
Directed by
Emil Christov Genre Dark Comedy/Political Thriller Language Bulgarian Country Bulgaria Co-prod. country Slovenia Year 2012 Length 114 min Format 35mm, DCP Screening ratio 1:2.35
Synopsis A maniacal informant creates his own phantom secret-police department. He recruits a group of unsuspecting intellectuals to spy on each other. After the fall of Communism he uses his secret archive to wreak havoc on the government.
Director’s Statement The movie offers a paradoxical twist in the standard representation of totalitarianism as a society of victims and victimizers. This is a story without innocents. Secret policing reveals its dark nature not only in its nauseating cruelties, but also most suggestively, in its deviant pleasures.
Director Emil Christov Screenplay Vladislav Todorov Main cast Ruscen Vidinliev Rousy Chanev Irena Milyankova Svetlana Yancheva Samuel Finzi Deyan Donkov Kasiel Noah Asher
Bulgarian National Film Center Irina Kanusheva Sofia, Bulgaria +359 2 988 38 31 Irina@nfc.bg www.nfc.bg
Festivals & Awards (selection) Toronto IFF 2012 (Discovery) Stockholm IFF 2012 (Main Competition) Thessaloniki IFF 2012 (Main Competition) Karlovy Vary IFF 2013 (Variety's Ten European Directors to Watch) New York New Directors/New Films IFF 2013 Palm Springs IFF 2013 Istanbul IFF 2013 Edinburgh IFF 2013
Production Company Peripetia Bouriana Zakharieva Sofia, Bulgaria +1 201 736 1991 b.zakharieva@peripeteiafilms.com www.peripeteiafilms.com Co-producing companies Bulgarian National Film Center Bulgarian National TV Nu Image Boyana (Bulgaria) Restart (Slovenia)
www.peripeteiafilms.com/The%20Color%20of%20the%20Chameleon.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm6glbdXl88
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills Sunday, November 10 at 2:00 pm Finland
THE DISCIPLE (LÄRJUNGEN)
In cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Ulrika Bengts Genre Drama Language Swedish Country Finland Year 2013 Length 94 min Format DCP Screening ratio 1:2.39 Director Ulrika Bengts Screenplay Roland Fauser Jimmy Karlsson Main cast Erik Lönngren Patrik Kumpulainen Amanda Ooms Ping Mon Wallén Niklas Groundstroem Production Company Långfilm Production Finland Oy Mats Långbacka Helsinki, Finland +358 505 710 951 mats@langfilm.fi www.langfilm.fi
Synopsis The summer of 1939: Thirteen-year-old orphan Karl arrives at an isolated island to work as lighthouse master Hasselbond’s assistant. Karl and Hasselbond’s oppressed son Gustaf make friends, but their friendship changes to rivalry and hate when Hasselbond starts to favour Karl over his own son.
The Finnish Film Foundation Kati Nuora Helsinki, Finland +358 9 6220 300 ses@ses.fi www.ses.fi
Director’s Statement The Disciple is an archaic story.
Festivals & Awards (selection)
We have an isolated, rocky island, a God-like, controlling father, a revolting mother, an innocent young daughter, and a teenage son, fearing and loving his father. To this doomed island and dysfunctional family a boy arrives to become the lighthouse keeper’s assistant.
Montreal World Film Festival Rome Film Festival (Alice nella Citta competition) Le Festival international du film d'Arras (Competition)
The boy, Karl, has been raised and beaten in an orphanage. Now he has to make it of his own. The lighthouse keeper’s son, Gustaf, is of the same age as Karl. The two boys are becoming friends. They have no other to get close to, no one else to talk to, than each other on the isolated island. Mr Hasselbond is maltreating Gustaf, always telling him how useless he is. In fear of his father Gustaf always fails. He asks Karl for advice. Karl is clever and quick-witted. When Hasselbond finds out how skilled Karl is he makes Karl his favourite, using him in humiliating Gustaf. If Karl wants to succeed he has to play by Mr Hasselbond’s rules, facing moral and existential choices in every situation.
