In A Better World to Toronto

FESTIVAL. Susanne Bier's latest drama In a Better World is selected for Toronto film festival's Special Presentation programme.

Known internationally as a distinctive and engaging storyteller, Oscar nominee Susanne Bier is ready to launch her latest feature film drama "In a Better World". The film will have its international premiere at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival, where it will screen in the prestigious Special Presentation programme.

The film sparked international interest in Cannes this year, selling to over 30 destinations, including the US and countries in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. 

Factbox

Read interview with Susanne Bier
It's never just black and white

"In a Better World" takes us from a refugee camp in Africa to the grey humdrum of everyday life in a Danish provincial town. The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait. Soon, friendship transforms into a dangerous alliance and a breathtaking pursuit in which life is at stake.

"Our experiment in this film is about looking at how little it really takes before a child—or an adult—thinks something is deeply unjust. It really doesn't take much, and I find that profoundly interesting. And scary," says Susanne Bier talking to Synne Rifbjerg. Read the entire interview It's never just black and white.

The cast includes Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard and William Jøhnk Nielsen. Written by Anders Thomas Jensen and Susanne Bier, "In a Better World" was produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen for Zentropa Entertainments.

Domestic release is set for 26 August 2010.

About Bier

Susanne Bier's films, while holding the admiration of the critics, have an enormous appeal to the cinema-going public at home and abroad. "The One and Only" (1999) adheres to the few most widely seen films in Danish cinemas ever. "Open Hearts" (2002) and "Brothers" (2004) attracted large domestic audiences, and the latter sold to the US for a remake. For her opus "After the Wedding" (2006), Bier received an Academy Award nomination. Her US-produced "Things We Lost in the Fire" (2007) starred Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro.