Danish production company Snowglobe features prominently in the line-up for Directors' Fortnight, the Cannes Festival's prestigious sidebar for new and established auteurs.
Snowglobe, represented by the three producers Katrin Pors, Eva Jakobsen and Mikkel Jersin, has established itself as a company with a strong international outlook – with Amat Escalante's Venice laureate 'The Untamed' and Locarno winner 'Godless' by Ralitza Petrova among its co-producing endeavours. This year at Cannes, Snowglobe serves as co-producer on Colombian directors Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego's 'Birds of Passage' and Spanish filmmaker Jaime Rosales' 'Petra,' two of the twenty films in Directors' Fortnight.
Here, Katrin Pors especially draws on her experiences from Latin America. Pors is a graduate in film and media from both Cuba and Spain, and she has more than ten years of experience working as a producer and line producer of feature films and documentaries in Europe as well as in Latin America.
Historical drama about drug trade
Ciro Guerra won the main prize in Directors' Fortnight in 2015 for 'Embrace of the Serpent,' which was also Oscar-nominated.
Now the director, together with Cristina Gallego, has created the historical drama 'Birds of Passage,' which will open Directors' Fortnight. The film is the story of the origins of the Colombian drug trade, told through the epic story of an indigenous Wayuu family that becomes involved in the booming business of selling marijuana to American youth in the 1970s. When greed, passion and honour collide, a fratricidal war breaks out that will put their lives, their culture and their ancestral traditions at stake.
'Birds of Passage' is produced by Katrin Pors for Ciudad Lunar and Blond Indian Films of Colombia. Snowglobe's Eva Jakobsen and Mikkel Jersin also participate as co-producers. Among the other filmmakers with ties to Denmark are Copenhagen-based Carlos Garcia and Claus Lynge on sound, Sandra Klass on colorgrading and Nordisk Film Short Cut on visual effects.
A Daughter's Struggle
Jaime Rosales has screened several of his films at the Cannes Festival, most recently 'Beautiful Youth' (2014).
The Spanish filmmaker's drama 'Petra' at this year's festival tells the story of Petra who doesn’t know who her father is. After the death of her mother, she embarks on a search that leads her to Jaume, a famous artist and a powerful, ruthless man. On her path to uncovering the truth, she is caught up in a spiral of malice, family secrets and violence that drives all involved to the edge. But fate’s cruel logic is derailed by a twist that opens a path to hope and redemption.
The Danish actor Natalie Madueño takes a minor role, performing across a Spanish star cast with Barbara Lennie, Marisa Paredes and Alex Brendemühl.
'Petra' is produced by Spain's Fredesval Film in co-production with Katrin Pors, Eva Jakobsen and Mikkel Jersin. Kristian Eidnes Andersen created the score, while the sound design is by Carlos Garcia. The music consists in part of the Danish vocal ensemble Musica Ficta Copenhagen.
Both 'Birds of Passage' and 'Petra' are supported by the Danish Film Institute's scheme for minor co-productions.
The Cannes Festival runs from 8 to 19 May. See more at festival-cannes.com.