www.larjungen.fi www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXUbJUjOhxU
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Sunday, November 10 at 4:00 pm
Greece
Boy Eating The Bird’s Food (To Agori Troei To Fagitou Tou Pouliou)
in cooperation with and supported by
Directed by
Ektoras Lygizos Genre Drama Language Greek Country Greece Year 2012 Length 80 min Format DCP Screening ratio 1:1.78 Director Ektoras Lygizos Screenplay Ektoras Lygizos Main cast Yiannis Papadopoulos Lila Baklesi Production Company Giorgos Karnavas/Heretic Giorgos Karnavas Athens, Greece +30 69 4567 6069 giorgos@heretic.gr www.heretic.gr Co-producing companies Stefi Productions (Greece) Oxymoron (Greece)
Trailer
Synopsis A 22-year-old boy in Athens has no job, no money, no girlfriend and no food to eat, but he’s got a canary bird and a beautiful singing voice. When he finds himself withοut a home, he has to seek a shelter for his bird. And when the bird gets trapped inside the shelter, the boy has to find some help. He has to find someone to confess that he has no job, no money, no girlfriend and no food to eat.
Director’s Statement I didn’t think politics would be at the forefront of this film but of course I was being naive: one guy fighting against a hostile world and against his own world view – that’s a political film. And while I did not start out to make a political film, it certainly is not just a personal story. The film may stand as an allegory in the way that most of the people here in Greece can’t see themselves reflected in each other; they cannot assess their value. Entire generations of Greeks in their twenties, thirties and forties have now been told they are not useful, that their existence and role has no meaning. In the film, the story revolves around our character’s first full realization that something is wrong … that he is just not useful within this society. With this, my first film, I wanted to express my reaction towards the Greek situation today, though in a non-directly political way. I accidentally read Hunger, the novel by Knut Hamsun, and from that came the inception of an idea…the beginning of a story about a young artist who has nothing but what he can create in his mind. It was the pretext of a story. I feel that this story and our current political and economical environment is something that has been growing for decades, if not centuries – a natural evolution of capitalism that is this suppression and oppression of a people; people in society ending up feeling alone, useless, helpless. In Greece, we always had the family to fall back on; the family to make sure we didn’t fall too far. Now, we are starting to lose even that. My film would have been an alien concept in the Greece of just ten years ago. Now, for the first time, we are truly on our own with no family, literally no mother, to take care of us. Our mothers are in the same position we are.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mdrg7jGZKY
Greek Film Center Stavroula Geronimaki Athens, Greece +30 2103678500 info@gfc.gr www.gfc.gr
International Sales
Premium-Films Kasia Karwan Paris, France +33 66 89 86 97 3 kasia-karwan@premium-films.com www.premium-films.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) Karlovy Vary IFF • Special Mention Cinergia • Gold Award Crossing Europe • Gold Award Thessaloniki • Best Director • Best Actor Gallway • Best First Feature Award Seville • Best Director • Best Actor Toronto IFF IFF Rotterdam Les Arcs
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Sunday, November 10 at 6:00 pm
Germany
TWO LIVES (ZWEI LEBEN)
Associated with
Directed by
Georg Maas Genre Drama/ Thriller Language Norwegian/German/ English/Danish Country Germany Co-prod. country Norway Year 2012 Length 97 min Format DCP Screening ratio 1:2.35 Director Georg Maas Screenplay Georg Maas, Christoph Tölle, Stale Stein Berg, Judith Kaufmann Main cast Juliane Köhler, Liv Ullmann, Ken Duken, Sven Nordin, Julia Bache-Wiig, Rainer Bock, Thomas Lawinky, Dennis Storhoi Production Companies Zinnober Film GmbH Dieter Zeppenfeld B&T Film GmbH Rudi Teichmann Helgeland Film A/S Axel Helgeland Contact Zinnober Film GmbH Aachen, Germany +49 241 970 180 www.zinnober.de
Synopsis Europe 1990, the Berlin wall has just crumbled: Katrine, raised in East Germany, but now living in Norway for the last 20 years, is a “war child”; the result of a love relationship between a Norwegian woman and a German occupation soldier during World War II. She enjoys a happy family life with her mother to come forward as witnesses in a trial against the Norwegian state on behalf of the war children, she resists. Gradually, a web of concealment and secrets is unveiled, until Katrine is finally stripped of everything, and her loved ones are forced to take a stand: What carries more weight, the life they have lived together, or the lie it is based on?
