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Pandemic-born initiative Female Film Club (Ffc) is expanding its global membership with a new campaign.

The organization will encourage media and social media users to share an insta reel with the hashtag #Ffcworldwide which explains the campaign. The aim is to reach every filmmaker in every country and give them an opportunity to get their voice heard and their story told.

The initiative has members in 19 countries, and is hoping to recruit from the 172 countries it doesn’t. From every country that is not yet represented, the Ffc will give away a free year-long membership and five free two-month memberships. Those interested need to send an email to info@femalefilmclub.com with their CV or IMDb profile, and nationality. Operating on a first-come-first-serve basis, potential members qualify if they have a short film that has done a film festival run or a feature film.

Ffc was founded by Nicole Lieberman...

Other winners at Swedish film awards include The Yard, Martha & Niki and My Aunt In Sarajevo.

Johannes Nyholm’s The Giant (pictured) was the big winner at the 2017 Guldbagge Awards in Sweden.

Produced by Garagefilm International and Beo Film, it won best film, best screenplay (for Nyholm) and best make-up (Eva von Bahr, Love Larson and Pia Aleborg).

The Yard also won three awards, including best actor (Anders Mossling), best cinematography (Ita Zbroniec-Zajt) and best sound/sound design (Patrik Strömdahl).

Goran Kapetanović won best director for the unusual My Aunt In Sarajevo, which had a theatrical release despite being only 58 minutes long. The film’s Sadžida Šetić also won best actress in a supporting role.

Maria Sundbom picked up best actress for The Girl, The Mother And The Demons, while Michael Nyqvist won best supporting actor for his role in A Serious Game.

Martha And Niki won best editing (Tora Mkandawire Mårtens and Therese Elfström) and best...

Second World War drama was picked over The Commune and Walk With Me.

A Danish committee has chosen Martin Zandvliet’s historical drama Land Of Mine as its official entry for this year’s best foreign language film Oscar race.

The film was selected from a shortlist that also included Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune and Lisa Ohlin’s With With Me.

Land Of Mine, which premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, centres on a group of young German POWs in Denmark in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It triumphed at this year’s Danish film awards, taking six prizes.

It was written and directed by Zandvliet and produced by Mikael Rieks for Nordisk Film Production A/S and Malte Grunert.

K5 International is representing world sales on Land Of Mine. Sony Pictures Classics has Us rights.

Chinese outfit Dd Dream’s acquisitions include Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune.

Dd Dream International Media has acquired Thomas Vinterberg’s Berlinale Competition title The Commune [pictured], adventure epic The Last King by Nils Gaup, Erik Skjoldbjærg’s thriller Pyromaniac and Vibeke Idsoe’s historical drama The Lion Woman.

Sales Manager Nicolai Korsgaard negotiated those deals with Dd’s Elizabeth Yang.

Hgc Entertainment has acquired Hannes Holm’s box-office hit

A Man Called Ove, Saara Cantell’s historical drama Devil’s Bride, Mads Matthiesen’s fashion-world drama The Model, Lisa Ohlin’s romantic drama Walk With Me, Nicola Donato’s WW2-era drama Across The Waters and Jesper W Nielsen’s The Day Will Come, about abuse at a boys home in the 1960s.

Sales Manager Nicolai Korsgaard negotiated those deals with Hgc’s Peter Li.

Scandinavian sales agent TrustNordisk has closed a raft of deals post-Berlin.

Studiocanal UK has picked up Nicolo Donato’s Second World War drama Across The Waters (Fuglene Over Sundet) [pictured] for the UK.

The film follows a Danish-Jewish family who, when faced with deportation to Germany, flee to safety in Sweden with the Gestapo hot on their heels.

TrustNordisk handles international sales rights to the title, which featured as part of a promo reel at the Efm, and has also sold the film to Turkey (Sinema TV Yay).

The Scandinavian sales outfit has closed a raft of further post-efm deals.

Jesper W. Nielsen’s Lars Mikkelsen-starring drama The Day Will Come has sold to Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Latin America (California Filmes), former Yugoslavia (Cinemania Group) and Turkey (Sinema TV Yay).

Insomnia director Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Pyromaniac has gone to Latin America (California Filmes), adding to previous deals.

Vibeke Idsøe’s The Lion Woman has added Czech Republic...

