Once again, Denmark will lead the Viking armada at Amsterdam's IDFA, one of the top documentary film festivals in the world, with eight films on show, including Mads Brügger's The Ambassador, the first Danish film in 16 years invited to kick off the event on November 16.
Among the 327 international docs that will screen in Amsterdam over the 11 day period are six Swedish, five Finnish and three Norwegian films. Seven of the 21 Nordic docs selected have received support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond. "This year's IDFA selection highlights the whole rainbow of the Nordic Doc Scene, especially the three main competition contenders: Mads Brügger's (in his own words) "pterodactyl-on-the-wall" take on Central African Republic in The Ambassador, Lise Birk-Pedersen's Putin's Kiss, a dramatic rise-and-fall story within the youth movements in current-day Russia, and Sonja Lindén's Five Star Existence, a sublime - and almost subliminal - essay on living in a wireless world. All films have a distinctive cinematic signature that enrich and challenge documentary storytelling," said Karolina Lidin, Documentary consultant for Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
Currently playing in Danish cinemas, The Ambassador has sold 8,000 tickets so far for production house Zentropa. Brügger's new role-playing filmmaking approach after The Red Chapel will vie for IDFA's top €12,500 Best Feature Length Documentary Film, along with fellow Dane Pedersen's Putin's Kiss. Photographed by Armadillo cinematographer Lars Skree, the film focuses on Marsha, a spokesperson for the Russian political youth movement Nashi who comes to doubt the true ideals of the movement, closely linked to the Kremlin. The film was produced by Monday Production in co-production with Made in Copenhagen.
The third main competition candidate Finland's Five Star Existence (previously known as Wireless World) will have its world premiere at IDFA. Directed and produced by Lindén for Avanton Productions, the film is a personal and cinematographic quest on new ways of relating to our wireless society.
Other Nordic titles selected for IDFA's various competition strands include Denmark's Ballroom Dancer by Christian Bonke and Andreas Koefoed, competing for the €5,000 First Appearance Award, Finland's Red Forest Hotel by Mika Koskinen competing for the €2,500 Green Screen Documentary Award and Mama Africa by Mika Kaurismäki, competing within the new PLAY Music Competition section. Sweden's 9 Scenes of Violence, Michael Krotkiewski's graduation film from Stockholm's Dramatiska Institutet which screened at the last Nordic Talents, will be running for the €2,500 Best Student Documentary Award as well as Norway's The Betrayal by Karen Winther.