The first weekend in December the curtain will rise for the 51st Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The Norwegian presence is strong.
For ten days the city of Thessaloniki will be transformed into a place for the discovery of cutting-edge film. These ten days will include screenings of films from all over the world, important guests from the contemporary cinema scene, tributes, round table discussions and parallel events.
Three of films that will be screened are Norwegians. That is «Home for Christmas» by Bent Hammer, «Limbo» by Maria Sødahl and «A somewhat gentle man» by Hans Petter Moland.
- The Norwegian presence at this year’s festival will be a strong one, says Alexis Grivas, International Programme Coordinater at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
The screening of the three Norwegian films are supported by The Norwegian Film Institute and the Norwegian Embassy in Athens.
«HOME FOR CHRISTMAS»
A small Norwegian town on Christmas Eve. Different people struggle to make it home through the snow beneath the colorful Northern Lights. An eclectic mix of townsfolk cross paths in several interwoven stories of humor and tragedy, tenderness and desperation, forgiveness and hope, birth and death. Home for Christmas is a modern Christmas Carol based on a selection of short stories from the Norwegian author Levi Henriksen’s collection Only Soft Stories under the Tree.
Screening schedule and more information here.
«A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN»
Ulrik is a somewhat gentle man. He has no special wishes and makes no demands. He does not give too much thought to what he does either. If he’s given some food and a place to sleep, he will give people what they want in return. Whether this be a little affection or a killing. Ulrik has killed some people and crippled a few. It’s all part of the job when you’re a gangster. Just like doing time. Now Ulrik is out again. Reluctantly... And Jensen is waiting on the outside. He’s a boss with professional pride, and it is important for Jensen that Ulrik kills the snitch that ratted him out.
Screening schedule and more information here.
«LIMBO»
It’s the 1970s. Norwegian Sonia and her two young children arrive in Trinidad to join her husband Jo, who has been already working there as an oil engineer for six months. In this unfamiliar environment, Sonia is introduced to a novel – luxurious, but dull – way of living and a new code of ethics implemented by the expatriate men and followed to the dot by their idle wives. The luscious, sun-drenched exteriors of Trinidad life are a harsh contrast to the cold interiors, where the lives of the foreigners are founded on fragile façades, and when Sonia realizes that part of this new life involves her husband’s infidelity, she is unable to deal with the moral disintegration surrounding her. The film draws fleshy, sincere relationships enhanced by the alluring, culturally unique setting, by the antitheses formed amongst people and amongst spaces, and by the solid performances, especially Line Verndal’s luminous one.
Screening schedule and more information here.