'Kunsten at græde i kor' in Lecce by FIPRESCI-member

"The Art of Crying":
The World Seen Through the Eyes of its Fearless Future
By Ioanna Papageorgiou

You go to the big, famous festivals around the world, full of expectations and hopes, ready to discover dozens and dozens of films. And after 10 or 11 days of completely disconnecting yourself from your everyday life and submerging it in the universe of the moving pictures, you return to the real world neither disappointed, nor satisfied. Instead you come away with a lukewarm feeling, as you realize that you can carry with you only a handful of really good, fulfilling films – especially if, in the end, you could only find the time or were professionally obligated to watch almost nothing else than the features screened in the official competition program (which, unfortunately, is usually the case).

Then, you go to the "tiny", relatively unknown Festival del Cinema Europeo (now in its eighth year), in the beautiful town of Lecce and its 100,000 people, in southern Italy, having to acquaint yourself with just about 30-50 films. And… you never want to leave. Not only because of the famously unorganized, but at the same time sincerely polite and openhearted friendly Italian hospitality, or the pleasantly nonchalant rhythm of the festival, or even the exciting, sightseeing walks in the historical center of the city. But also because, when it is time to depart and state your impressions of the festival and the 10 films in its competition program, you find it rather difficult to single-out one as your favorite.

Although most of them had already left their mark at earlier, bigger festivals around the world (Cristian Wagner's Warchild at Montreal, Teresa Villaverde's Trance (Transe) at Cannes' Directors Fortnight, Marco Simon Puccioni's Shelter (Riparo) at Berlin's Panorama, Joachim Trier's Reprise at Toronto), it is here, among a few others, carefully selected films, without the pressure of official, glamorous screenings, the international Press, or various public-relations events, that they can really shine. And, perhaps, none more than The Art of Crying (Kunsten at graede I kor) – Danish director's Peter Schonau Fog's debut feature film. Thought-provokingly tragic like an ancient Greek tragedy, intriguingly comic like a post-modern American soap-opera (TV's Nip/Tuck, Desperate Housewives and Six Feet Under come to mind), it tells not the story of a currently burning social issue, but of an ordinarily dysfunctional family: the birth place of all the world's future, rarely model or socially conscientious citizens. A family living in a small, Danish town in the early 70s, which shows absolutely no traces of its… age: on the contrary, each of its members behaves in such a way, creating love and hate, power and subordination, relations with all the others, that if not notified for the above mentioned place and time you would most definitely think that this was, in many ways, so similar to your own family lives somewhere in the western part of the planet right now!

Fog adopts the innocent and thus painfully reveling gaze of the youngest, 11 year old, son Allan – a wide-eyed boy who for a long time you don't know if you want to reprimand and slap or hold tightly protectively in your arms, cradling it and kissing it, as he attends to every outrageous need of his cunningly abusive father in a desperate attempt to keep the family together.

With a silence heavily pregnant with emotion, an ironic, fearlessly truthful humor, a purely cinematic, eloquent use of the editing, and a series of static, unaffected frames, Fog narrates his story by what is seen or not seen (but nevertheless, unmistakably lurks) in his pictures, the unavoidably sincere expressions and gestures of his brilliant actors (especially the enlightened Jannik Lorenzen in the role of Allan), a brave open end, as well as reserving no judgment whatsoever for his heroes and heroines. Thus he provokes each member of the audience to wonder about and draw its own, personal conclusions regarding the ethical and unwritten family laws we still grow up with and, in particular, human nature in general.

Ioanna Papageorgiou

© FIPRESCI 2007

Kunsten at græde i kor has been selected for Motovun Film Festival

Kunsten at græde i kor/The Art of Crying has been selected for:

The 9th Motovun Film Festival

23. - 27. july

Check out Motovun Film Festival on Youtube!

Motovun:
Motovun Film Festival was founded in 1999 and has since been located in Motovun, a small but beautiful picturesque town in Istria - the Mediterranean region of Croatia.

The setting for the Festival, with all its additional programs and workshops, are the streets and squares of a beautiful fortified medieval town, which dominates the green valley of the river Mirna, famous for its truffels and exquisite Istrian wine. Because of its cheerful and relaxed atmosphere(with no red carpets) the festival have earned the attribute of "Cinema Paradiso".

