Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’or winning film opens August 25 on 150 Swedish screens and has benefitted from a large national promotional campaign.

Östlund has done small edits to the version screened in Cannes, but the film’s runtime remains the same. Producer Erik Hemmendorff of Plattform production told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “The film was in a rush to get to Cannes, but we’ve tightened this new cut. Now we have a final version that we’re super happy with”, he said.

TriArt’s CEO Eva Essen Arndorff said the film is coming out on twice the screen run from Östlund’s previous film Force Majeure that sold more than 188,000 tickets in 2014/15. 

As the biggest release ever for TriArt, we have orchestrated a large national advertising campaign including outdoor campaigns all over Sweden, and media advertising in selected magazines,” explained Arndorff. “Since it is the first time since 1951 that a Swedish film wins a Palme d’or, we wanted to share this prestigious award with Swedish cinemagoers. Therefore Ruben and other members of the team have toured several cities across the country with the Palme d’or.“

Hemmendorff added” It was important for us to meet Swedish people in the smaller cities in particular, to raise the awareness and get the buzz going. It was special as well to travel with the Palme d’or’, said the producer who was inspired by the National Hockey League’s Stanley cup winner tradition of travelling with the prize.

TriArt also put together a broad social media and YouTube campaign including the trailer, clips tailor-made for different target groups and key cast and crew members discussing issues from the film.

Hemmendorff also stressed the unique collaboration with Moderna Museet (The Modern Museum) in Stockholm that was a source of inspiration for the film. “Film and art used to be intimately connected back in the 1960s. Now they are separate, but for the film’s opening and previews, we’ve had screenings both at the Moderna Museet and the Swedish Film Institute”.

Following the Swedish premiere, the film will open in September in Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Norway, followed by major releases in October in France (Bac Films) and the US (Magnolia Pictures). The next festivals that will screen The Square include Toronto, Helsinki and San Sebastian.