Swedish film at the Venice Film Festival

About Endlessness. Photo by Studio 24

Swedish film will be represented widely at the Venice Film Festival this year. From Roy Andersson's first film in six years to the acclaimed documentary about the mysterious death of Dag Hammarskjöld. Here is your guide to all the Swedish films the festival, which starts Wednesday, August 28th.

About Endlessness
Director Roy Andersson’s first feature film in six years, About Endlessness will be world premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. The film, which is a Swedish-Norwegian-German co-production, will compete in the festival’s most prestigious section: Competition. In 2014 Andersson competed in the same section with A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, which won the top prize - a Golden Lion. With About Endlessness Roy Andersson adds to his cinematic oeuvre with a reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendour and banality.

About Endlessness is produced by Pernilla Sandström and Johan Carlsson, Roy Andersson Filmproduktion AB in co-production with 4 ½ Fiksjon AS, Essential Films, Parisienne de Production, Sveriges Television AB, Arte France Cinéma, ZDF/Arte and Film Capital Stockholm. The film has had financial support by The Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages Council of Europe, Nordic Film and TV fund, The Norwegian Film Fund, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. 

Swedish co-productions

Andrei Tarkovsky, A Cinema Prayer
Directed by his son Andrei Tarkovsky Jr. the documentary focuses on the life of the late director Andrei Tarkovsky, who’s works include masterpieces such as Solaris, Stalker and The Sacrifice. The documentary recounts Tarkovsky’s life and work, letting the director tell the story himself, as he shares his memories, his view of art and his reflections on the destiny of the artist and the meaning of human existence. Andrei Tarkovsky, A Cinema Prayer will be screened in the category Venice Classics Documentary Films. 

The film is edited by Michal Leszczylowski who also edited Andrey Tarkovsky’s last film The Sacrifice (1988). Andrei Tarkovsky, A Cinema Prayer is a co-production between Sweden, Russia and Italy, with Swedish producer Peter Krupenin from the production company HOBAB, Dimitri Klepatski and Paolo Maria Spina The film has received financial support from Gotland Film Fund, Film on Gotland and Swedish Film i Väst.

Beware of Children
Dag Johan Haugerud's drama Beware of Children will get its world premiere in the Venice Days’ competition. This will be Haugerud's second feature film and follows the story of how local community is affected when a child kills another child. Beware of Children is produced by Yngve Sæther for Norwegian Motlys, in co-production with Tomas Eskilson for Swedish Film i Väst and Erik Hemmendorff for Swedish Plattform Produktion.

Cold Case Hammarskjöld
Cold Case Hammarskjöld follows Danish director Mads Brügger and Swedish private investigator Göran Björkdahl as they seek answers to questions about the mysterious death of Swedish Secretary-General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld. Earlier this year, Mads Brügger won the prize for Best Director in the World Cinema Documentary section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Cold Case Hammarskjöld is nominated for The Venice Film Festival’s LUX Prize. The film is produced by Andreas Rocksén of Laika Film & Television has received financial support from The Swedish Film Institute.

More Swedes

Ad Astra
The space epic directed by James Gray, starring Brad Pitt among others, tells the story about an astronaut who travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his father and unravels a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. Cinematographer for the film is Dutch-Swedish Oscar nominee Hoyte Van Hoytema who rose to stardom after his work on Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One in and later went on to work on masterpieces such as Dunkirk, Interstellar and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
 

Eyes Wide Shut
Acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick's last film Eyes Wide Shut starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Swedish actress Marie Richardson among others will screened in the Out of Competition section. 

The Venice International Film Festival is held between August 28th to September 7th, 2019.

Press contacts for the Swedish Film Institute in Venice:

Jan Göransson, Head of Press, Jan.Goransson@sfi.se
+46 (0)706 03 03 62