Peter Schønau Fog's and Final Cut Productions' "The Art of Crying" and Lars von Trier's and Zentropa's "The Boss of It All" have been selected to screen at the 54th San Sebastian International Film Festival (21-30 September).
"The Art of Crying" will be screened in San Sebastian's Zabaltegi sidebar. The film is set in South Jutland in the early 1970s. Life isn't easy for 11-year-old Allan. His father has 'psychic nerves' and regularly threatens to kill himself. His mother has given up, his older brother has moved out and the family's small dairy store isn't doing well. When his older sister stops spending the night on the couch with her father, it's up to Allan to keep the family together. His father lives for the times he gets to recite his famously eloquent eulogies and make the mourners weep in chorus. Soon, Allan is lending a hand to make sure there are enough funerals to keep his father happy.
"The Art of Crying" will have its world premiere in the Discovery programme at the Toronto International Film Festival (7-16 September), and it has been selected for the Competition programme at the Tokyo International Film Festival (21-29 October).
The new comedy by Lars von Trier "The Boss of It All" is having its world premiere on September 21 as the opening film of the Copenhagen International Film Festival. The film takes a different festival route as a result of a statement that von Trier gave in February 2006 saying that he needs to revitalize the processes around his own filmmaking. After Copenhagen the film will go to San Sebastian to be presented within the official program but out of competition.
"The Boss of It All" is a Danish language comedy with a strong ensemble of Danish and international actors. The owner of an IT firm wants to sell out. The trouble is that when he established his firm he invented a nonexistent company president to hide behind when unpopular steps needed taking. When potential purchasers insist on negotiating with the "Boss" face to face, the owner has to take on a failed actor to play the part. The actor suddenly discovers he is a pawn in a game that goes on to sorely test his (lack of) moral fibre.
DFI Fact Sheet: "The Art of Crying" / "Kunsten at græde i kor"DFI Fact Sheet: "The Boss of It All" / "Direktøren for det hele"
San Sebastian International Film Festival: www.sansebastianfestival.com Toronto International Film Festival: www.bell.ca/filmfest Tokyo International Film Festival: www.tiff-jp.net Copenhagen International Film Festival: www.copenhagenfilmfestival.com
For further information:
Danish Film InstituteChristian Juhl Lemche, christianjl@dfi.dk, +45 3374 3464Lars Fiil-Jensen, larsf@dfi.dk, +45 3374 3559