Director’s Statement What was fascinating about the topic was, at first, the story itself, which is extremely suspenseful and keeps going off in unexpected directions. You never know where it's heading. Right at the beginning, it’s obvious that the story has a secret and wants to try and find out what it is. Only at the very end do all the parts come together as in a puzzle to form one large picture. The many layers of the characters and the complexity of the story fascinated me for many years. The lead characters in this film are both guilty and innocent. They are both perpetrators and victims, and they did not get involved in this dilemma out of their own free will. They live to find happiness in the present, but they cannot flee from the shadows of their past. This is the drama of their existence. While writing the script, I was increasingly concerned about the question of identity: What is the truth, what is a lie, who are we? What do I know about the other.
www.zweileben-film.de www.betacinema.com/twolives
Trailer
German Films Mariette Rissenbeek Munich, Germany +49 89 599 787 0 info@german-films.de www.german-films.de
International Sales Beta Cinema GmbH Dirk Schürhoff Munich, Germany +49 89 6734 69828 beta@betacinema.com www.betacinema.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) Palm Springs International Filmfestival Seattle International Filmfestival Stony Brooks Film Festival (Closing Film) Gotemburg International Filmfestival Audi Festival of German Films Australia · Audience Award · Best Film Shanghai Filmfestival International Emden Filmfestival · Audience Award Biberach Filmfestival · Best Film Festival des Jeunes Réalisateurs, St. Jean de Luz · Best Actress for Juliane Köhler · Audience Award 'Best Film'
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Tuesday, November 12 at 6:15 pm
Iceland
OF HORSES AND MEN (HROSS Í OSS) In cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Benedikt Erlingsson Genre Drama/Comedy Language Icelandic Country Iceland Co-prod. country Germany Year 2013 Length 80 min Format DCP Screening ratio 1:1.78 Director Benedikt Erlingsson Screenplay Benedikt Erlingsson
Synopsis A country romance about the human streak in the horse and the horse in the human. Love and death become interlaced and with immense consequences. The fortunes of the people in the country through the horses’ perception.
Director’s Statement This is not a straightforward story. I hope that the English title, Of Horses and Men, gives the viewer the right point of view. The word that is missing, “stories“, is the key. And of course it must be said that here in the north, women are also men.It is important to state that no horses were hurt in the making of this film. It says so at the end of the credits, and it is absolutely true. The entire cast and crew are horse owners and horse lovers. We might as well have been working with our children.I must admit, however, that there were some human actors that were traumatized during the shooting of the film, but I happen to know that they were still alive when this was written.
Icelandic Film Centre Laufey Guðjónsdóttir Reykjavik, Iceland +354 562 3580 laufey@icelandicfilmcentre.is icelandicfilmcentre.is
Festivals & Awards (selection) San Sebastián Film Festival • Kutxa-New Directors Award Tokyo International Film Festival (International Competition)
Main cast Ingvar E. Sigurdsson Charlotte Bøving Production Company Hrossabrestur Fridrik Thor Fridriksson Reykjavik, Iceland +35 4 896 2464 f.thor@icecorp.is www. hrosss.is Co-producing company Mogador Film (Germany)
www.hrosss.is www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKodaUmsYxk
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Tuesday, November 12 at 8:00 pm
The Netherlands
Borgman
in cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Alex van Warmerdam Genre Thriller Language Dutch Country The Netherlands Co-prod. countries Belgium/Denmark Year 2013 Length 113 min Format DCP-2K Screening ratio 1:2.35 Director Alex van Warmerdam Screenplay Alex van Warmerdam Main cast Jan Bijvoet Hadewych Minis Jeroen Perceval Sara Hjort Ditlevsen Eva van de Wijdeven Annet Malherbe Tom Dewispelaere Alex van Warmerdam Production Company Graniet Film Amsterdam, The Netherlands +31 20 6060 630 info@granietfilm.nl
Synopsis Borgman’s arrival in the tree-lined avenues of an exclusive residential area is the beginning of a series of unsettling events around the carefully constructed facade of a wealthy couple, their three children and the nanny.
Director’s Statement In Borgman I wanted to show that evil comes in everyday form, embodied within ordinary, normal, polite men and women who perform their tasks with pride and pleasure, and with ruthless attention to detail. I wanted to show that evil is enacted not just on cold winter nights, but in the optimistic summer, beneath a warm and comforting sun. And I wanted to show that a man like Borgman, who continually remains elusive, can intoxicate a woman so fully with desire that she is rendered powerless. This film is darker than my other films because I wanted to go further. I wanted to descend into an unknown, dark part of my imagination and see what was to be found there. And I wanted to make a film very much open to interpretation, one that raises more questions than it answers.
EYE Film Institute Netherlands Claudia Landsberger Amsterdam, The Netherlands +31 20 7582 375 international@eyefilm.nl international.eyefilm.nl
International Sales Fortissimo Films Winnie Lau Michael Werner Amsterdam, The Netherlands +31 20 627 3215 info@fortissimo.nl www.fortissimofilms.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) Cannes Film Festival (Official Selection Competition)
I think Borgman is a strong film - ask me again in 10 years and I will have forgotten how I ever came to write it - but in my experience there are always things which could be better. Nevertheless I am very curious about how it will be received. And in the meantime I am working on a new film, my ninth film.
http://drafthousefilms.com/film/borgman www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh_Xq7goDUA
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Wednesday, November 13 at 6:15 pm
Norway
I AM YOURS (JEG ER DIN)
In cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Iram Haq Genre Drama Language Norwegian/Urdu/ Swedish Country Norway Year 2013 Length 96 min Format DCP Screening ratio 1:1.85 Director Iram Haq Screenplay Iram Haq Main cast Amrita Acharia Ola Rapace Prince Singh Rabia Noreen Tobias Santelmann Assad Siddique Trond Fausa Aurvåg Production Company Mer Film as Maria Ekerhovd Tromsø, Norway +47 951 881 18 maria@merfilm.no www.merfilm.no
Synopsis I Am Yours is a portrait of Mina, a young single mother living in Oslo with her 6-year-old son Felix. She is Norwegian-Pakistani and has a troublesome relationship with her family. Mina is constantly looking for love and has relations with different men, however none of the relationships bearing any hope of lasting very long. Then Mina meets Jesper, a Swedish film director and they fall head over heals in love. Mina takes Felix with her to Stockholm to live with Jesper, but Jesper is not ready for a family life. Mina fights hard for their love, but finally she has to find out what love really is.
Director’s Statement I have tried to make a portrait of a woman who has broken with just about everything, then plots out the new direction her life is going to take. A woman who tries to live as normal a life as possible, but doesn't quite succeed. Her loneliness and her craving for love is so dominating that she constantly ends up in situations, which make her even more vulnerable. I have had a wish to relate my dirtiest thoughts and my inner chaos. To make a vulnerable, honest portrayal of rootlessness, of being a woman who longs for being loved and held. What does she do when her baggage is unsafe, and no one catches her when she stumbles? Her past is constantly catching up with her, and she has the sole responsibility for a child. The child's love for her does not satisfy Mina's needs, because she herself needs someone to care for her. When she is pushed into a corner, her son's love for her is perceived as nothing but a demand, and an obstacle to her own chances of being loved. When desire gets the upper hand, and her role as a mother is given less priority, her inner chaos and shame increase. Her shame and chaos influence the decisions Mina makes. How do you handle your agitation and loneliness when you're young and in love? When you have the sole responsibility for a child? When you seek a sense of belonging, but feel trapped in your relationships with the people closest to you? How do you act when you stand alone, and you have had an unstable childhood? When you're caught up in a recurring pattern, which you realize is no good for you, but which you're unable to break, and which nearly makes you go too far, time and again? These are some of the issues I try to approach in I Am Yours.
Norwegian Film Institute Stine Oppegaard Oslo, Norway +47 22 4745 00 stine.oppegaard@nfi.no www.nfi.no
International Sales Premium Films Kasia Karwan Paris, France +33 668 986 973 kasia.karwan@premium-films.com www.premium-films.com
Festivals & Awards (selection) TIFF Nordic Filmdays in Lubeck
www.merfilm.no www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJmiZ0c3qxg
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Wednesday, November 13 at 8:15 pm
Slovenia
Class Enemy (Razredni sovražnik) in cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Rok Biček Genre
Drama
Synopsis
Language
Slovenian, German
Country
Slovenia
Year
2013
Length
112 min
Due to a huge difference in the way they perceive life, the relationship between the students and their new German language teacher becomes critically tense. When one of the students commits suicide, her classmates accuse the teacher of being responsible for her death. The realisation that things are not so black and white comes too late.
Format
DCP, colour
Screening ratio
1:2.35
Director Rok Biček
Director’s Statement
Festivals & Awards (selection)
I think film art should address issues which reflect the national as well as global society. In Class Enemy this is achieved through the microcosm of secondary school students, who are an extremely vulnerable generation. As such they are – knowingly or unknowingly – sensitive to everything happening to them or around them.
