Lars von Trier, Nicolas Winding Refn and Frederikke Aspöck are already on their way to the Cannes Festival. Now the three Danish directors are joined by Rúnar Rúnarsson whose feature film "Volcano" is selected for Directors' Fortnight.
Icelandic Rúnar Rúnarsson's debut feature is set in Iceland. The film tells the story of an elderly man Hannes who stands at a crossroad as he faces retirement after having worked his whole life as a janitor at the local school.
The 34-year-old director graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2009 and has already made his mark at Cannes with his short films: "2 Birds" was in the short film competition in 2008, and the following year saw the participation of his graduation film "Anna" in Directors' Fortnight. Rúnarsson's short from 2004, "The Last Farm", was nominated for an Oscar.
Rúnar Rúnarsson wrote the screenplay for "Volcano", and joining him behind the camera is his crew from the Film School, cinematographer Sophia Olsen and editor Jacob Schulsinger. The film is up for Danish release later this year. TrustNordisk handle international sales.
To Danish coproductions in Directors' Fortnight
"Play" by Swede Ruben Östlund and "Code Blue" by Dutch director Urszula Antoniak are also selected for the distinguished side programme at the Cannes Festival. Both films have a Danish coproducer and received production support from the Danish Film Institute's international coproduction programme.
Ruben Östlund showcased his last film "Involuntary" in Un Certain Regard in 2008 and is now back in Cannes with his third feature "Play", a film inspired by true events where a group of young boys repeatedly robbed other children in central Gothenburg by using trickery and role-playing.
"Play" is produced by Plattform Produktion with Danish Coproduction Office as partner, who are also handling international sales.
Urszula Antoniak's "Code Blue" tells the story of a middle-aged nurse Marian who devotes herself to her patients like a saint and sometimes even takes on the role of Redeemer. Outside work she keeps to herself – until one day when she gets involuntarily linked to a stanger she has met on the bus ...
The film is produced by IDTV Film from the Netherlands, and Marie Gade is Danish coproducer for Zentropa. International sales are handled by Bavaria Film International.
Stay updated on Danish participation in Cannes on our festival website www.dfi.dk/cannes