Pernilla August’s new adaption of A Serious Game, scriped by Lone Scherfig, is among the 11 works-in-progress set to be introduced at Haugesund’s New Nordic Films

Swedish actress-turned-writer/director Pernilla August, whose latest film Beyond (Svinalängorna, 2010) garnered her three Guldbaggar – Sweden’s national film award – and the Nordic Council Film Prize, will introduce her new feature A Serious Game (Den allvarsamma leken) in New Nordic Films at the Norwegian International Film Festival (Aug 15-21) in Haugesund.

Norwegian director Anja Breien’s 1977 adaptation of Swedish author Hjalmar Söderberg’s 1912 novel is also screening in the festival programme.

Danish writer-director Lone Scherfig has scripted the new version of the passionate love between Arvid and Lydia (Sverrir Gudnason, Karin Franz Körlof), which Patrik Andersson, Frida Barzgo and Fredrik Heinig are producing for A B-Reel Production.

A Serious Game is one of 11 new Nordic productions, which will be presented tomorrow and Thursday (Aug 19-20) at Haugesund’s Scandic Maritim: six from...

Promo of Danish drama to be screened at Cannes next month.

TrustNordisk has picked up the international sales rights to the upcoming Danish feature Walk With Me from Danish production company Asta Film. A promo for the film will be presented at Marche du Film in Cannes next month.

Directed by Lisa Ohlin (Simon and the Oaks) and starring Cecilie Lassen and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (A Royal Affair) in the leading roles, the film is described as “a love story of two people from two different worlds”.

Deployed on mission in Helmand, Afghanistan 25-year old Thomas steps on a landmine and loses both his legs. At the local rehabilitation center he meets Sofie, an ascending ballerina from the Royal Danish Ballet, who is helping a relative to regain strength after a long term sickness.

Thomas desperately wants back in the field and gets impatient, as progress does not emerge as fast as he wants to. When Sofie offers...

Promo of Danish drama to be screened at Cannes next month.

TrustNordisk has picked up the international sales rights to the upcoming Danish feature Walk With Me from Danish production company Asta Film. A promo for the film will be presented at Marche du Film in Cannes next month.

Directed by Lisa Ohlin (Simon and the Oaks) and starring Cecilie Lassen and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (A Royal Affair) in the leading roles, the film is described as “a love story of two people from two different worlds”.

Deployed on mission in Helmand, Afghanistan 25-year old Thomas steps on a landmine and loses both his legs. At the local rehabilitation center he meets Sofie, an ascending ballerina from the Royal Danish Ballet, who is helping a relative to regain strength after a long term sickness.

Thomas desperately wants back in the field and gets impatient, as progress does not emerge as fast as he wants to. When Sofie offers...

Simon and the Oaks is a lot of things, but above all, it is too much. The film begins on a note of magical realism, then rolls through wartime struggles, familial conflict and growing pains. At times, it seems director Lisa Ohlin might pull off an emotional study of lives changing drastically during World War II. But by the end, it feels like a symphony in which no two instruments can play at once....

Simon And The Oaks is an epic drama spanning the years 1939 to 1952, a coming-of-age story that follows a brainy Swedish boy growing up in domestic and political turmoil during World War II. It.s an engrossing film hampered by a sappy, soap-opera script which it keeps it from being as satisfying as it could be but it.s still worth seeing. Simon (Jonatan S. Wächter) lives with his working class family on the outskirts of Gothenburg but always feels out of place. He finally convinces his father to send him to a prestigious upper-class grammar school, where he meets Isak (Karl Martin Eriksson), an outcast being the son of a wealthy Jewish bookseller who has fled Nazi persecution in Germany. Simon is dazzled by the books, art and music he encounters in the home of Isak’s father Ruben (Jan Josef Leifers), which makes Simon long to know more about his own family background.

Title: Simon and the Oaks Director: Lisa Ohlin Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jan Josef Leifers, Stefan Godicke, Helen Sjoholm, Jonatan Wachter, Karl Martin Eriksson No, this is not the story of a crayon-obsessed kid and his plot to nourish and grow seedlings of Stubhub’s “Ticket Oak,” alas. A rangy coming-of-age drama based on Marianne Fredriksson’s Swedish book of the same name, “Simon and the Oaks” spans a couple decades in telling the story of an outcast adolescent of partial and secreted Jewish heritage growing up amidst the considerable political and social turmoil of World War II. Arthouse appreciation for this attractively photographed recipient of 13 Guldbagge nominations, Sweden’s Oscar equivalent, will depend on a given [ Read More ]

The post Simon and the Oaks Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Simon and the Oaks

Directed by Lisa Ohlin

Written by Lisa Ohlin and Marnie Blok

Sweden, 2011

During the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, young Simon Larsson (Jonatan S. Washer) and his family live in the idyllic Swedish countryside. There, he and his father (Stefan Gödicke) are at constant odds, with Simon wanting to go to grammar school and his father wanting him to be a labourer. Isolated within his own home, Simon regularly takes refuge in his books, reading them while perched on a giant oak tree. Eventually, his father capitulates to his constant appeals, and at school, Simon meets Isak (Karl Martin Eriksson), the son of a wealthy Jewish bookseller (Jan Josef Liefers). As their friendship grows, and as the impending war looms, the two families come closer together, changing them in ways they’d never expect.

