Movies Swedish film buffs want you to watch right now
The 2016 Stockholm Film Festival concluded over the weekend. The Local brings you trailers for the three films that won the big prizes at this year's shindig.
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Best film: Godless by Ralitza Petrova
Ralitza Petrova trained at the National Film and Television School in the UK and this Bulgarian-Danish-French co-production is her debut feature film. Godless (original title: Bezbog) is a gritty, downbeat portrait of post-Communist Bulgaria about a nurse who steals from her patients to fund her morphine addiction, until a surprise meeting forces her to reconsider her moral choices.
"This is filmmaking of the highest order and marks the arrival of a new great within cinema. A film that will forever live in the hearts and minds of viewers. It is a true work of art and, simply put, is one of the finest films ever made." – Stockholm Film Festival
Best first film: Sand Storm by Elite Zexer
Elite Zexer spent more than ten years with Bedouin communities before she shot this film in the Israeli desert. Sand Storm (original title: Sufat Chol) is also Israel's official submission for this year's Oscars and examines social and cultural faultlines between genders and generations.
"An important film told with great authenticity and compassion, cinema and the world at large has a new and exciting voice with this film maker." – Stockholm Film Festival
Best director: Old Stone by Johnny Ma
This mix of a social-realist noir drama and a thriller follows a taxi driver in a busy Chinese city, who is plunged into a Kafka-esque nightmare after helping an injured motorcyclist get to hospital. Ma's Old Stone (original title: Lao Shi) also won the Stockholm Film Festival's award for Best Script.
"In the wildly engaging and painfully relevant film, talent of the highest order is shown in full display." – Stockholm Film Festival
Other winners at the 2016 Stockholm Film Festival
Best cinematography: Andrei Butica for Dogs
Best actress: Irena Ivanova, Godless
Best actor: Kévin Azaïs, A Taste of Ink
Best documentary: Hooligan Sparrow by Nanfu Wang
Stockholm Impact Award: Wayne Roberts for Katie Says Goodbye
Best short film: Imago by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez
Stockholm Rising Star: Filip Berg
FIPRESCI best film: American Honey by Andrea Arnold
Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award: Francis Ford Coppola
Stockholm Visionary Award: Francois Ozon
1 km film-scholarship: Frida Kempff, Dear Kid
iFestival Award: Trial and Error by Antje Heyn
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READ ALSO: 30 Swedish movies you must see before you die
Best film: Godless by Ralitza Petrova
Ralitza Petrova trained at the National Film and Television School in the UK and this Bulgarian-Danish-French co-production is her debut feature film. Godless (original title: Bezbog) is a gritty, downbeat portrait of post-Communist Bulgaria about a nurse who steals from her patients to fund her morphine addiction, until a surprise meeting forces her to reconsider her moral choices.
"This is filmmaking of the highest order and marks the arrival of a new great within cinema. A film that will forever live in the hearts and minds of viewers. It is a true work of art and, simply put, is one of the finest films ever made." – Stockholm Film Festival
Best first film: Sand Storm by Elite Zexer
Elite Zexer spent more than ten years with Bedouin communities before she shot this film in the Israeli desert. Sand Storm (original title: Sufat Chol) is also Israel's official submission for this year's Oscars and examines social and cultural faultlines between genders and generations.
"An important film told with great authenticity and compassion, cinema and the world at large has a new and exciting voice with this film maker." – Stockholm Film Festival
Best director: Old Stone by Johnny Ma
This mix of a social-realist noir drama and a thriller follows a taxi driver in a busy Chinese city, who is plunged into a Kafka-esque nightmare after helping an injured motorcyclist get to hospital. Ma's Old Stone (original title: Lao Shi) also won the Stockholm Film Festival's award for Best Script.
"In the wildly engaging and painfully relevant film, talent of the highest order is shown in full display." – Stockholm Film Festival
Other winners at the 2016 Stockholm Film Festival
Best cinematography: Andrei Butica for Dogs
Best actress: Irena Ivanova, Godless
Best actor: Kévin Azaïs, A Taste of Ink
Best documentary: Hooligan Sparrow by Nanfu Wang
Stockholm Impact Award: Wayne Roberts for Katie Says Goodbye
Best short film: Imago by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez
Stockholm Rising Star: Filip Berg
FIPRESCI best film: American Honey by Andrea Arnold
Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award: Francis Ford Coppola
Stockholm Visionary Award: Francois Ozon
1 km film-scholarship: Frida Kempff, Dear Kid
iFestival Award: Trial and Error by Antje Heyn
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