'Drive' Director Nicolas Winding Refn to Attend Munich Festival

COLOGNE, Germany - Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn will return to the Munich International Film Festival this year for an homage of his work.

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Refn, whose Drive starring Ryan Gosling won Cannes' Director's Prize last year, was last in Munich in 2010, where he presented his Viking epic Valhalla Rising with the film's star Mads Mikkelsen.

"Two years ago, Nicolas Winding Refn was still an insider tip," said Munich festival director Diana Iljine. "Now, and for good reason, he's seen as one of the most exciting directors in the world."

Refn will attend the Munich fest, which runs June 29 - July 7, and take part in a public Q&A session on July 1. For its homage to Refn, Munich will screen his Copenhagen drug trilogy Pusher as well as Drive and Fear X (2003), Refn's English-language debut.

Munich will also screen the little-seen documentary film Gambler (2006) rom Danish director Phie Ambo, which looks at how Refn, in debt after Fear X flopped at the box office, wrote and directed Pusher 2 and Pusher 3 in quick succession.