‘Sauna’ had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and now the film has been selected for the prestigious European Film Awards.
Sauna
Johan er en helt almindelig ung mand, der holder alle døre åbne, når det gælder både kærlighed og sex. Han har fået job som receptionist i Adonis, Københavns eneste bøssesauna, hvor han ikke bare arbejder, men hvor han også høster sine helt personlige erfaringer og oplevelser med saunaens øvrige gæster. For Johan er byen som et grænseløst paradis af muligheder med barer, fester og one- night stands, men det er først, da han møder den transkønnede William, at han oplever kærligheden på helt nært hold.
The screenplay is written by Mathias Broe in collaboration with William Lippert, based on Mads Ananda Lodahl's novel of the same name. The two leading roles are played by Magnus Juhl Andersen and Nina Rask.
Mads-August Grarup Hertz produced the film for Nordisk Film with support from the Danish Film Institute's talent development scheme New Danish Screen.
The European Discovery FIPRESCI Award is presented in collaboration between the European Film Academy and FIPRESCI, the international association of film critics, and is given to a debut director.
Mads Mikkelsen nominated for European Actor
Mads Mikkelsen has been nominated for his role in Anders Thomas Jensen's ‘The Last Viking’. Here he portrays a man suffering from mental illness, which means he no longer knows where the money from a robbery committed by his brother – played by Nikolaj Lie Kaas – is hidden.
Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann produced the film for Zentropa with support from the Danish Film Institute.
'The Last Viking' was selected for both Venice and Toronto and premiered in Danish cinemas on 9 October. Since then, it has sold 644,000 tickets in Danish cinemas, making it Anders Thomas Jensen's best-selling film and the second best-selling film in Danish cinemas this year.
Danish co-production nominated
The Ukrainian-Danish documentary ‘Songs of Slow Burning Earth’, directed by Olha Zhurba, has been nominated in two categories: European Film and European Documentary.
The film is about Ukraine in the first two years of Russia's full-scale invasion and examines how war has become a normality. The film is an audiovisual diary that weaves together landscapes, conversations and sounds to depict how the war has changed Ukrainian society.
Michael Aaglund edited the film, and Anne Köhncke co-produced it for Final Cut for Real with support from the Danish Film Institute.