Hollywood Reporter review

The Art of Crying
Bottom Line: Its relentlessly despairing tone will make it a hard sell overseas.

By Richard James Havis
Nov 28, 2007
Final Cut Prods.

NEW YORK -- This slice of Nordic doom and gloom envelops the gruesome behavior of its subjects in a jaunty charm. The story of a dysfunctional family with a tyrannical, child-abusing father ambles along like a gentle pastoral tale. The clash of style and subject matter ultimately proves quite startling, as does the movie's capacity for meting out forgiveness. But its relentlessly despairing tone will make it a hard sell overseas. The Danish film screened at the EFP New York Industry Screenings.

"The Art of Crying," directed by Peter Schonau Fog from a novel by Erling Jepsen, is told from the point of view of 11-year-old Allan (Jannik Lorenzen). Allan is in the thrall of his unsavory father, Papa (Jesper Asholt), who suffers from an inferiority complex and bullies his two children. Papa uses Allan to keep tabs on daughter Sanne (Julie Kolbeck), especially when she's dating. Suspicions about Papa's overzealous investigations into Sanne's romances are confirmed when he's revealed as an incestuous child molester.

The script, by Bo Hr Hansen, cleverly expresses the nonjudgmental view of a child who doesn't know any better. Allan doesn't realize that there's anything wrong with his family and is quite proud of his father until it dawns on him that Papa's relationship with Sanne is not quite right. The mother, played by Hanne Hedelund, is a study in cowardice, allowing the abuse to continue. The film also examines how rural isolation can build close-knit communities oblivious to general standards of right and wrong.

Performances are all above par, with Asholt managing to immerse himself in the role of a child abuser.

The Art of Crying qualified for “The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards”

61 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS ELIGIBLE FOR “THE 65th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS” TO BE TELECAST LIVE ON NBC AT 8 PM ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 2008

HOLLYWOOD, CA, November 29, 2007 – 61 foreign language films have been qualified for “The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards” consideration honoring 2007 achievements, it was announced today by Jorge Camara, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The Art of Crying aka Kunsten at græde i kor is among the 61 qualified films. Check out the list here!

Nominations for “The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards” will be announced at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 13. “The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards” will take place Sunday, January 13, 2008 at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast airing on NBC at 8 PM (EST) and produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Jorge Camara is President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Barry Adelman is executive producer. Chris Donovan is director. Al Schwartz is consulting producer. Ken Shapiro is producer. Ron Weed is consulting producer. Bob Bardo is executive in charge of production.

Kunsten at græde i kor DVD ekstra-ekstra materiale

Da jeg syntes at den netop udgivne dvd med 'Kunsten at græde i kor' gevaldigt savner ekstra materiale(mod min vilje), har jeg lavet et lille slideshow med arbejds-fotos min bror og jeg tog under produktionen. Jeg håber også, at det kan bringe lidt gode minder fra optagelserne frem hos jer der har været med til at lave filmen.

God fornøjelse,
Peter

(Fra en sønderjysk lokalavis: Kvickly i Tønder fortæller. at man i første omgang havde 50 film, men at de blev udsolgt på en halv time. Omkring 90 er skrevet op til en dvd, som Kvickly naturligvis har bestilt en ekstra bunke af. - De kunne ikke rigtig forstå derovre i København, at vi skulle have så mange forklarer Jonna Schmidt, der regner med, at man kan blive ved med at skaffe film - i hvert fald foreløbig.)

Jydske Vestkysten: Kunsten at skrive en autograf.

DVD anmeldelser: Filmnet, Filmhjørnet, DVDvenner, On-z, Filmz, Film Blast

GD.no review in norwegian

Dejligt og dansk

«Kunsten å gråte i kor»
Regi: Peter Schønau Fog
Med bl.a. Jesper Asholt, Hanne Hedelund, Jannik Lorenzen og Julie Kolbeck
Anmeldt av
Per Ivar Henriksbø
Publisert 09.11.2007 - 12:44

Jøss, for en film! Det forundrer meg ikke det minste at «Kunsten å gråte i kor» fikk Nordisk Råds filmpris for 2007. Hvis vår hjemlige kandidat til Oscar-nominasjonen «Tatt av kvinnen» greier å danke ut danskenes bidrag, må det være noe riv ruskende galt med juryen. Ikke til forkleinelse for dramatiseringen av Erlend Loes lett traumatiske møte med det motsatte kjønn. Men når våre brødre og søstre i sør knuser til med film av sånt format, er det bare å bøye seg i ærbødighet, respekt og ydmykhet, og erkjenne at så gode er vi ennå ikke blitt her til lands at vi er i stand til å matche genistreker som «Kunsten å gråte i kor».