The festival program has included the most successful independent films, with the intention to exhibit the richness of the global film industry, screening films from all corners of the world. The festival attracts a huge audience - tens of thousands of people travel to Motovun each year to be a part of it.

Festroia: Two prizes to Kunsten at græde i kor

Kunsten at græde i kor/The Art of Crying has recieved the CICAE PRIZE and FIRST WORK’S SPECIAL MENTION at Festroia International Film Festival.

The festival paper in Portuguese here.

CICAE PRIZE:
About Cicae here, and about the prize here. (Hit the the language icons on the pages for changing the language to english). Previous winners here.

Description of the prize:

Bringing festival films to arthouse cinema audiences.

In most countries, the film market is dominated by super-productions that tend to format audiences' tastes. The vast majority of innovative films, first works, films from "small countries" or faraway continents, do not easily get distributed. Even within Europe itself, films rarely get out beyond their national borders. Film distributors are vulnerable to the hazards of the market, and the situation worsens every year. Festivals are thus the only venue for a large number of films. The aim of Cinediversity is to act as a bridge between partners, festivals, and movie enthusiasts that regularly visit arthouse theatres belonging to the CICAE network.

Three stages:

Selection: at every year's cinema festivals, 10 to 15 films are selected by a jury made up of arthouse cinema programmers.

Commitment: the CICAE undertakes to support the release of these films in countries where an organized network exists, as an incentive for distribution companies to market them.

Promotion: working on a country-by-country basis, local CICAE networks help distributors successfully market award-winning films, through recommendations for all cinemas, trade-only screenings, networking of film copies, and the delivery of information to audiences. In some cases, the CICAE can provide support for subtitling through its partner TITRA FILM PARIS.

Who are the members of the jury and on what basis are films selected?
The CICAE juries are appointed by the Executive Board based on proposals by CICAE national networks and members. CICAE juries comprise three or four members from different countries, who are selected for their experience in programming for arthouse theatres. In 2004, over 200 films in 10 festivals were seen by 32 jury members representing nine different countries.The CICAE juries have a very precise brief: in order to win, a film must possess great artistic or educational qualities, and speak to audiences broader than those of highly specialized cinemas in capital cities. Juries seek to encourage young directors, as well as productions coming out of less-recognized countries.

Variety: Balkan, Scandi folk party in Portugal
'Border Post' wins film, director
By EMMA GRAY MUNTHE, LEO BARRACLOUGH

Folk from the Balkans and Scandinavia walked away with the bulk of the prizes at the Festroia Intl. Film Fest, held in Setubal, Portugal.

"Border Post," a co-production between Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and the U.K., took the Gold Dolphin and Fipresci prize for film and the directing prize for its Croat helmer Rajko Grlic.

Another Croat, Ognjen Svilicic, took the scripting kudo for "Armin," a Croatia-Bosnia-Germany co-production.

Serbia's "The Optimists," helmed by Goran Paskaljevic, took the audience award.
Susanne Bier's Danish pic "After the Wedding" won the special jury prize and Swedish thesp Rolf Lassgard took best actor for his part in the film.

Swedish thesps Helena Bergstrom and Maria Lundqvist shared the prize for actress for their roles in Colin Nutley's "Heartbreak Hotel."

Denmark's "The Art of Crying," directed by first-timer Peter Schonau Fog, got a special mention as well as the prize from CICAE, the international federation of arthouse cinemas.

The only major awards to go to pics from outside the Balkans or Scandinavia were the Cuban-Spanish movie "Madrigal," which took cinematography kudo for Cuban Raul Perez Ureta, and Germany's "Princess," which won the first film prize for Birgit Grosskopf.
Fest ran June 1-10.

Kunsten at Græde i Kor - Seattle Review

The Art of Crying - Review

Screened at the 33rd Annual Seattle International Film Festival

THE ART OF CRYING, which is making it’s North American debut at SIFF, shows us how one can learn very hard lessons very young, without ever leaving home. This well made, difficult film starts with its dark themes clearly visible, but skewed by the perspective of young Allan, an 11 year old trying to figure out how to fix the things that aren’t working in his home life. Allan’s sincere efforts, his misunderstandings, and his wobbly but developing value hierarchy offer quite a few moments of grim comedy in the first half of what develops into something of a tour de force of dysfunctional consequences. He’s a tough, independent kid whose frail looks and owl-like glasses belie a steely gaze. The power of his determination alone is adequate to quell the violent nature of even a put-upon local grocer. His loyalty and strength make him a useful ally in an ongoing familial battle of ‘who’s more worthy of sympathy.’

