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Inaugural festival wrapped this weekend screening more than 30 European arthouse films.

Reykjavik’s inaugural Stockfish European Film Festival wrapped this weekend after welcoming international guests such as Rachid Bouchareb, Brenda Blethyn [pictured] and Christine Vachon.

More than 30 European arthouse films were screened at the Bio Paradis in downtown Reykjavik.

Local filmmakers attended seminars, workshops and a masterclass by Pavel Jech, dean of Czech film school Famu.

The festival paid tribute to Icelandic cinematographer Sigurður Sverrir Pálsson and included a retrospective of some of his short films.

Sweden’s Blowfly Park (Flugparken) opened the festival, with actor Sverrir Gudnason and director Jens Östberg in attendance. The film will also be a part of Stockfish on Wheels, an upcoming tour across Iceland with several films from the festival.

The festival’s short film award went to Mikel Gurren’s London-set father-son story Foxes, produced by Eva Sigurðardóttir.

The jury said Foxes is “a solid and sincere work that is particularly...

First edition of the new Icelandic film festival to open with award-winning actor Sverrir Gudnason in attendance.

The inaugural Stockfish Film Festival (Feb 19-March 1), launched by a group of industry veterans, is to kick off in Iceland with Jens Östberg’s crime thriller Blowfly Park (Flugparken).

The film’s star, Sverrir Gudnason, will be in attendance as an honorary guest of the festival. The crime thriller saw Gudnason pick up the best actor award at Sweden’s Guldbagge awards last month.

Director Östberg will also attend the festival to present the film.

Blowfly Park will also be a part of the Stockfish on Wheels initiative, where a select few films from the festival will tour Iceland afterthe festival. Amongst other films screening at Stockfish are Party Girl, Black Coal, Thin Ice, Goodbye to Language 3D and The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq.

Stockfisheffectively revives the Reykjavik Film Festival (Rff), which ran from 1978 to 2001.

The organisers, led by Oscar-nominated...

Ruben Östlund’s family drama leads the pack with six Guldbagge Awards.

Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure (Turist) may have missed out on the shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award but it cleaned up at last night’s Swedish Oscars - the Guldbagge Awards.

The ceremony, held by the Swedish Film Institute at Cirkus in Stockholm, saw Östlund’s family drama pick up six Guldbagge (Golden Beetle) prizes including best film, director, supporting actor, screenplay, cinematography and editing.

The Sweden-France-Norway co-production debuted at Cannes 2014 and centres on a family who come under strain after staring down an avalanche in the French Alps.

Guldbagge Awards 2015

Best Film

Force majeure / Turist

Producers: Erik Hemmendorff, Marie Kjellson and Philippe Bober

Best Director

Ruben Östlund

for Force majeure / Turist

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Saga Becker

for her role as Sebastian/ Ellie in Something Must Break / Nånting måste gå sönder

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Sverrir Gudnason

for...

Mikael Marcimain drama leads pack; Ruben Ostlund, Roy Andersson films follow.

With 13 nominations, Gentlemen, Mikael Marcimain’s adaption of the novel by Klas Östergren, has become one of the most nominated films in the history of Sweden’s national film awards, the Guldbagges.

Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure (Turist) follows with ten nominations, while there are seven nominations for Venice Golden Lion winner A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) by Roy Andersson.

A jury of 45 members voted in a secret ballot for the nominations in the main categories.

The Guldbagge Awards ceremony will be held on 26 January, 2015, in Stockholm.

Guldbagge nominees 2015Best Film

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence / En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron

Producer: Pernilla Sandström

Force Majeure / Turist

Producers: Erik Hemmendorff, Marie Kjellson, Philippe Bober

Gentlemen

Producers: Fredrik Heinig, Mattias Nohrborg, [link...

Mexican feature Perpetual Sadness and Israeli drama Next to Her take top prizes at Greek festival.Scroll down for full list of winners

Mexican director Jorge Perez Solorzano’s Perpetual Sadness (La Tirisia) was named best film at the 55th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Oct 31 - Nov 9) winning the Golden Alexander.

It beat competition from 13 other first and second films screened in this year’s international competition section.

The film deals with the stoicism and the sadness shared by women in a remote village facing the departure of their sons in search of work. World sales are handled by Media Luna.

It marks the second consecutive year that a Mexican production has won top honours at Thessaloniki. Last year, Diego Quemada-Diez’s Golden Dream (La jaula de oro) scooped the top award as well as best director.

Some 10 Mexican features have played in competition at the festival since 2000, winning cropping 12 principal awards.

Israeli feature...