Denne filmen har det meste en fortelling skal ha. Humor, dramatikk, melankoli, spenninger, vendepunkt, troverdighet, storartede bilder og fenomenalt skuespill av barn som voksne. Jeg har knapt sett bedre av det siste i skandinavisk film laget i den sosialrealistiske hverdagssjangeren. Store ord skal man være forsiktig med. Men her ser jeg ikke mange grunner for å spare på akkurat dem.

Den ytre fortellingen opprører, den indre rører ved oss. Jeg lo og ble oppriktig grepet om en annen. Kanskje mest av alt fordi fortellingen er så troverdig, og skildringene så eksepsjonelt gode.

Når historien fortelles med slik innsikt i filmmediets muligheter og fortrinn, er det bare å gi seg ende over. Det er stort å være på kino når lerretet får format av dette kaliberet.

Handlingen er lagt til tidlig på 1970-tallet. Vi befinner oss på bygda i en familie der faren er en sykelig selvmedlidende patriark av en småkjøpmann og et naturtalent i å holde spontane begravelsestaler for kreti og pleti. Kona har dels resignert, og tar sovepiller i stedet for å høre på en mann som synes gruelig synd på seg selv og foretar seg ting man ikke skal. Eldstesønnen har flyttet for å få seg utdannelse og stifte bo. Tenåringsdatteren er barnet som må trøste faren på alle mulige måter når han er lei seg og truer med å ta livet sitt. Minstemann, elleve år gamle Allan, er pappas øyesten som imidlertid må tåle en ørefik i ny og ne. Han er på mange måter limet i familien.

«Kunsten å gråte i kor» er en fortelling om incest og overgrep, om livsløgner og privatlivets fred, om oppvekst og generasjonskløfter. Her er det barna som tar de voksnes ansvar, mens de voksne (ikke nødvendigvis av ondskap) indirekte legger egne plikter på ungene. Først og fremst er det en historie om forfall.

Dette er filmen du bare MÅ se!

Peter Schønau Fog receives the Nordisk Film Award 2007

Since 1996 The Nordisk Film Foundation has distributed an honorary award by the name of The Nordisk Film Award. The award is given to one or more persons who have contributed in an extraordinary way to the Danish media environment.

Today, Nordisk Film celebrated its 101 year’s birthday. Two awards were given at a ceremony in Valby. The Nordisk Film Award of DKK 101.000 went to the man behind “The Art of Crying”, movie director Peter Schønau Fog. At the same occasion, cinematographer Dan Laustsen received the newly established Erik Balling travel grant of DKK 50.000.

The Nordisk Film Award 2007: Peter Schønau Fog was already hailed as Danish movie’s new talent because of his graduating movie from Filmskolen in 1999. Now, his first feature movie, “The Art of Crying”, is Denmark’s candidate for an Oscar. The Nordisk Film Fund’s prize committee write, as their reason for the selection of Schønau to receive the Nordisk Film Award, that he has “a special ability to localize a heart-rending story about the harsh conditions of life.” Dreyer once said; “The big dramas take place in quiet,” this, think the committee, proves Schønau with “The Art of Crying”, where the voice is never raised, even with incest, arson causing lose of life, three funerals and a half-hearted suicide.

Erik Balling’s Travel Grant 2007: Cinematographer Dan Laustsen received Erik Balling’s Travel Grant of DKK 50.000. He has created pictures on a long line of Danish movies – from “Rubber Tarzan” over “Night Watch” to “Just another Love Story” which is still in the theaters. About the reason given for the choice it was said “It might seem a little superfluous to give Dan Laustsen a travel grant, as he is a photographer who obviously gets to travel a lot. But the travel grant is to be interpreted as an invitation to go home, because it is here, Dan has played an important part for almost 30 years.”