The filmmakers do very smart things with the tone of the movie. We follow willingly through the first measures, trusting our instinct that Allan’s voice wouldn’t lead us into anything too terrible. He’s a child though; he’s not seeing some important things. It’s an impressive feat of the movie to make his perspective so persuasive that we don’t really pay attention to them either. We continue to laugh along, well after things happen that demonstrate the inadequacy of his vision. The filmmakers manage this tension between what we know is happening (and how we would react to it outside the theater) and what Allan tells us is happening extremely well.

Other movies in recent memory have employed a child’s perspective to move the audience willingly into territory they certainly wouldn’t travel on their own. It has to be done without the audience feeling that their expectations have been betrayed. We’re not exactly surprised when things get difficult. We understand how the things we’ve accepted previously have landed us here, with Allan. It’s one of the gifts of the film that we are able to see Allan begin to understand it as well. In fact, among the numerous fine perfomances, Jannik Lorenzen’s turn as Allan is particularly outstanding. It’s a performance that is as courageous as the character he plays.

There are lots of individual lives at stake in this film, and a few souls. (In the sense of ‘what kind of person am I’ rather than ‘will I live forever after death.’) As the film progresses, we learn that some souls have already been lost. The question of whether loved ones can avoid a similar fate while attempting to help is central to the film. Tragically, the question is asked by a child—as in life it probably too often is.

There’s a lot to like in this film, but don’t believe any description that makes it sound anything less than heartbreaking—not in the Hollywood, tear jerker sense, but in the sense of ‘breaking your heart.’ It’s as painful as it sounds. The audience will rise slowly when the credits start to roll, and then leave the theater quietly. It’s so well made though—from script, to direction, to cinematography, sound, and the excellent performances throughout. For those able to stomach the kind of journey into the dark places of human experience that good cinema is able to deliver, this movie is well worth the time and the price of admission.

--Steve Toutonghi

Director Peter Schønau Fog on "The Art of Crying"

Interview by Jon Robbins at New Directors/New Films in New York

11-year-old Allan’s life is dictated by his father’s tears. Mom oversleeps, so the only one who can truly comfort dad is Allan’s sister Sanne. Director Peter Schønau Fog ably strafes the horror/humor divide, and with irony and ample respect brings to the forefront the tabooed horror of child abuse. The Art of Crying is a beautifully shot film by a very capable new filmmaker.

Read Jon's interview here!

Kunsten at græde i kor review by FIPRESCI jury member

The Art of Crying Never Runs Dry
By Miguel Somsen
(FIPRESCI jury member in Istanbul 2007)

The parents are having a discussion in the background, preventing the two kids, a boy and a girl, from going to sleep. Then, abruptly, the mother rushes back to the room, leaving the dad alone in the ground floor, whining loudly: "OK, I cannot take it anymore! If you want me to kill myself, I will kill myself!" But there's always a bigger reason for the father not to commit suicide every night: he is too weak to really go for it. So, instead, he just lies in the couch and cries. He cries all night long. Unless someone — please — will do something to help. Eventually, someone will.

This is just the opening scene for The Art of Crying (Kunsten at Graede I Kor), a stunning debut by 35-year old Danish director Peter Schonau Fog. The rest of the movie, however, will go further and deeper into the soul and guts of a straight-forward small town family from Denmark. But not so "straight forward" as it may seem: the movie was shot in such a remote part of Denmark that the copies shown in Copenhagen will require Danish subtitles.

Later on, as the older brother returns home for the weekend, the reality bites. Although he may be studying architecture in the big city, he knows nothing about keeping this small "foundation" standing. In his abscence, his younger siblings alone will have to create (or recreate) their own structure for the time being — on a daily and nightly basis. In fact, they have been doing it for ages: every time the dad starts crying, the kid calls on her sister to go downstairs and comfort the father, so that "he won't kill himself again". When the girl refuses, the boy will have to comply. Eventually, as time fades and the movie shines, we will learn the true meaning of "comforting" to this family.