Saturated with the pastoral beauty of the Swedish countryside, and shot with careful and elegant poise,...

Could we have an early foreign film Oscar contender on our hands? While it seems like it will be hard to top Michael Haneke‘s Amour, and the fall film festival slate will likely reveal even more contenders, a strong possibility has landed today as we get our first domestic look at the Swedish hit Simon and the Oaks. From director Lisa Ohlin, the film won a record 13 nominations for Sweden’s Guldbagge Awards (aka their local Oscars) and has grossed over $4 million in select international markets.

Based on Marianne Fredriksson‘s novel, we’ve got the first trailer today for the WWII drama, which looks to be a crowdpleasing, emotional coming-of-age tale. At this point, it seems like a film of this ilk is almost obligatory come awards season, but hopefully this one rises above the others. Starring Bill Skarsgård (son of Stellan), Helen Sjöholm, Stefan Godicke and Jan Josef Liefers,...

Scandinavian filmmakers are on a roll, from "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" turning Noomi Rapace into a global star, Norwegian hit "Headhunters" getting a U.S. remake to "The Hunt" star Mads Mikkelsen taking home Best actor at Cannes. Check out our exclusive first look at the poster and a clip for Swedish director Lisa Ohlin's period epic "Simon and the Oaks," based on Marianne Fredriksson's bestselling novel and recipient of thirteen nominations for Sweden's Guldbagge Awards. The film will hit Us theaters on October 12 (La's Landmark, NYC's Paris Theater) via new distrib The Film Arcade. A national release will follow. At this year's Berlin Film Festival, Bill Skarsgaard, son of Stellan, was named a "shooting star of 2012." The drama spans thirteen years from 1939  to 1952 and depicts the conditions for Jews living in Sweden during WWII. We follow young intellectual outsider Simon, who grows up...

Newbie specialty distributor The Film Arcade has acquired its second film, Lisa Ohlin’s “Simon and the Oaks.” The company picked up all U.S. rights to the Swedish drama and has an October 12 release scheduled for New York and L.A. Ambush Entertainment producers Miranda Bailey and Matthew Leutwyler launched Film Arcade with former Might Entertainment execs Andy Bohn and Jason Beck during the Sundance Film Festival in January. Along with Lionsgate, Film Arcade acquired the 2012 Sundance documentary “The Other Dream Team,” also scheduled for a fall opening. Based on the Marianne Fredriksson novel, “Oaks” tells the story of a gifted boy coming of age in Sweden during the Second World War. Bill Skarsgard, Helen Sjoholm and Jan Josef Liefers star. “Lisa Ohlin has crafted a poignant coming-of-age story about hope and survival during the darkest hours of the 20th century,” said Film Arcade execs. “We believe U.S.

HollywoodNews.com: The 38th Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and most highly-attended event of its kind in the United States concluded today with the announcement of the Siff 2012 Competition Awards and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards. The 25-day Festival, which began May 17, featured over 460 films from more than 70 countries, including 65 feature premieres (24 World, 25 North American, 16 U.S.) and over 700 screenings. Additionally, Siff brought in more than 300 directors, actors and industry professionals.

“A festival’s success is dependent on two basic principles: providing a platform for filmmakers to be celebrated and connecting them to audience members that would not otherwise be aware of their remarkable stories,” said Siff Artistic Director Carl Spence. “This year a record number of filmmakers participated in person and online with virtual Q&A’s successfully expanding the conversation around the best in cinema with passionate audiences, illuminating guests and distinguished industry in attendance.”

Siff Managing Director Deborah Person said,...

Simon and the Oaks

Directed by Lisa Ohlin

Written by Lisa Ohlin and Marnie Blok

Sweden, 2011

During the late 1930’s and 1940’s, young Simon Larsson (Jonatan S. Washer) and his family live in the idyllic Swedish countryside. There, he and his father (Stefan Gödicke) are at constant odds, with Simon wanting to go to grammar school and his father wanting him to be a labourer. Isolated within his own home, Simon regularly takes refuge in his books, reading them while perched on a giant oak tree.

