Film i Väst is one of Europe’s most successful co-producers and Scandinavia’s preeminent regional film fund. Millions of cinema tickets are sold annually to Film i Väst co-productions around the globe. Over the years, Film i Väst co-productions have also been richly rewarded with nominations and prizes at the world’s most prestigious events, including festivals such as Cannes and Berlin, and galas such as the European Film Awards, the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
The Swedish box office juggernaut A Man Called Ove, by Hannes Holm, has been seen by more cinema goers in Sweden than any film in nearly forty years, and now adds the distinction of two Oscar nominations to its resume. A Man Called Ove has now exceded the impressive acheivements of another Film i Väst co-production, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Felix Herngren, in terms of both audience admissions and Oscar nominations. While both films have been nominated in the Best Acheivement in Makeup and Hairstyling category, A Man Called Ove will now also compete for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, marking the seventh Oscar nomination for a Film i Väst co-production in the last seven years.
Once again, Film i Väst is well represented at the Berlin International Film Festival. Game Count by Polish master of cinema Agnieszka Holland, leads Film i Väst’s line up at the Berlinale and will take part in the Official Competition program. Joining Game Count in Berlin will be Viceroy’s House, by Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, in a special screening Out of Competition, and The King’s Choice by Erik Poppe which will screen in the Panorama section after having been short listed for the Best Foregin Language Oscar.
Other Film i Väst co-productions that have begun making noise early in 2017 include A Hustler’s Diary by Ivica Zubak, a Swedish debut which has already established itself at the Swedish box office and had a festival premier at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and Their Finest, a film by director Lone Scherfig, starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy, which premiered in the prestigious Gala Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival, and is set to have a great theatrical run in cinemas the world over in 2017.
The Nile Hilton Incident by Tarik Saleh premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it was awarded the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema competition, and, after premiering in Toronto and capturing the Special Jury Prize in the San Sebastian International Film Festival, The Giant by Johannes Nyholm was awarded the Swedish Guldbagge (Swedish Oscar) for Best Film in 2016.