Like the child-protagonist Allan (the actor Jannik Lorenzen, fragile and outstanding), in the beginning of The Art of Crying we are also the innocent. Yes, we haven't seen nothing yet. But rapidly, as adults, we will draw our own conclusions; or recoil easily into our safety cocoons, with our eyes and minds closed. The kid, on the other hand, is alone and helpless, too busy trying to save this family to know any other way. Innocence, in this case, means a total inability to judge the characters and their actions, to separate the wrong-doing from the moral virtue, the alcohol from the syrup. This ostensive lack of responsibility enables the movie to shift gracefully from tragedy to comedy, from the hardcore to the gentle. In a lighthearted sequence, the director introduces us to some minor characters (the grocer, the aunt, the boyfriend) whose development only slightly serves the purpose of the main storyline. I recall a brilliant scene where the kid informs the local clergyman that his sobbing father will say a eulogy for the funeral of the grocer's son (which happens to be his rival too). The speech is a huge success, provoking the tears of anyone present in the ceremony. Finally, the kid finds a purpose to his father's sadness. But the result is a comic relief, a juxtaposition of black-humoured wit and sorrow, of misery and joy. The sequence defines the tone of The Art of Crying, the icing on the cake, a tragedy laughing out loud, with self-pity never turning into self-indulgence. This is what I call a movie to cry for.

Miguel Somsen© FIPRESCI 2007

Miguel Somsen has been a Portuguese film critic for over 15 years, having published material in magazines such as "Vogue", "Premiere", "Elle", and in national papers such as "O Independente". He is currently a full-time employee for the most successful Portuguese TV channel TVI but mostly enjoys writing the columns he delivers weekly for the daily paper "Metro". He has been a member of FIPRESCI for three years.

And here is a bit on the international Competition in Istanbul by another Fipresci jury member, Katharina Dockhorn: Here!

Special mention in Trondheim

Peter Schønau Fog and 'Kunsten at græde i kor' receives a

Special Mention

at the Kosmorama Trondheim International Filmfestival

The Jury's motivation(in norwegian):

Dette er en film av en modig og begavet regissør som har behandlet et tema som både er ubehagelig og sjelsettende. Dette klarer han blant annet ved å integrere et humoristisk blikk på den på alle måter tragiske fortellingen - en fortelling som griper tak og holder på en lenge etter at sluttekstene er ferdig. Vi ønsker å gi en særlig oppmerksomhet til den danske regissøren Peter Schønau Fog og hans film Kunsten å gråte i kor.

Stars for "Kunsten at græde i kor" in danish newspapers

Apparently there is still a lot of truth in the saying 'through Adversity to the Stars'... (PSF)

Åbenbart er der stadig noget sandt i at 'den længste vej går til stjernerne'... (PSF)

Berlingske Tidende
* * * * * *
Man kan ganske enkelt ikke forestille sig, hvordan dette dæmpet vittige, lavmælt gribende og stilfærdigt rystende værk kunne have været lavet bedre

Århus Stiftstidende
* * * * * *
En perfekt film? Ja det ligner ”Kunsten at græde i kor” faktisk

Politiken
* * * * *
Denne imponerende sikre og selvstændige debut er udfoldet så paradoksalt fornøjeligt og underholdende lige midt i det sorte syn

Jyllands- Posten
* * * * *
Humoren er sort, tæt og grotesk i Peter Schønau Fogs fremragende debutfilm. Forventninger indfriet

Information
* * * * *
”Kunsten at græde i kor” er en lille perle

KultuNaut
* * * * * *
Instruktøren Peter Schønau Fog begået intet mindre end et mesterværk

Børsen
* * * * *
”Kunsten at græde i kor” er givetvis sæsonens vigtigste danske film.

Urban
* * * * *
Peter Schønau Fogs spillefilmsdebut er morsom, tragisk, foruroligende og tankevækkende. På en og samme tid

B.T.
* * * * *
Vi griner i kor af ”Kunsten at græde i kor” – for filmen er så sørgelig, at man er nødt til at grine - men latteren stikker i halsen

Ekstra Bladet
* * * * *
En stor, rig dansk film med en skøn og lun historie.

Søndagsavisen
* * * * *
”Kunsten at græde i kor” er ganske enkelt stærk, modig, væsentlig og troværdig på alle planer

Nyhedsavisen
* * * * *
Genistregen er at fortælle hele denne forfærdelige historie gennem et barns naive sind. Se den, du bliver måske klogere på det ubegribelige

Filmland/DR
* * * * *
En film, der tør gå sine egne veje og gør det fuldt ud fra ende til anden. En umådelig gennemført film

TV2/Go´ Morgen Danmark
* * * * *
Det er en rigtig god film. Det er frygteligt, men også smukt. En film om kærlighed, loyalitet og håb

TV2 Lorry/Brunch
* * * * *
Man har den med sig lang tid efter, man har set den

Fyens Stiftstidende
* * * * *
Med Peter Schønau Fogs stærke og velspillede familiedrama vender dansk film tilbage til rødderne. En film med noget på hjertet

Nordjyske Stiftstidende
* * * * *

Kristeligt Dagblad
* * * * *
”Kunsten at græde i kor” er en uhyggelig god film. Overordentlig seværdig

Jydske Vestkysten
* * * * *

Femina
* * * * *
En perlerække af overbevisende skuespillerpræstationer. Velfortalt og vedkommende

Se og Hør
* * * * *
Det er en fantastisk film

Smagsdommerne

Stars for "Kunsten at græde i kor" in danish magazines

Bazar
* * * * * *
Det er meget længe siden, dansk film har set noget lignende. Se den!

IN
* * * * * *
Fantastisk forfærdeligt! Det er så hæsligt, så i øjenhøjde, så nærværende, så virkeligt, så underspillet, så velspillet…

Gear
* * * * * *
Et knugende, knusende vellykket komediedrama

Costume
* * * * *
På én gang den herligste og den frygteligste nyere danske film

Cover
* * * * *
En sublim, morsom, brutal og kærlig film

Euroman
* * * * *
En frysende, fremragende og foruroligende film.

Kiwi Magazine
* * * *
En seværdig, overbevisende og morsom film om at overleve sin barndom

Arena
* * * *
I dén grad en anderledes film. Velspillet og velfortalt

Mifune
En genistreg gennemsyret af sort humor, tragedie og smil gennem tårer

Eurowoman
En vanvittig morsom og vigtig film

Nova
En helt klart anderledes men meget spændende filmoplevelse

European Film Festival of Brussels

THE ART OF CRYING has been selected for

European Film Festival of Brussels

(June 29 - July 7)

In competition

The Brussels European Film Festival will be organized this year for the fifth time from June 29 until July 7, 2007. The Festival will mainly present first or second feature films from European directors. Thanks to the cooperation with the Belgian Royal Filmarchive, the Festival also presents a worldwide filmselection.

Kunsten at græde i kor wins the FIPRESCI AWARD in Lecce, Italy too!!

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor

wins the:

FIPRESCI AWARD

in

FESTIVAL DEL CINEMA EUROPEO

Lecce, Italy.

The FIPRESCI Jury composed by Critics Marina Sanna, Ioanna Papageorgiou, Matyas Gyozo awards the prize to The Art of Crying by Peter Schonau Fog.

For the capacity of telling in a tragic, ironic way the sorrows and perversions of a family, through the eyes of an adolescent.

Read more here.

Congratulations to the cast and crew!

Vote for The Art of Crying!

Vote for The Art of Crying for “AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD for BEST FEATURE FILM” at Nashville filmfestival!

HERE at DISHMAG!

The Art of Crying wins The FIPRESCI AWARD in Istanbul, Turkey

FIPRESCI AWARD
The FIPRESCI Jury of the 26th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by Miguel Somsen (Portugal), and composed of Cüneyt Cebenoyan (Turkey), Katharina Dockhorn (Germany), Marina Drozdova (Poland), Nathan Lee (USA) and Uygar Şirin (Turkey), gave:

The FIPRESCI Award in the International Competition to "KUNSTEN AT GRAEDE I KOR / THE ART OF CRYING" by Peter Schønau Fog (Denmark), for telling the story of a family with secrets everybody knows about but nobody speaks about it, balancing comedy and tragedy. You will never feel detached by this intense portrait of a Danish family, seen through the innocent point of view of a child.

Kunsten at Græde i Kor Featured in FILM(DFI)

The DFI magazine FILM features interviews with actor Jesper Asholt and director Peter Schønau Fog written by Liselotte Michelsen and Morten Piil(in danish).

Download as pdf here. Or as html here and here.

Canberra International Film Festival

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor has been invited to the:

Canberra International Film Festival

(October 24 - November 4) Australia

Peter Schønau Fog modtager Natsværmerprisen

Ritzau: Torsdag den 22. marts 2007

Instruktør Peter Schønau Fog
modtager her til aften Natsværmerprisen

Hans prisvindende spillefilmsdebut ”Kunsten at græde i kor” får Danmarkspremiere fredag den 27. april.
I aften er der officiel åbningsgalla i Dagmar Teatret i København for årets NatFilm Festival. Den ærefulde åbningsfilm er det prisvindende drama ”Kunsten at græde i kor”, men inden festivalen for alvor kan skydes i gang, skal filmens instruktør Peter Schønau Fog på scenen for at modtage dette års prestigefulde Natsværmerpris – NatFilm Festivalens ærespris.

Natsværmerfonden uddeler hvert år prisen til unge danske filmtalenter, som har ydet et værdifuldt bidrag til dansk film, og med prisen følger 25.000 kr. og et kunstværk af Alexander Tovborg. Et uddrag af bestyrelsens motivation er: ”Vi er mange, der har ventet og ventet på at se hans karriere folde sig ud. Nu sker det, og det har været ventetiden værd. Hans spillefilmsdebut er en modig og sikker debut, der takler et svært emne uden at ryste på hånden, får det optimale ud af både professionelle skuespillere som amatører, og som tør at udfordre vore vaner og forventninger ved at være indspillet på klingende sønderjysk.”

Natsværmerprisen bliver som oftest uddelt til talenter i udvikling, og Peter Schønau Fog er allerede rigtigt godt på vej. Tilbage i 2000 blev han indstillet til en Student Academy Award for sin afgangsfilm ”Lille Mænsk”, og ”Kunsten at græde i kor” har allerede nu modtaget en række priser og ikke mindst masser af roser. Siden Verdenspremieren ved Toronto Film Festival har filmen været på en imponerende verdensturné - bl.a. San Sebastián (Tildelt Ungdomsjuryens pris), Tokyo International Film Festival, AFI / Los Angeles (Juryens special mention) og Mannheim-Heidelberg (Tildelt Publikumsprisen, Special mention til Jesper Asholt og De Tyske Biografejeres Anbefaling). Ved Gøteborg i februar modtog Harald Gunnar Paalgaard desuden den prestigefulde ”The Kodak Nordic Vision Award” for Bedste Fotografering.

”Kunsten at græde i kor” er i løbet af dette forår udtaget til at deltage i endnu en række Film Festivaler over hele verden: Sofia International Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, Vilnius International Film Festival, Istanbul International Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival og Jerusalem Film Festival.

Senest er ”Kunsten at græde i kor” blevet inviteret til New Directors/New Films, som anses være en af verdens mest eksklusive præsentationer af debutant film fra hele verden.

”Kunsten at græde i kor” er baseret på Erling Jepsens succesfulde roman af samme navn og får Danmarkspremiere fredag den 27. april. ”Kunsten at græde i kor” er produceret af Final Cut Productions.

Se også: Politiken

Festroia International Film Festival

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i Kor has been invited to:

The First Works Competition

Festroia International Film Festival

Portugal (June 1 - 10)

First Works (competition) present first works, giving the Portuguese audiences the possibility of discovering the first feature films of directors whose importance for the future evolution of the medium will be acknowledge by film critics and historians.

Setúbal
Setúbal, the headquarters of the International Film festival, is the centre of a vast region of unique characteristics, both in its landscape that greatly justifies its tourist vocation, and in its economic diversity, divided between traditional activities, such as fishing and agriculture, and the most modern industry.

Seattle International Film Festival

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i Kor has been invited to:

Seattle International Film Festival.

(24. May - 17. June)

Trondheim International Filmfestival

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i kor Has been invited to:

Trondheim International Filmfestival.

(19.-25. April)

(Trondheim is the fourth festival showing the film in week 17 - which is the same week the film is going to premiere in Denmark(27. April), phew...)

