Cate Shortland's 'Lore' Sweeps Stockholm Festival

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German-Language Film 'Lore' Named Australia's Oscar Entry

Lore, a German-language drama set in the immediate aftermath of WWII, was the big winner at the 2012 Stockholm International Film Festival, taking Home four trophies including for Best Film.

The second feature from Australian writer-director Cate Shortland also won Stockholm's Best Actress honor for newcomer Saskia Rosendahl, Best Cinematography for cameraman Adam Arkapaw and Best Musical Score for composer Max Richter.

Based on the novel The Dark Room, by Rachel Seiffert, Lore is set in the Spring of 1945. The Nazis are defeated and Lore (Rosendahl), the daughter of a high-ranking SS officer, takes off on a cross-country journey with her brothers, sisters and grandmother.

Lore premiered in Locarno this year, where it won the audience award. It is Australia's official entry for the 2013 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Another Oscar hopeful, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild added Stockholm's Best First Film trophy to well-stocked awards case.

Willem Dafoe won the Stockholm Achievement Award, the Dala Horse, French director Jacques Audiard took home the Stockholm Visionary Award and Swedish helmer Jan Troell was honored with the festival's lifetime achievement prize.

Swedish director Amanda Adolfsson received this year's Stockholm Feature Film Award, which comes with $800,000 to go towards the making if her next film, the coming-of-age tale Young Sofie Bell.

The film will premier at the 2014 Stockholm Festival and NonStop Entertainment will release it across all Nordic and Baltic territories.