The Stockholm International Film Festival has unveiled its program for 2024. We were at the press conference and have all the juicy details and highlights or you. Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the festival not only features 135 films from 50 different countries, this year also introduces a new category dedicated to fresh TV series. The spotlight is “Men in Crisis” – a reflection on the evolving image of masculinity, which seems to be under renegotiation and the country in focus is Canada.
Between November 6–17 you will be able to enjoy a plethora a fantastic films from all over the world. This year’s inaugural film is the dramedy “Anora” by American director Sean Baker, known for acclaimed films such as “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project”. The film, where the escort Anora gets involved with the overprotected son of a Russian oligarch, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year and is one of the most talked about and praised titles of the year.
In the Stockholm Competition section, an equal number of male and female directors will be in the run for the bronze horse among the 20 competing entries. As usual, there will be many strong and impactful documentaries, including “Real” by Bronze Horse winner Oleh Sentsov from Ukraine, who is fighting for his country.
Festival favourite Jacques Audiard (Stockholm Visionary Award 2012) contributes this year’s centrepiece film, the acclaimed and genre-crossing “Emilia Pérez,” which can be described as a mafia musical about trans experiences. The film won the prestigious jury prize at Cannes this spring, where its four brilliant female actors also shared the award for Best Actress.
With this year’s Spotlight: Men in Crisis, the festival focuses on the portrayal of men on the big screen, and male crises run as a common theme throughout the program. We encounter Jason Schwartzman as a Jewish cantor in both personal and professional crisis in “Between the Temples“, indecisive men in “The Heirloom“, and alienated middle-aged men adrift in “Vulcanizadora”. Additionally, we meet toxic macho men in “Animale“, panicked and introspective soon-to-be fathers in “Sacramento“, and violently acting-out, internet-radicalised Trump supporters in the documentary “Homegrown“.
This year, the Stockholm Visionary Award goes to the multiple Oscar-winning Steve McQueen. The British filmmaker made his feature debut with “Hunger” in 2008, and his third film, “12 Years a Slave”, won three Oscars at the 2014 Academy Awards. In connection with the screening of the film “Blitz” at Bio Skandia on November 12, McQueen will be here in Stockholm picking up his award and he will also hold a master class during the festival’s Industry Days from November 12–14, taking place at Filmhuset.
“It is a great honor to be included on the list of recipients of the Stockholm Achievement Award!” says Jesse Eisenberg, this year’s awardee. The American actor and director made his breakthrough in “Zombieland” in 2009 and was nominated for an Oscar the following year for his role as Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network”. Eisenberg’s latest film, “A Real Pain” – which he both wrote and directed – will have its Nordic premiere on November 14. The filmmaker will meet the audience at Bio Skandia in Stockholm as he is awarded his price.
In the festival’s Stockholm Competition, we find, among others, Sarah Friedland’s acclaimed drama “Familiar Touch“, the brilliant French debut “Wild Diamond“, and Lithuania’s powerful Oscar entry “Drowning Dry“.
In the strong lineup for the Stockholm Documentary Competition, you find Petra Costa’s “Apocalypse in the Tropics“, a chilling portrayal of the intertwining of church and state in Bolsonaro’s Brazil, the Swedish Tribeca-winner “Hacking Hate” about far-right internet environments, and the intimate Tim Bergling portrait “Avicii – I’m Tim”, which opens the documentary section.
Amid the heated U.S. presidential election, which consumes all the media’s attention globally, the Stockholm Film Festival takes the opportunity to turn its gaze a bit further north for a breath of fresh wilderness air and an alternative perspective on North America. This year’s focus country, Canada, has had an excellent year in film, reflected in the program. Among the highlights are Canada’s Oscar entry “Universal Language”, the bittersweet indie rom-com “Matt & Mara”, and the most talked-about “ambient slasher” of the year – “In a Violent Nature” – from Ontario’s dark forests.
Other exciting movie jewels you will not want to miss in the program include the closing film “Maria” by Pablo Larraín about opera singer Maria Callas and the adaptation of Tove Jansson’s “The Summer Book”, starring Glenn Close. There’s also the smart anti-rom-com “The Other Way Around”, reminiscent of early Woody Allen, the critically acclaimed “Nickel Boys”, and the praised “Heretic” starring Hugh Grant.
New this year is the Stockholm Series section, where the festival previews innovative and captivating series that push the boundaries of storytelling and creativity. In this section, we find the crime/drama “End of Summer” directed by Jens Jonsson and Henrik Georgsson, the thrilling “The Helicopter Heist” by Daniel Espinosa, the submarine drama “Whiskey on the Rocks” directed by Björn Stein, the file-sharing drama “The Pirate Bay” directed by Jens Sjögren and Patrik Gyllström, and “Vargasommar” by Jesper Ganslandt.
This year, the Stockholm Film Festival presents no fewer than 8 Oscar entries:
• “Kill the Jockey” by Luis Ortega (Argentina)
• “Emilia Pérez” by Jacques Audiard (France)
• “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” by Soi Cheang (Hong Kong)
• “Cloud” by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan)
• “Universal Language” by Matthew Rankin (Canada)
• “Drowning Dry” by Laurynas Bareisa (Lithuania)
• “Reinas” by Klaudia Reynicke-Candelero (Switzerland)
• “The Devil’s Bath” by Severin Fiala and Veronica Franz (Austria)
The 35th anniversary of the film festival is celebrated in several ways:
• The celebration starts with film music performed by the Stockholm Concert Orchestra conducted by Christoffer Nobin, featuring musical highlights from the festival’s films. Performers include Björn Kjellman, Stella Explorer, and David Huang. The concert will be held at Musikaliska Kvarteret by Nybrokajen.
• Screenings for just 35 SEK. Every weekday at Bio Skandia.
• In Kungsträdgården, there will be a photo exhibition showcasing portraits of festival guests who have visited and loved Stockholm over the decades, captured by photographer Johan Bergmark.
• All festival cinemas will show film clips from the festival’s 35-year history.
Tickets and the program for the 2024 Stockholm International Film Festival are released today, Wednesday, October 9, on the festival’s website HERE.
The festival’s film magazine will be released on October 16 at 6 p.m. at Nofo Hotel.
The main meeting place for the festival this year is Bio Skandia, which the festival took over at the beginning of the year.
And as usual we at Your Living City will be publishing our guide to the Must Watch films at this year’s Stockholm Film Festival, so keep an eye open for it!