The awards were given by Poul Nesgaard, principal at the Danish Film School, and Peter Schepelern, lector in Film and Media Science at the University of Copenhagen. They are both members of Nordisk Film prize committee.

Read about it at Nordisk Film.

FIRPRESCI review from Reykjavik

"The Art of Crying":The Art of Balancing
By Annika Koppel, FIRPRESCI

Danish helmer Peter Schønau Fog's tragic-comedy The Art of Crying (Kunsten at græde i kor, 2006) deals with the delicate and dark matter of child abuse in a family, where the father terrorizes all of its members with his constant crying and suicide threats.

Bo Hr. Hansen wrote the screenplay, which is based on a novel by Erling Jepsen. The story is told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy Allan (Jannik Lorenzen). He is one of those witty boys, with big glasses, who not only observes the world around him curiously but is ready to take some action if needed. He adores his father, as children usually do, although the father obviously has some serious mental problems. His mother seems to not notice anything and sleeps, when help is needed. Allan wants him to be happy. The father likes to recite eulogies at funerals and that is the real art of crying. Allan even lends him a helping hand to make sure there are enough funerals and that his father would be happy. At least, he imagines he does.

Allan also insists that his bigger sister Sanne (Julie Kolbech) goes downstairs to comfort his father when he is crying. Their big brother has already moved away. When he visits the family, it begins to become clear what kind of comforting is needed. The eleven-year-old boy is innocent and poignant in his belief that the world of grown-ups is normal and good in every sense although the surroundings do not support this. For example, his aunt has turned out to be like a caricature; the father's birthday and family get-together is a real mess — these are the comic moments of the film. Nobody listens to the others and finally the dad cries again.

Jannik Lorenzen is very good in Allan's role; Jesper Asholt plays a credible monster-pervert father. The mother's character raises some questions, which is not to say that she has no character at all as she does have a tired "leave me alone" attitude. Only the episode where she helps Sanne to get ready for the party suggests how tightly she has been controlled by the father.

The film shows step-by-step how the boy's understanding of good and evil will increase and he begins to notice that his father's crying is the reason for the others' discomfort. The father makes his daughter's emerging relationship with Per (Sune Thomsen)fail, sends Allan to supervise their meeting and after that complains to the police. This is a turning point when Allan's devotion to dad starts to crumble.

The story is beautifully told in the film; there is nothing redundant or trivial. It has been difficult to handle a subject that has been taboo for a long time in a way that would not leave the audience disturbed and frightened, or even disgusted. That was not the purpose. On the other hand, there was a big risk that it would turn into comedy — fortunately this did not happen. Fog artfully balances between these two extremes, keeping a sensible and delicate approach, mixing humor, grief, violence, manipulation and hypocrisy into a bitter cocktail of realism. It has been a real art of balancing.

The director believes that this film is a chance to address the serious subject matter of child abuse in a way that people could not turn away from, by telling the story in the tone and viewpoint of a young boy. It's true, that this subject matter is far too important to be ignored and maybe his hope to be able to create awareness about a huge problem within families finally proves fruitful. This problem can only be solved if someone dares to take on the responsibility to rise up, interact and talk out loud.

Peter Schønau Fog has said it loud. Even if the film does not change the world, this is at least considerable reason for making a film. Definitely The Art of Crying is a good film and a memorable debut.

Annika Koppel© FIPRESCI 2007
Annika Koppel is a film critoic in Estonia. She works for the newspaper "Postimees" and the magazines "Sirp", "Theater. Music. Cinema."

The Best Script Award in Warsaw

23RD WARSAW INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Best Script Award

Sztuka płakania/ The Art Of Crying/ Kunsten at grade i kor

script: Bo hr. Hansen

dir: Peter Schønau Fog

Denmark

Denmark Leads Nordic Oscar Chances

(Well - that's according to rankinghigh.blogspot.com)

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have all chosen their official Oscar entries for next year's Academy Awards. Peter Schønau Fog’s masterpiece The Art of Crying was chosen 2007's best picture by the Nordic Council and that gives the film a major boost compared to the other films that were competing against it. Finland's and Iceland's official Oscar submissions were also nominated for the Nordic Council's Film Prize and lost - so their Oscar chances are not as high as Denmark's. Sweden and Norway did not compete for the award with their Oscar hopefuls. Here's a quick look at the five films from the Nordic area...

