Annette K. Olesen's "Little Soldier" is selected for Competition at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, as announced today by the festival committee. Her third time in Berlin, the Danish director won The Blue Angel for her feature debut "Minor Mishaps" in 2002.
Competition and GenerationBesides Olesen's drama featuring Trine Dyrholm and Lorna Brown, the Danish films at the Berlinale comprise Lotte Svendsen's family comedy "Max Embarrassing" and Pil Maria Gunnarsson's short film "The Mouse", both competing in Generation Kplus, as well as Mads Matthiesen's short "Cathrine", selected for Generation 14plus. "Little Soldier" is produced by Ib Tardini for Zentropa, "Max Embarrassing" by Per Holst for Asta Film, "The Mouse" by Mia Marie Borup for Cosmo Film, and "Cathrine" by Jonas Bagger for Framework Films.International productions with Danish participation
A number of Danish filmmakers and actors appear in the credits of international productions at this year's festival.Competing for the Golden Bear are two features with Zentropa as co-producer: Lukas Moodysson's Swedish-Danish-German "Mammoth" and Hans-Christian Schmid's German-Danish "Storm". Both films have received funding from the Danish Film Institute. In addition, director of photography on "Mammoth" is Danish Marcel Zyskind.
Tom Tykwer's "The International", opening the festival, features Ulrich Thomsen in a leading role, and Jakob Cedergren may be seen in Sally Potter's competition film "Rage".
Two Danish directors appear on international productions: Rie Rasmussen's French feature film debut "Human Zoo" in Panorama, and René Bo Hansen's German-Swedish "The Eagle Hunter's Son" in Generation Kplus. In the Forum programme, Israeli director Yoav Shamir participates with his Danish-Austrian-Israeli-US feature documentary "Defamation" – co-produced by Danish SF Film Production and funded by the Danish Film Institute.
Finally, at the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Bille August will present his English film project "The Diary".
Shooting Star
Cyron Melville, 24, is the Danish candidate among the ten European actors to run in the festival's Shooting Stars programme. Cyron Melville is known for his strong performances in the youth dramas "Kick'n Rush" (2003), "Life Hits" (2006), "Triple Dare" (2006) and "Fighter" (2007) – and he plays the leading role in Morten Giese's "Daniel", released in Denmark later this year.
The special Berlin edition of FILM, including a comprehensive catalogue section, will be distributed during the festival. Available on DFI's website in pdf-format from 29 January.
For further information on the Danish participation at the Berlin International Film Festival:DFI Berlin website /screenings, factsheets, stills
www.dfi.dk/berlin
Berlin International Film Festival (5-15 February)
www.berlinale.de
DFI factsheets
Lille soldat/ Little Soldier
Max pinlig/ Max Embarrassing
Musen/ The Mouse
Cathrine/ CathrineShooting Stars
www.efp-online.comDanish Film Institute
Christian Juhl Lemche, +45 3374 3464, christianjl@dfi.dk
Anne Marie Kürstein, +45 4041 4697, kurstein@dfi.dk
Lars Fiil-Jensen, +45 3374 3559, larsf@dfi.dk