Tomorrow, Thursday 7th of September, is the opening day of Toronto International Film Festival. The opening gala feature is Borg/McEnroe directed by Janus Metz, the story about the tennis legends Björn Borg and John McEnroe. This is the first-ever Swedish film to open TIFF. In all Film i Väst are proud to introduce no less than ten films in Toronto.

– Three of the ten films in Toronto were shot in Gothenburg and three in Trollhättan. All have done post-production in West Sweden. It is a great result for Scandinavia’s primary film region. This has been a formidable year for Film i Väst’s co-productions with a double Oscar nomination for Hannes Holm’s A Man Called Ove, a Silver Bear for Agnieszka Holland’s Spoor in Berlin and the Palme d’Or for Ruben Östlund’s The Square in Cannes, says Mikael Fellenius, CEO of Film i Väst, whose organization is now celebrating 25 years as a Swedish co-producer and more than 1 000 co-productions.

For more information:
Anthony Muir, Senior Executive Co-Productions, who will be in Toronto during the TIFF.
M +46(0)722 34 34 56 anthony.muir@filmivast.se

 

Film i Väst’s co-productions in Toronto:

Gala Presentations:

  • Borg/McEnroe  – OPENING NIGHT GALA FILM –  by director Janus Metz. Tells the story of the epic rivalry between Swedish tennis legend Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and his greatest adversary, the brash American John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf), which came to a head during the 1980 Wimbledon Championships. Shot in Gothenburg. SF Studios.
  • Chappaquiddick by director John Curran. Historical drama which examines the infamous 1969 incident when Senator Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) accidentally drove off a bridge, resulting in the death of campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara). Chimney Group.
  • The Wife – by director Björn Runge. Jonathan Pryce, Glenn Close, and Christian Slater star in Björn Runge’s adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s bestselling novel about a woman (Close) who decides to leave her author husband (Pryce) on the eve of his Nobel Prize presentation in order to finally pursue her own writing aspirations. Black Sparks Productions.

Special presentations:

  • The Square – by director Ruben Östlund. Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure) took home the Palme d’Or at Cannes for this no-holds-barred satire of the postmodern art world, about a self-important curator whose attempts to mount an ambitious exhibition go hilariously awry. Sweden’s Foreign Oscar nomination. Shot in Gothenburg. Plattform Produktion.
  • Thelma – by director Joachim Trier. Recently moved to Oslo to attend school, a young woman falls in love and discovers that she possesses terrifying powers, in this supernatural thriller from acclaimed director Joachim Trier (Louder Than Bombs). Norway’s Foreign Oscar nomination. Shot in Trollhättan. Motlys.
  • You Disappear – by director Peter Schønau Fog. Several of Denmark’s finest actors, including Trine Dyrholm (The Commune) and Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Men & Chicken) star together with Michael Nyqvist in one of his last roles in this incisive, sometimes chilling drama about a school principal whose marriage begins to unravel after he receives a terminal diagnosis. Shot in Trollhättan. Zentropa International and Zentropa Sweden.

Contemporary World Cinema:

  • A Ciambra – by director Jonas Carpignano. Coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old boy in a Romani community in southern Italy who is eager to prove he can be a man and is thrust into adulthood when his brother goes missing. Had its premiere in Cannes, won Label Europa Cinemas. Filmgate Films.

Platform:

  • What Will People Say – by director Iram Haq. Nisha’s double life — obedient to her traditional Pakistani upbringing at home, typical Norwegian teenager to her friends — comes crashing down when her concerned parents kidnap her and send her to Pakistan, in Iram Haq’s empathetic story of family, community, and culture. Nominated for Platform Prize. Shot in Gothenburg. Merfilm, Zentropa Sweden.

Discovery:

  • Ravens – by director Jens Assur. A hardworking farmer begins to crack under the weight of his harsh daily existence and the indifference of his son to their traditional way of life, in Jens Assur’s debut feature. Film and Art Affairs II

Short Cuts:

  • My Burden – by director Niki Lindroth von Bahr. In this comically acerbic musical epic, the animal occupants of a generic shopping plaza next to a freeway sing out their existential angst — doomed by the apocalyptic banality of subsistence in the modern age. Competed in Cannes. Shot in Trollhättan, at Dockhus. Malade.