FJÄRILEN I GLASKUPAN (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY)
Based on the biography of late French Elle editor Jean-Do Bauby, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is almost as extraordinary a film as the destiny it tells. After suffering a massive stroke, Bauby faces the painful truth of being fully paralyzed with only one muscle – one of his eye-lids – still functioning. Just like the speeding wings of a butterfly trapped in a diving bell, Bauby’s creative mind races but is stuck in a body frozen solid, left with only the one eyelid with which to communicate. So he conveys his own story by blinking, letter by letter, word by word. Director Julian Schnabel, awarded Best Director at Cannes Film Festival, has drenched every frame in beauty in his portrayal of a man who leads two opposing lives – one internal, one external.
Nonstop Entertainment
THE ZONE
Within a poor society there is a separate wealthy residential zone, an example of the “gated communities” being built around the world. In his powerful debut feature, director Rodrigo Plá paints a devastating picture of a rigidlytiered society in Mexico City, willing to sacrifice all values and liberties in the name of their own security. “The Zona” rings the alarm about the shape of things to come in a world where the gap between rich and poor has become so massive that it splits people into two camps, each deadly scared of the other.
24 Measures
In his ominous drama, French director and actor Jalil Lespert connects four strangers in a Christmas Eve twist of fate, letting them share each other’s loneliness. To the sound of laid-back, mellow jazz harmonies, director of photography Josée Deshaies fills the screen with darkness, using just enough light to attain a gritty camera look, stalking the characters at close range throughout the film. Gloomy and dramatic, “24 Measures” illustrates the vulnerability of the human soul.
CVV
ROCKET SCIENCE
Hal Hefner, a stuttering American teenager with a mixed-up family, is the center of “Rocket Science”, Jeffrey Blitz’s eccentric and swift fictional feature debut and follow-up to celebrated documentary “Spellbound”. Quiet Hal’s eloquent and megacompetitive classmate Ginny asks him to join the school’s debate team. Smitten by her appearance – and the fact that she appears to see potential in him – he accepts her invitation even though he is not entirely sure of why she is persuading a stuttering person into debating. “Rocket Science” connects a humiliating experience and the ability to master language, but is at the same time a comic, serious and unusual high school film about love and defying expectations. The views on talking well are quite entertaining, not least the “spreading” technique, which pretty much amounts to sounding like an auctioneer. The transfer from nonfiction to fiction is just a matter of genres: “Rocket Science” contains the same love for human peculiarities as “Spellbound” did.
EAGLE VS SHARK
In his avant-garde feature debut, which made Variety Magazine name him one of ten new directors to watch in 2007, Taika Waititi balances hysterical situation romcom and profound truths about life and love. “Eagle vs. Shark” maximizes the quirkiness factor following the tribulations of socially awkward lovebirds Jarrod and Lily, and their journey toward accepting themselves and building a semi-functional relationship.
Arclight Films
THE TEN
The Ten Commandments is a popular theme in the world of film, but in David Wain’s starpacked second feature, the moral stories that depict God’s mighty do’s and don’ts are far more twisted than usual. On stage with giant biblical tablets behind him, presenter Paul Rudd promises to deliver ten divine stories with help from Jessica Alba, Winona Ryder, Famke Jenssen and Adam Brody. Absurd doesn’t begin to describe this ravanously bizarre episodic comedy, where stories intertwine and a virginal librarian is getting it on with Jesus, while Winona Ryder makes passionate love to a ventriloquist’s dummy.
Nordisk Film
HALLOWEEN
Box office no 1 in the US. Not a remake, rather an update of the genre of the master of horror Rob Zombie. Twenty-nine years after the premiere of John Carpenter’s “Halloween”, Michael Myers returns to the motion-picture screen, as Splat Pack director Rob Zombie takes us back to Myers’ childhood. Michael Myers is back and he’s demented, dark and disturbing.
SURPRISEFILM!
Don't miss our next surprise film! The screening takes place at Scandia 21.30 on Wednesday, November 21. Each year we show surprise films where the title is kept secret to the audience. Previous surprise films include School of Rock, Bandits, Brick, Fight Club, Anchor Man, Proof and American Gangster.
11 days with over 180 films from 40 countries that are screened for very the first time in Sweden, visits from 100 filmmakers and actors in the theatres - welcome to the biggest filmfest of the year!
WINNERS 2007
The jury has made it's decisions and proudly presents the winners of the 18th Stockholm International Film Festival. The 7,3 kilo Bronze Horse for best film goes to a touching story about illegal abortion in Rumania.
STOCKHOLM LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2007: Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader possesses a unique voice, which gives life to sharp, relentless characters in a modern city. Schrader’s images of an urban jungle are drawn with intellectual clarity, and he never hesitates to push his characters to their limits. With the linguistic brilliance of a screenwriter and a director’s eye for visuals, Paul Schrader has helped advance the cinematic medium for over three decades.
STOCKHOLM VISIONARY AWARD 2007: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson receives the Stockholm Visionary Award for his humane and humoristic portraits of solitary human beings. In his films, he creates unique and stylized universes inhabited by characters searching for something to search for. Through his visionary filmmaking, Anderson has given a modern face to the classic ‘auteur’.