Continue reading here!

Winners of the Nordic Council Film Prize 2007

Nordic Council's Film Prize 2007:

The winning film is 'The Art of Crying' from Denmark.

The jury's explains its choice of winner:

Seen through the eyes of a young boy 'The Art of Crying' depicts the absurdity and even horror of family life with laconic humour. Disturbing and entertaining at the same time the film handles the difficult subject of child abuse sharply but humanely. It boldly reveals the repressive forces at work underneath the sunny surface of a small rural town.

‘Art of Crying’ takes top Nordic prize
By The Copenhagen Post
Offentliggjort 10.10.07 kl. 10:00
Peter Schønau Fog’s masterpiece was chosen for yet another international award in taking this year’s Nordic Council Film Prize

The accolades keep piling up for Peter Schønau Fog, who will add the 2007 Nordic Council Film Prize to his collection of trophies for his powerful film ‘The Art of Crying’.

The council announced its award winners Tuesday. The official award ceremony will take place 31 October at the Danish Film Institute in Copenhagen.

Fog’s masterpiece about a child’s abused and troubled youth has garnered 13 international awards since its premier at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006. It has also been selected by the country’s film experts to compete for a nomination for an Oscar for best non-English language film.

‘The Art of Crying’ has done well in Danish cinemas since its screen release in April, selling enough tickets at the box office to make it the most successful non-comedy movie in Denmark this year.

The Nordic Council Film prize was created in 2005, with Danish director Per Fly winning the first award for his film ‘Manslaughter’. The award carries with it a monetary prize of DKK 350,000 (EUR 47,000).

It is given to an artistically originally film that draws on Nordic cultural talents and traditions.

My(Peter Schønau Fog) speech in danish:

Det er meget stort og overvældende at skulle modtage Nordisk Råds film pris. Tusinde tak.

Når jeg ser hvilke film ”Kunsten at græde i kor” har været oppe imod gør det mig meget ydmyg og taknemmelig. Det er film der hver især en er påmindelse om hvor meget vi i Norden kan lære meget om hinanden og derigennem ikke mindst om os selv. Så lad det være en opfordring til de nordiske distributører... (Her i København går Reprise vist som den eneste af filmene – det er slet og ret et mesterværk – så skynd jer ind og se Joachims film.)

Jeg vil gerne takke de mennesker, der har støttet mig gennem nogle meget hårde år.

Her tænker jeg på min vidunderlige kæreste Sine Ingemann, mine brødre Henrik og Morten og mine forældre Nana og Carl Erik. De skal have den største tak for det er dem jeg har grædt ud hos når urimelighederne er vokset til uoverstigelige store bjerge. Og de som giver mig troen tilbage på, at selv om jeg måtte kæmpe mod en direkte destruktiv mistillid ville det kunne lykkes at lave en film, som jeg kunne stå inde for.

Derudover vil jeg takke de, som valgte at gå loyalt og konstruktivt med i den retning som jeg mente var nødvendig. Her tænker jeg særligt på manuskriptforfatter Bo Hr. Hansen, fotograf Harald Paalgard, klipper Anne Østerud, tonemester Peter Schultz, komponist Karsten Fundal.

Til skuespillerne vil jeg blot sige jeg holder meget af jer, og nød hvert et øjeblik med jer, tusinde tak for det.

Jeg vil til Janniks og Julies forældre sige, hold op hvor har I nogen vidunderlige unger. I skal have en meget stor tak for jeres tillid til, at jeg kunne bringe dem igennem noget så vanvittigt som en filmproduktion på en ordentlig måde.

Tak til Erling Jepsen for din tillid til at jeg og vi kunne tage vare på dit livs historie på en anstændig vis.

Og til slut vil jeg takke sønderjyderne for uden jeres generøse hjælp ville det aldrig have lykkes at lave filmen ”Kunsten at græde i kor”, og uden jeres humor havde jeg nok ikke overlevet.