Opening Galla at Nat Filmfestivallen

Kunsten at græde i kor

Det er en modig bedrift at behandle et emne som incest med sort humor. Men når det lykkes så ubetinget elegant og underholdende som i Peter Schønau Fogs intelligente filmatisering af Erling Jepsens bestseller af samme navn, kan man kun have respekt for valget. Instruktøren tager nemlig sin historie alvorligt – her er ingen ironisk distance, blot en velfungerende galgenhumor. Jesper Asholt leverer en spektakulær præstation som den ynkelige og selvoptagede familiefar, der klynker af selvmedlidenhed, imens han misbruger sin datter og manipulerer sin familie i en lille, sønderjysk by i 1970’erne. Sceneriet iagttages gennem øjnene af den 11-årige søn Allan, hvis barnlige naivitet ikke begriber situationens alvor, og det forlener portrættet af den dobbeltmoralske familie med så meget tragikomik, at man griner højt mere end én gang. Det er en imponerende balancegang uden et eneste fejltrin, og ’Kunsten at Græde i Kor’ har af samme grund hittet stort på festivaler blandt både kritikere og publikum. Fog beskriver miljøet, så man kan mærke de brune fløjlsbukser og stueurets konstante tikken, og autenticiteten understreges af, at dialogen er på klingende sønderjysk.

22/3/2007

København
21:30 (Dagmar)

Kolding
21:30 (Kolding: Kolding BioCenter)

Odense
19:00 (Odense: Cafe Biografen)

Århus
18:30 (Århus: CinemaxX)

(Hold og spillere - skynd jer at bestille billetter til visningen i Kbh - så kan vi få en aften ud af det... Mvh Peter)

Dublin Reviews

Danish sneak previews

According to findings on Google has/is The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i Kor beeing sneak-previewed at:

Bodil : Closing film.
Natfilm: Opening film
Filmfestihvalsø
Gladsaxe Oplysnings Forbund

Lecce European Cinema Festival

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i Kor

has been invited to:

Lecce European Cinema Festival, Italy

(April 17 - 22)

In competition.

Guadalajara International Film Festival

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor has been invited to:

The XXII edition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival(Mexico) (March 22 - 30)

Screenings at European Film Market

Kunsten at graede i kor/The Art Of Crying will be screened at European Film Market in Berlin:

Sat Feb 10 13:30
Marriott 2 (E)
Digi Beta

Tue Feb 13 17:00
Marriott 2 (E)
Digi Beta

Welcome to the European Film Market (EFM), one of the top annual events for the international film industry. Since 2006, the central location for the EFM is the Martin-Gropius-Bau, situated in the heart of Berlin within the immediate vicinity of the festival centre. Once again this year, additional attractive space will be available at the EFM Business Offices at Potsdamer Platz 11. The Market’s attractive locations, its productive integration into the Berlinale, one of the world’s largest film festivals, as well as selected co-operations and partnerships come together to make the EFM one of the most dynamic marketplaces for international film.

At the EFM 2006, 264 exhibitors from more than 50 countries were represented. A total of 618 films, including more than 400 market premieres, were presented to professional visitors in 1,000 screenings. The trademark of EFM is the timeliness of the films and projects as well as its close connections to the festival programme: Around 30 percent of publicly screened Berlinale films are presented in EFM screenings.

The EFM offers the ideal infrastructure to inform oneself on the diversity of international cinema, to discover new trends and to strengthen one’s own position in the market.

Invitation to Jerusalem International Film Festival

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor has been invited to:

Jerusalem International Film Festival

(July 5th - July 14th)

The Jerusalem International Film Festival - Israel’s most prestigious cinematic event – a ten-day dazzling celebration of cinema. This glorious event held over 10 days each summer, is a highlight of Israel’s cultural calendar, and a well-known gem on the international film festival circuit. Recognised internationally for its unique screening programme, seminars and intimate atmosphere, the Jerusalem International Film Festival is an unprecedented venue for creating and stimulating dialogue and discussion among professionals and audiences from different cultures. Preparations are now underway for the 22nd Jerusalem International Film Festival – taking place from July 7-16 2005 They come from the four corners of the planet to be in Jerusalem: Stars; personalities; critics; directors; producers; festival directors; old friends and new faces…

Cinematographer Harald Paalgard wins The Kodak Nordic Vision Award!

Kodak Nordic Vision Award
The same jury also chose the winner of the Kodak Nordic Vision Award. The Kodak Nordic Vision Award goes to cinematographer Harald Paalgard for "his sharp and sensitive camera work in Peter Schønau's film The Art of Crying. His images draws our attention to the human being and the human condition, creating a very special mood in this dark tale."