BEST FILM: 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days by Cristian Mungiu
This brilliant film expresses the impact of societal repression on its characters with honesty and devastating humanity. Every aspect of the film – script, photography, performances and most importantly direction – uncovers profound truth in the smallest gestures. With its opinionated use of long takes and off-screen space, Cristian Mungiu understands the power of simplicity. 25/11, 18:30 at Skandia
BEST FIRST FEATURE: The Zone by Rodrigo Pla
This film features an intelligent and original execution of an increasingly evident and alarming global problem. Through its microcosm and thriller-like suspense, The Zone keeps the audience alert to the good and bad and the fear we all carry within. The simplicity of the storytelling and the genuine characters, combined with an elegant and subtle musical score, result in a film that stays with you.
HONORABLE MENTION, BEST FIRST FEATURE: Control by Anton Corbijn
Never resorting to clichés about the iconic Ian Curtis, Control creates a stark, fully realized world. Featuring powerful performances throughout, Anton Corbijn goes beyond the genre of the “rock film” into an evocative portrait of these characters lives. The spare simplicity of the camera and compelling use of music captures the emotional despair and alienation of Joy Division’s sound.
BEST SCRIPT: Carlos Reygadas for Silent Light
Carlos Reygadas’ screenplay in Silent Light captures the essence of life. With sparse, poetic and often painfully simplistic delivered dialogue (and through an almost documentary feeling), the film features genuine performances enhancing the cruelty of the silence. With an incredible backdrop of grand nature, Silent Light is a raw and truthful tale about human’s incapability for dealing with love, desire and responsibility.
BEST ACTRESS: Anamaria Marinca for 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
Never sentimental, always sharply specific, Anamaria Marinca brings empathy and complexity to her role. Throughout this film, she expresses the shifting internal tensions of her character, often with barely a word. We forget we are watching a “performance” and instead experience, moment by devastating moment, the brutal events of this day in the life of Otilia.
BEST ACTOR: Jason Patric for Expired
Daring to be unlikable, Jason Patric combines humor and rage with unexpected shifts of rhythm and tone in this electrifying performance. It is rare in film that a deeply flawed and potentially unsympathetic character can evoke such depth of emotion. Beneath his prickly exterior and commanding physicality, we experience a fully realized character, balanced between comedy and tragedy.
BEST MUSIC AWARD: Oliver Bernet for Persepolis
In this mesmerizing and original animated film, the music of Oliver Bernet enhances and contrasts the emotional experiences of the characters. His original score intertwines and explores different genres in a skillful and precise way.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography brings expressive subjectivity and an original, off-kilter point of view to this powerful story. His bold photographic choices succeed in grounding us in the unforgettable perspective of the film’s protagonist, Jean Do. Combining visual economy with poetic lyricism, the photography of The Diving Bell and The Butterfly looks at the world with a fresh eye.
BEST SHORT FILM: Pathways by Hagar Ben-Hasher
In a strong and naked realistic approach, Hagar Ben-Asher explores the boundaries of how far a woman can go in her path to self- confirmation before she gets penalized for it. A reminder of how forbidden and threatening that female sexuality still is. In an impressive performance director/actor Hagar Ben-Asher captures this woman’s journey.
FIPRESCI-PRIZE FOR BEST FILM IN COMPETITION: Caramel by Nadine Labaki
SCHOLARSHIP 1KM FILM:Andreas Tibblin for När Elvis kom på besök
For an emotional intelligent and highly aesthetical and solid director. In only a few moments' intimacy and closeness are established, proving a talented eye for characters, content and visual presentation. The director has also presented the best future project.
HONORABLE MENTION 1KM FILM: Alexandra Dahlström for Lacrimosa
From a playful and highly tempered director delivering work straight from the heart, and with a passion for the art of narration. This director charms us with an uncompromising, young and promising voice
STAR! AUDIENCE AWARD: Juno by Jason Reitman.
Stockholm International Film Festivals audience prize for 2007 goes to Juno by Jason Reitman. The audience has voted at the theatres and online.
IFESTIVAL - WORLD WIDE WEB AWARD: Michalis Konstantatos for Two Times Now
For an emotional everyday horrorpiece, told through a cross cutting frenzy, the director poses questions on relations and where you draw the line between love and hate.
GULDBUBBLAN - LET'S MAKE A FILM: Niklas Fröberg
The audience of Let’s make a film has voted online. The award for Let’s make a film 2007 goes to Niklas Fröberg.
www.stockholmfilmfestival.se
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Idag har Pudovkingruppen nöjet att bjuda på en ny musikvideo med Sebastian, en av våra främsta artister. Här är han med låten "Utan vingar" som ingår i hans kommande album som Pudovkingruppen ger ut, som kommer att släppas den närmaste framtiden. Varsågod!
hope you're having a good week.... :) I guess
it's the first proper non-holiday week of 2008!
argh....but, the weekend is coming....yippee...
:)
indiana x