Jeg er meget taknemmelig og meget lettet over at jeg med Nordisk Råds Film pris kan hvile i troen på, at jeg har båret mit ansvar igennem på anstændigvis vis og nået i mål. Tak.

Church of Iceland award and FIPRESCI award

International federation of film critics, FIPRESCI, awarded Danish debut feature The Art of Crying by Peter Schønau Fog which also received the Church of Iceland award, given out for the second time. The award was handed over by the Bishop of Iceland, Karl Sigurbjörnsson.

“Laughter and crying juxtapose in a quality film about difficult issues that raises questions concerning parental and societal responsibility. A young boy tells his family's story where violence and abuse lurks within the childhood home. The film deals delicately with issues that often are kept quiet and presents them with respect, understanding and sympathy. The Art of Crying raises awareness of the fragility of life, moves the audience and calls for discussion and responses,” is stated in the jury’s motivation.

Read about it here!

THE DANISH FILM FEST : LA

THE DANISH FILM FEST : LA returns to Los Angeles October 4-11 to celebrate the richness of the Danish storytelling tradition, as well as expose the culture's unique Nordic lifestyle to an international audience.

The Danish Oscar candidate THE ART OF CRYING / Kunsten at græde i kor will be screened in Los Angeles:

MONDAY, OCTOBER 8
Sunset5, Laemmle Theater
7:00 PM

Laemmle's Sunset 58000 Sunset Blvd.West Hollywood,
90046323-848-3500

Norwegian reviews

ABCNYHETER.NO

Karakter 9 av 10

«Kunsten å gråte i kor» er noe så overraskende som en sjarmerende film om overgrep.

Det er mye å gråte over i den danske filmen «Kunsten å gråte i kor». Men det er også mye å le av. Selv om latteren ofte blir sittende fast nederst i halsen et sted.

Vi møter en særdeles dysfunksjonell familie i en søvnig dansk by på 70-tallet. Mor drukner sine sorger i sovemedisiner mens far sliter med selvmordstanker. Sier han i alle fall. Vi forstår litt etter litt at fars stadige selvmordstrusler egentlig bunner i at han vil ha trøst. En «trøst» som viser seg å være av en type karakter som får det til å gå kaldt nedover ryggen til oss i publikum.

Barnslig slør
- Når far er glad så glemmer han å ta livet av seg, sier den snusfornuftige 11-årige Allan som er hovedpersonen i filmen.

Det er gjennom hans øyne vi opplever historien. Og det er nettopp dette perspektivet som gjør denne filmen så spesiell. Vi opplever overgrepene gjennom et barnslig slør som på et finurlig vis tar brodden av de mest støtende scenene. For barn oppfatter ting på en annen måte enn oss voksne. Og veldig ofte tar de ansvar for ting de rett og slett ikke forstår.

Begravelses-fetish
Allan ser etter hvert på det som sin oppgave å holde faren fornøyd. Han presser sin eldre søster til å trøste faren om natten. Så går det et lys opp for den unge gutten når han forstår at det som virkelig løfter farens humør er når han får lov til å holde begravelsestaler. Den mislykkede, ynkelige melkemannen har nemlig et overraskende språklig talent som får alle som hører på til å knekke sammen og gråte nettopp i kor. Ved hjelp av svulstige klisjeer får han selv den tøffeste machomann til å bryte hulkende sammen. Problemet er at det rett og slett ikke er nok begravelser til å holde familie-tyrannen lykkelig.

Ingen lette løsninger

«Kunsten å gråte i kor» har en tematikk som er svært ømtålig. Overgrep mot barn er noe av det verste vi kan tenke oss og vekker sterke følelser. Det er ikke fritt for at man sitter med en klump i magen store deler av denne filmen. Hele tiden venter man på at de som blir mishandlet skal slå tilbake og få sin hevn. Uten å røpe for mye så kan jeg si at regissør Peter Schønaug Fog ikke tyr til lette løsninger. For det er nå engang sånn at denne mannspersonen, glitrende skildret av skuespilleren Jesper Asholt, er så ubegripelig stakkarslig, selvhøytidlig, hyklerisk, kvalmende skinnhellig og grusomt manipulerende at man rett og slett må ta seg selv i å synes synd på ham.

