"The Ambassador", "Putin's Kiss", "1/2 Revolution" and the feature film "Teddy Bear" have been invited by the Sundance Institute to participate in the upcoming edition of the Sundance Film Festival running 19-29 January.
Male identity in Teddy Bear
Mads Matthiesen's feature debut "Teddy Bear" is one of 14 films to compete in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Matthiesen, who had his short film "Dennis" selected for the festival in 2008, is exploring the same theme of male identity from his short.
Dennis is a Hercules. 140 kg of buff muscle. But his looks are deceiving. Inside this massive body hides a little boy who still lives at home with his pint-sized mother who has driven every ounce of machismo and confidence out of him. Verging on desperation, the giant goes to Thailand to try his luck with one of the many petite girls in Asia's candy land. Danish champion bodybuilder Kim Kold lends his body to the character of Dennis.
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"Teddy Bear" by Mads Matthiesen
Hot topics in three documentaries
One fourth of the films in the World Cinema Documentary Competition are from Denmark. This makes the festival a priviliged international showcase for Danish documentaries, represented by three filmmakers' take on global issues:
"1/2 Revolution" is Omar Shargawi's eyewitness account of the Arab Spring in Cairo. He and his co-director Karim El Hakim were preparing a film about street kids whhen they were caught in the midst of the Egyptian revolution in February. International sales are handled by LevelK.
"Putin's Kiss", already making an impression on critics and audiences at IDFA this year, feeds on Lise Birk Pedersen's fascination with modern Russia. In her film she follows Masha, an attractive and successful representative of the political youth movement Nashi, who comes to doubt the true ideals of the movement. International sales are handled by DR International sales.
Finally Mads Brügger's "The Ambassador", which has already made noise internationally and was on show at IDFA, takes us to the Central African Republic with Brügger as our tour guide on an exploration of the shady dealings of diplomacy. In 2010, Brügger won the World Cinema Jury Prize for "The Red Chapel". International sales are handled by TrustNordisk.
See factsheets for all films with press material for download on the right.