British film-maker Sophie Fiennes and 11 new films from the Nordic and Baltic regions are among the highlights of the industry line-up at this year’s Stockholm International Film Festival.

More than 250 producers, distributors and programmers have registered for the industry side of SIFF, making it the festival’s biggest draw to date for trade professionals.

Masterclasses kick off on Nov 11 with Ursula Meier, the director of Sister, which won a Silver Bear at Berlin earlier this year.

Fiennes will discuss her documentaries, which include The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, while US director Lucy Mulloy will consider how to develop a story with both actor and non-actors.

The final session will feature Oscar-winning US producer-director Bull Guttentag, who will explore the boundaries between documentary and fiction.

Seminars

The industry programme also includes two seminars. The first, hosted by European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE), will consider professional training, project development and networking organisation.

The second will discuss international co-productions through a case study of Swedish director Lisa Ohlin’s Simon and the Oaks (Simon och Ekama).

Upcoming Nordic/Baltic films

New films will be screened on Nov 15/16 and include:

  • Kristian Petri’s Death of a Pilgrim (En pilgrims död), about the 1986 unsolved murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme;
  • actress-turned-director Helena Bergström new take on August Strindberg’s Julie (Fröken Julie);
  • Kicki Kjellin’s feature debut, Love Deluxe (Kärlek delux);
  • Susanna Edwards’ Natacha Atlas (working title);
  • Danish director Christoffer Bo’s Spies and Glistrup;
  • Icelandic actor-turned-director Benedikt Erlingsson’s first feature, Horsemen (Hross um oss);
  • Finnish director Saara Cantell’s The Only Ones (Ne ainoat oikeat);
  • Norwegian director Rune Denstad Langlo’s Chasing the Wind (Jag etter vind);
  • Estonian director Veiko Ounpuu’s Free Range;
  • Armenian director Aik Karapetan’s Latvian production, The Man in the Orange Jacket.

The line-up also includes the first screening of Swedish director Sofia Norlin’s feature debut Tenderness (Ömheten).

The film was partly financed by the inaugural Stockholm Feature Film Award for woman directors, which Norlin won last year, claiming a prize of $700k (SEK 5m) and a distribution contract with Sweden’s NonStop Entertainment.

SIFF, now in its 23rd year, opened yesterday with the world premiere of Swedish director Mikael Marcimain’s debut, Call Girl. More than 170 films from over 50 countries feature in the programme.

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