Victor Sjöström and Tarik Saleh at Festival Lumière in Lyon

A cycle of films by Swedish master Victor Sjöström will be presented at this year’s edition of the Festival Lumière in Lyon October 11-19, an annual festival dedicated to film heritage organized by the Institute Lumière. The festival is also honouring Tarik Saleh and screen his Cairo trilogy including his latest film, Sweden’s Oscar entry Eagles of the Republic.

 

The Lumière festival attracts archivists and programmers from all over the world, as well as a huge local audience. Three films directed by Victor Sjöström are included in this year’s festival program, as well as the last film in which he performed as an actor. The Swedish Film Institute’s digital restoration of The Outlaw and His Wife / Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru (1918) – labelled “the most beautiful film in the world” by Franch critic and filmmaker Louis Delluc in the 1920’s – will be screened with live piano accompaniment by Fred Escoffier. Sjöström’s chef d’oeuvre The Phantom Carriage / Körkarlen (1921) – in which Sjöström again plays the leading role – will also be presented in a digitally restored version with live musical accompaniment by Grégoire Rolland (organ). The Wind (1928) – starring Lilian Gish and Lars Hanson – was arguably Sjöström’s finest Hollywood effort, and it will be screened with a full symphony orchestra score, performed by the Lyon National Orchestra under the direction of Timothy Brock. The tribute to Sjöström also includes Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries / Smultronstället (1957), in which Sjöström made his last screen performance.

 

During the festival, Jon Wengström, Senior Curator of the Archival Film Collections at Swedish Film Institute, will give an illustrated lecture on Sjöström’s career in Sweden and in Hollywood, and about the importance of Sjöström in world cinema history. The lecture will include rare photos and documents from the collections of the archive, as well as excerpts from films and rare behind-the-scenes footage from the shooting of Wild Strawberries.

 

- We are very happy that Victor Sjöström is honoured at this year’s edition of the Lumière festival, says Jon Wengström. His films continue to fascinate audiences around the world. Recently there have been extensive Sjöström retrospectives in Paris, Barcelona and Montréal, and there will be a tribute to Sjöström and Swedish silent films in general in Berkeley, California next year. It is amazing how these films continue to appeal to a contemporary audience, more than a century after they were produced.

 

The festival is also honouring Tarik Saleh with screenings of his Cairo-trilogy. Eagles of The Republic, selected in the official section at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and Sweden’s Oscar entry, will be previewed in Lyon about a month before the film's French premiere (November 12). Tarik Saleh will be present at the festival and give two masterclasses.  The director of the Festival Lumière, Thierry Frémaux, has said that it is not just about celebrating past films but also about presenting them to audiences, connecting the heritage with current cinema culture.

 

- It is such an honor to be part of this festival that celebrates the history of film. So powerful that the Cairo trilogy is being selected and I am very much looking forward to being part of this. It is especially fun that Michael Mann, who has meant so much to my filmmaking, will be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Lyon, says Tarik Saleh.

 

In addition to Tarik Saleh and Michael Mann, the following movie personalities will be guests at the festival: István Szábo, Sean Penn, Natalie Portman, John Woo and Dominique Blanc.

 

More about Victor Sjöström and Tarik Saleh at the festival:

The Cairo trilogy by Tarik Saleh - The Cairo trilogy by Tarik Saleh

Two cine-concerts! - Two cine-concerts!

 

Promoted Swedish classic films:

Promoted Films - SFdb

 

For further questions please contact Kajsa Hedström, Project Manager and Curator at Swedish Film Institute: kajsa.hedstrom@filminstitutet.se

 

 

 

 

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