Venice Film Festival 2013 (Critic’s Week) · Fedeora Award Viennale Bratislava FF Sevilla FF Mannheim Heidelberg FF Goteborg FF Istanbul
Screenplay Rok Biček Nejc Gazvoda Janez Lapajne Main cast Igor Samobor Nataša Barbara Gračner Tjaša Železnik Maša Derganc Robert Prebil Voranc Boh Jan Zupančič Daša Čupevski Doroteja Nadrah Production Company Triglav film Veronila Ailken Prosenc Domžale, Slovenia +386 41 799 800 triglavfilm@siol.com http://www.triglavfilm.si/
Slovenian Filma Centre Nerina T.Kocjančič Ljubljana, Slovenia +386 1 2343 204 nerina.kocjancic@film-center.si www.film-center.si
www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/pages/Razredni-sovra%C5%BEnikClassEnemy-uradna-predstavitevofficial-presentation/332460466886878?fref=ts www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsOsFByeR0U
Trailer
EFP Screenings of European Oscar® Entries Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills
Thursday, November 14 at 4:00 pm
Croatia
HALIMA’S PATH (HALIMIN PUT) in cooperation with and supported by Directed by
Arsen Anton Ostojic Genre
Drama
Synopsis
Language
Croatian
Halima’s Path tells the tragic but inspiring story of a grieving, but strong-willed Muslim woman Halima who tries, without success, to find the remains of her son who was killed in the Bosnian War and buried in one of the many mass graves. She realizes that she must track down her estranged niece, who we find carries a mysterious connection to him. After finding her, Halima discovers a horrifying fact from her worst nightmares. With this discovery, the spiral of tragic events from the past would continue in the present, disrupting once again the troubled lives of the characters.
Country Croatia Co-prod. countries Slovenia, Bosnia- Herzegovina Year
2012
Length
93 min
Format
DCP
Screening ratio
1:1.85
Director Arsen Anton Ostojic Screenplay Fedja Isovic Main cast Alma Prica Olga Pakalovic Mijo Jurisic Mustafa Nadarevic Miraj Grbic Production Company Arkadena Zagreb Slobodan Trninic Zagreb, Croatia +385 98 275 158 trninictrn@gmail.com Co-producing companies Studio Arkadena (Slovenia) F.I.S.T. Produkcija (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Director’s Statement Although it could be said there have been enough Balkan war stories, the fact is that there is always a need for truthful and touching human dramas, regardless from which part of the world they come. What attracted me to this project is primarily the powerful emotional story inspired by true events. My intention was to underline the emotional impact of the script and to create believable characters, deeply rooted in their environment. My directorial approach was rather simple, in order to bring out the power of emotions and this universal tragedy. The ending, despite all the suffering throughout the film, brings relief, not only to the characters, but to the audience as well. The screenplay was loosely inspired by a real-life story of Zahida and Muharem Fazlic from a village near Prijedor in Western Bosnia whose adopted son Emir was executed in 1992. It took them 20 years to find their son’s biological mother who kept refusing to give her blood for the DNA identification.
www.arsenantonostojic.com/aao/feature/halimaspath.html https://vimeo.com/77115330
Trailer
Croatian Audiovisual Centre Zagreb, Croatia +385 1 604 1080 promotion@havc.hr www.havc.hr
Festivals & Awards (selection) 21st Raindance Film Festival, London · Best International Feature Award 29th Mons Int’l FF d’Amour, Belgium · Grand Prix for Best Film · Best Actress Award · Cinefemme Foundation Award 19th MedFilmFestival, Rome, Italy · Multicultural Jury Best Film Award 29th Festroia Int’l FF, Setubal, Portugal · Best Actress Award 8th SEE Film Festival, Los Angeles, USA · Audience Award 59th Pula Film Festival · Audience Award · Young Cinephiles Jury Award 22nd Cottbus Film Festival, Germany · Audience Award · Jury Mention 16th Tallinn Black Nights FF, Estonia · Special Jury Prize 19th Int’l Festival of Mediterranean Films, Tetouan, Morocco · Grand Prix · Best Actress Award 21st Varna Int’l Film Festival, Bulgaria · Critics Award 5th Prishtina Int’l FF · MEDIA Award 3rd Balkan Film and Food Festival, Pogradec, Albania · Grand Prix for the best film