In swedish:
The Kodak Nordic Vision Award
The Kodak Nordic Vision Award på 50 000 kronor tilldelas fotografen Harald Gunnar Paalgard för hans "följsamma kameraarbete i Peter Schønau Fogs film Kunsten at græde i kor/The Art of Crying. Hans bilder lyfter fram människor och miljöer och ger åt filmens mörka historia dess speciella atmosfär."

Favorits of the head of the festival

Jannike Åhlund

Gör på festivalen:

Konstnärlig ledare(Head of the festival) - har ansvaret för filmprogrammet ? content provider, helt enkelt!

Favoritfilmer alla kategorie(All time favorits): Sunset Boulevard, Återkomsten och Lady och Lufsen (den första film jag såg på bio!)

Favoriter i årets festival(Favorits of this years festival):

The Art of Crying, Children, Ten Canoes, Doften av grön papaya, The Optimists, After This Our Exile, Clash of Egos, The Way I Spent the End of the Word - och i princip hela ANOTHER VIEW-sektionen!

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i Kor has been invited to New York

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i Kor has been invited to:

New Directors/New Films
March 21–April 1, 2007

Now in its thirty-sixth year, the renowned New Directors/New Films festival, presented jointly by The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art, introduces New York audiences to the work of emerging or not-yet-established filmmakers from around the world. All of the films in New Directors/New Films are having either their New York, United States, or North American premieres, and many of the screenings are introduced by the filmmakers. Films selected for the 2007 edition include Andrea Arnold’s Red Road (Great Britain/Denmark), Jean-Pascal Hattu’s 7 Years (France), Julia Loktev’s Day Night Day Night (USA) and Peter Schønau Fog’s The Art of Crying (Denmark). See www.moma.org or www.filmlinc.com for details and a complete listing of titles and screening times. A schedule is also available in MoMA’s main and theater lobbies, and in the lobby of the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. New Directors/New Films is sponsored by Stella Artois and HBO Films. The festival is made possible through the generosity of the Irene Diamond Fund. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

Oskarshamns Tidningen - review (in swedish)

Genom att skildra berättelsen genom Allans häpna blå ögon skapar Schönau Fog den distans som krävs för att göra filmen The art of crying uthärdig.

Massor av film man bara inte får missa

KULTUR Göteborgs filmfestival är i gång. Den fyller 30 i år. Det firas med pompa och ståt och det märks i programmet. Att bläddra genom katalogen tar timmar och väcker beslutsvånda på snart sagt varje sida. Filmerna som man bara inte får missa är betydligt fler än man klarar av hur man än vrider och vänder sig.

Festivalen i Göteborg är den största i Norden och det är också filmer från vårt hörn av världen som dominerar utbudet. Huvudnumret är den nordiska tävlingen där färska filmer från Sverige, Norge, Danmark, Finland och Island tävlar om Filmdraken (en staty av Ernst Billgren) och 100 000 kronor. Vinnaren utses på lördag.

(...)

Oduglig och oälskad

Mörk, men på ett annat sätt, är den debuterande danske regissören Peter Schönau Fogs familjedrama The art of crying. Den utspelar sig i en liten by på Jylland i början av 1970-talet. Elvaårige Allan bor med sin mamma, pappa och storasyster Sanna.

Fadern, som kör ut mjölk i trakten, beklagar sig ständigt över att han är oduglig och att ingen älskar honom. Allt som oftast hotar han att ta livet av sig och lägger sig på soffan i vardagsrummet och gråter.

Allan avgudar sin pappa och gör allt för att hålla honom vid liv och på gott humör. Han vet att det enda som kan få pappan att sluta gråta är att storasystern gör honom sällskap på soffan - under täcket. Och vill inte Sanna tänker Allan göra det själv. Pojken inser förstås inte riktigt följderna av sina handlingar.

Genom att skildra berättelsen genom Allans häpna blåa ögon, som plirar genom ett par stora brillor, skapar Schönau Fog en distans och mörk humor som krävs för att göra tragedin uthärdlig - och faktiskt mycket rolig mellan varven, men det är skratt som fastnar i halsen.

(...)

af Mikael Hagner/Oskarshamns Tidningen