Uforglemmelig

Etter hvert så forstår vi at også den uskyldige 11-åringen har arvet noe av sin fars manipulasjonsevner. Han går bokstavlig talt over lik for å prøve og holde familien sammen. Den veslevoksne skuespilleren Jannik Lorenzen gjør en uforglemmelig innsats med sitt oppvakte blikk og sine nøkterne observasjoner.

Selv om «Kunsten å gråte i kor» både er bitende satirisk og til tider veldig morsom, vil ikke det si at temaet incest blir behandlet på en overfladisk måte. Tvert i mot virker denne dempede fortellingen som et sannferdig og presist bilde av en familie i krise.

DAGSAVISEN.NO

«Kunsten å gråte i kor» har mye interessant å si om hvor lojale barn kan være mot foreldrene sine, uansett hva de måtte gjennomgå av grusomheter. Det er et innsiktsfullt, dønn ærlig portrett av mentale lidelser og seksuelle overgrep – samt en velobservert, svart komedie. Hjerteskjærende trist og oppriktig morsom på samme tid. Litt av en kombinasjon å mestre i sin første film!

SIDE2.NO

Filmen tar opp alvorlige temaer, men er likevel full av humoristiske innslag. På den måten blir ikke filmen så tragisk som den fort kunne blitt, samtidig som humoren forsterker det alvorlige. Det er umulig å ikke bli påvirket når man ser hvordan barna takler farens problemer. Men en film som kun spiller på disse følelsene ville blitt for vond å se.

NRK.NO

Kunsten at græde i kor” er en sterk kandidat til Nordisk Råds filmpris.

BT.NO

Med «Kunsten å gråte i kor» har spillefilmdebutanten Peter Schønau Fog plassert seg som en slags dansk variant av Todd Solondz. Annerledes i stil, og ikke så ravnsvart i komikken, men med samme mot til å blande mørk humor inn i det dypt tragiske, og med evnen til å fremstille familielivets galskap hårfint balanserende mellom det pinefulle, pinlige, rørende og gjenkjennbare. Slik Solondz i «Happiness» greide å nyansere overgriperen i all hans ynkelighet, greier Schønau Fog det samme med denne danske melkemannen. Det er modig gjort, og det er godt gjort. Ved å våge å la oss le, gjør også Schønau Fog oss i stand til å ta innover oss de mest hjerteskjærende scenene.

DAGBLADET.NO

Velspilt og komisk, men mest av alt et dypt tragisk familiedrama.(...)

Det er noe Roy Anderssonsks over Peter Schønau Fogs langfilmdebut «Kunsten å gråte i kor». På den ene siden har han laget et overbevisende, tragisk og velspilt familiedrama. På den andre siden har han maktet å blande det dypt tragiske med det patetiske og komiske. Resultatet er en film som mest av alt irriterer og gjør forbannet. Ikke på grunn av manglende kvaliteter eller plump humor. Men fordi du – i alle fall jeg – aldri før har følt et så sterkt ønske om filleriste filmens karakterer. I enkeltes tilfelle nærmest kvele.

ADRESSA.NO

Det som gjør filmen interessant, gripende og vel verdt å se, er dynamikken som oppstår ved at fortelleren, 11-årige Allan, ser faren sin på en helt annen måte enn vi som tilskuere gjør. Derfor blir oppbygningen mot sannhetens øyeblikk heftig både for gutten og oss.

VG.NO

Kunsten å lage en alvorlig god film

Overraskende, nokså tragisk og original fortelling om en særdeles dysfunksjonell dansk familie på 70-tallet.

(...)

DOM: En underlig film. Men en uhyre god film, om en elleveårings vanskelige liv i en nesten umulig presset situasjon. Situasjoner og personer er tatt på kornet. Skuespilleriet er fjetrende, særlig fra den unge gutten og hans vanskelige fars side. Tidsånden likeså. Den litt tålmodige publikummer vil få en opplevelse med laaang ettersmak; så god at det er til å - ja: Gråte av.

The Art of Crying - candidate for the Oscars!

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor has been chosen as

Denmark's Oscar candidate 2008
for a nomination in the catagory:
"Best Foreign Language Film"

Read about it here: DFI (In danish)

Read about the other films selected: here. And here.

