Press release
October 16th 2011, Leeuwarden
Norwegian director Marius Holst special guest at opening night
The 33rd edition of The Northern Film Festival in Leeuwarden (The Netherlands) will open on Wednesday November 9 with KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND by Marius Holst (Norway). Director of the film Marius Holst will attend the opening to present his film. The award winning short ELEPHANT FEET (OLIFANTENVOETEN) by Dan Geesing will precede the screening of the main feature. The opening film is the official start of this years’ Northern Film Festival. The festival ends on Sunday November 13.
KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND (Kongen av Bastøy) premiered end of December 2010 in Norway. At the beginning of this year, KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND won the Amanda Awards, the Norwegian national film awards, for Best Film, Best Supporting Actor and Best Score. KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND is a thriller based on actual events surrounding the notorious boys home on the Norwegian island of Bastøy. The film depicts the story of Erling (17) who arrives on the island in 1915. His sole mission is to escape from the island, but unfortunate circumstances make him into the leader of a rebellious uprising.
Marius Holst made his debut in 1994 with the feature film CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE. The film was a Norwegian box-office hit and won the prestigious Prix de Montreal of the World Film Festival in Montreal and the Blue Angel Award of the Berlinale. His second feature, DRAGONFLIES (2001) and the release of MIRUSH (2006) earned him critical acclaim internationally. KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND is his fourth feature film.
Short film OLIFANTENVOETEN (ELEPHANT FEET) won the Gouden Kalf, the Dutch national film award, for Best Short Film. In OLIFANTENVOETEN, UK born visual artist, composer and filmmaker Dan Geesin mocks the Dutch immigration problem. Strange things happen to Thomas, a white foreigner in the Netherlands, during his first night shift at a petrol station.
The opening films are the official start of the Northern Film Festival. Beating heart of the programme is the Interregional Competition: a selection of eight films competing for the Matad’Or award and € 10.000 prize money.
In addition to the Interregional Competition, The Northern Film Festival screens a great number of films in different programme sections. This year, the Northern Film Festival focuses on independent and artistic cinema from India in the section Eyes on India (Blik op India). And In the section Greek Trouble (Grieks Gedonder), the festival explores the beginnings and consequences of the current precarious situation in Greece.