Another Cannes regular, Sweden’s Ruben Ostlund strolled the Croisette twice before, with Directors' Fortnight title Play in 2011 and competition entry Involuntary in 2008. His latest, formerly known as Tourist, sees a Swedish family visiting a French ski resort where they are confronted by irresistible forces of nature. Ostlund has promised the film’s avalanche scene is the best ever shot. (Sales: Coproduction Office)
Courtesy of Festival De CannesRuben Ostlund‘s black comedy Force Majeure swept all competitors before it at the Guldbagge Awards, winning six honors including best film and best director at Sweden’s version of the Oscars.
Ostlund also picked up best screenplay for his story of a harmless avalanche that wreaks emotional havoc on a family. Kristofer Hivju, known to Game of Thrones fans as Tormund Giantsbane, won best supporting actor for his turn as Mats in Force Majeure, while the film also took honors for best cinematography (Fredrik Wenzel) and best editing (Jacob Secher Schulsinger and Ostlund). The film has earned around $1.5 million in Sweden and an impressive $1.3 million for Magnolia in the U.S. Force Majeure missed out on an Oscar nomination but picked up the best foreign film honor at the Critics Choice Awards.
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Keeping it from making a clean sweep at the Guldbagges in Stockholm Jan. 26 were the performances of Saga Becker, who won best actress for her role in Ester Martin Bergsmark‘s transgender drama Something Must Break; and that of Sverrir Gudnason, this year’s best actor winner for his turn as a washed-up ice hockey star in Jens Ostberg‘s Blowfly Park. Veteran Anita Wall won best supporting actress for playing a mourning widow in Maximilian Hult‘s Home and Mikael Marcimain‘s 1970s-set thriller Gentlemen picked up trophies in the costume, makeup and music categories.
The best foreign-language film prize went to Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne‘s workplace drama Two Days, One Night.
Oscar-nominated actress Liv Ullmann, acclaimed for her work with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, received this year’s lifetime achievement award.
