The new festival year starts out promising for Danish cinema. Palm Springs International Film Festival, kicking off on 3 January, has selected six Danish films: Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis' "This Life" is selected for the New Filmmakers Competition and is also presented in the festival's new programme Nordic Light, which presents 20 films from the Nordic countries.
"This Life" is the authentic story of a group of Danish resistance fighters during World War II, a gripping portrait of one family that revolts and insists on individual freedom. It is the story of how just a few people can make a huge difference – but not without serious consequences. With 800,000 sold tickets, "This Life" was the most popular film among Danish cinemagoers in 2012. The film had its international premiere at Karlovy Vary and will now enjoy its North American premiere in Palm Springs.
In addition to "This Life", the programme features "A Caretaker's Tale" by Katrine Wiedemann, "Marie Krøyer" by Bille August, "A Hijacking" by Tobias Lindholm, "The Hunt" by Thomas Vinterberg, and Denmark's Oscar entry "A Royal Affair" by Nikolaj Arcel.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals in North America with more than 180 films from 60 countries and 135,000 attendees each year. PSIFF has a long-standing tradition of presenting the largest selection of Foreign Language Oscar submissions of any film festival in the world, which this year includes "A Royal Affair". The 24. edition of Palm Springs International Film Festival is held from 3-14 January 2013.