Eventually, his father capitulates to his constant appeals, and at school, Simon meets Isak (Karl Martin Eriksson), the son of a wealthy Jewish bookseller (Jan Josef Liefers). As their friendship grows, and as the impending war looms, the two families come closer together, changing them in ways they’d never expect.

Saturated with the pastoral beauty of the Swedish countryside, and shot with careful and elegant poise,...

I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.

Hemlock Grove, a gripping tale of murder, mystery and monsters set in a ravaged Pennsylvania steel town, starring Famke Janssen and Bill Skarsgard and produced by Gaumont International Television, will be available for Netflix members to watch instantly, beginning early in 2013.

Hemlock Grove starts with the body of a young girl, mangled and murdered in the shadow of the former Godfrey steel mill. Some suspect an escapee from the White Tower, a biotech facility owned by the former steel magnates. Others believe the killer could be Peter, a 17-year-old Gypsy kid from the wrong side of the tracks, who tells his classmates he’s a werewolf. Or it could be Roman (Skarsgard), the arrogant Godfrey scion, whose sister Shelley is disturbingly deformed and whose mother, Olivia (Janssen), the otherworldly beautiful and controlling grand dame of Hemlock Grove.

As the crime goes unsolved and outlandish rumors mount, Peter and Roman decide to find the killer themselves,...

We originally reported that Netflix was interested in a new horror series from Eli Roth back in December. It has now been made official and we have the first casting details. Available only for Netflix instant, Hemlock Grove is based on a novel of the same name name from Brian McGreevy.

Eli Roth is on board as both director and producer, and the first casting announcements have been made:

Calif., March 21, 2012 — “Hemlock Grove,” a gripping tale of murder, mystery and monsters set in a ravaged Pennsylvania steel town, starring Famke Janssen and Bill Skarsgard and produced by Gaumont International Television, will be available for Netflix members to watch instantly, beginning early in 2013.

“Hemlock Grove” starts with the body of a young girl, mangled and murdered in the shadow of the former Godfrey steel mill. Some suspect an escapee from the White Tower, a biotech facility owned by the former steel magnates.

Zhang Ziyi in Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmasters

For about a week now, Ioncinema has been counting down its "Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2012" — and they're almost there. As of this writing, after 99 individual entries filling us in on all that Eric Lavallee knows about the films he's looking forward to, the title that'll land in the #1 spot remains a mystery. I'll update when it appears, but for now, click the titles to see the files on the top 20 so far:

Update, 1/12: And we have a #1:

Carlos Reygadas's Post Tenebras Lux. Michael Haneke's Love. Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. Terrence Malick's The Burial (that title's likely to change). Olivier Assayas's Something in the Air. Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmasters. Abbas Kiarostami's Like Someone in Love. Antonio Campos's Simon Killer. Derek Cianfrance's Place Beyond the Plains. Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone.

Bill Skarsgård, Simon and the Oaks Best film Apflickorna / She Monkeys Producer: Helene Lindholm Play Producer: Erik Hemmendorff Simon och ekarna / Simon and the Oaks Producers: Christer Nilson, Per Holst Best Foreign Language Film Kynodontas / Dogtooth Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Jodaeiye Nader az Simin / A Separation Director: Asghar Farhadi Winter's Bone Director: Debra Granik Best Director Lisa Aschan for Apflickorna / She Monkeys Lisa Ohlin for Simon och ekarna / Simon and the Oaks Ruben Östlund for Play Best actress in a leading role Ann Petrén for her role as Jonna in Happy End Magdalena Poplawska for her role as Marta in Between 2 Fires Helen Sjöholm for her role as Karin Larsson in Simon och ekarna / Simon and the Oaks Best actor in a leading role Mikael Persbrandt for his role as Johan in Stockholm Östra / Stockholm East Sven-Bertil Taube for his role as George in En enkel till Antibes / A One-way to...

Cologne, Germany – The 1940s period drama Simon And The Oaks from director Lisa Ohlin has received a record 13 nominations for Sweden's Guldbagge Awards, the local equivalent of the Oscars. The coming-of-age tale, based on the bestselling novel by Marianne Fredriksson, is set in rural Sweden in the 1940s and tells the story of Simon, a bookish boy from a working class family who befriends Erik, a Jewish boy whose family fled Nazi Germany. Simon and the Oaks picked up Guldbagge noms in virtually every category, including best film, best director and best actress for Helen Sjoholm.

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