The Oscars

In 2000 Peter Schonau Fog's Little Man/Lille Mænsk was shortlisted for a Student Oscar Academy Award. Read about it here: Amber Film

Candidate for European Film Awards

6 Nordic Films Nominated For EFA

The European Film Academy announced on Tuesday September 4th the full list of 42 films from 26 countries on the selection list for the annual European Film Awards (EFA) 2007.
Denmark which had three films selected in 2006 has only one this year: Peter Schoenau Fog's The Art of Crying, Finland is represented by Aleksi Salmenperä's Man's Job, Iceland by Ragnar Bragason's Children and Baltasar Kormakur's Jar City, and Sweden by Roy Andersson's You, the Living and Jesper Ganslandt's Falkenberg Farewell. Norway is represented by Joachim Trier's Reprise, which will also compete against 10 other European films for the EFA People's Choice Award.The final nominations for the EFA Awards will be announced on November 3 at the Sevilla Festival de Cine European and the EFA Awards ceremony will take place in Berlin on December 1, 2007.

The selection is here!

Nomination for the Nordic Council Film Prize

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor has been nominated for the

Nordic Council Film Prize, 2007

Read aout it here: DFI and here: Nordic.

The Nordic Council Film Prize
The Nordic Council has set up its own Nordic Film Prize which will be awarded to manuscript writers, directors and producers.The criteria for winning the prize is the creation of an artistically original film that is rooted in Nordic cultural circles, in which the various elements of the film unite to form a harmonious work.
The Nordic Council Film Prize is worth 350,000 Danish kroner (approx. €47,000), and thus has the same value as the literature, nature and environment and music prizes. The prize money is to be shared between the scriptwriter, the director and the producer.

Danish DVD release

According to Final Cut Productions a DVD of "The Art of Crying" will be released the 20. of november in Denmark.

Inspite of more than 228.000 admissions in Denmark, 32 international film festivals and 17 awards, Final Cut Productions has decided that this DVD will only contain the film, subtitles in danish/norwegian and an interview with author Erling Jepsen.

"Kunsten at græde i kor" indstillet til European Film Awards

Pressemeddelse fra DFI:

Peter Schønau Fogs "Kunsten at græde i kor" er blandt de 42 film, som Det Europæiske Filmakademi har indstillet som kandidater til European Film Awards 2007 nomineringerne.

"Kunsten at græde i kor" har i alt vundet 13 internationale festivalpriser siden verdenspremieren i september på sidste års Toronto International Film Festival, og den har solgt 228.000 billetter i de danske biografer. Bo hr. Hansen har skrevet manuskriptet til "Kunsten at græde i kor", som er baseret på Erling Jepsens roman af samme navn. Filmen er produceret af Thomas Stenderup for Final Cut Productions.

I de kommende uger nominerer alle Filmakademiets 1800 medlemmer ved afstemning filmene i diverse kategorier. Nomineringerne offentliggøres den 3. november, og prisuddelingen finder sted i Berlin lørdag den 1. december.

Fra 1. september til 31. oktober kan alle, som har lyst, desuden stemme på hvilken europæisk film, der skal vinde prisen People's Choice Award 2007, som også uddeles ved European Film Awards arrangementet. 11 film er præsenteret, dog ingen danske. Afstemningen foregår på www.peopleschoiceaward.org.

De 42 udvalgte film: www.europeanfilmacademy.org/htm/Selection.html.
Kategorierne ved EFA: www.europeanfilmacademy.org/htm/Categories.html.

Kunsten at græde i kor selected for SÃO PAULO

Kunsten at græde i kor has been selected for

NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION

in

31st MOSTRA - SÃO PAULO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

October 19 - November 1st

31st MOSTRA - SÃO PAULO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The 31st SÃO PAULO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL will be held October 19 through November 1st, 2007. MOSTRA is an ABMIC – Associação Brasileira Mostra Internacional de Cinema non-profit cultural event. The State and the Municipality of São Paulo have established October as the official month for MOSTRA.

The 31st MOSTRA – SÃO PAULO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL will include three sections:

· NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION

· INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

· SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION

– A competitive section for filmmakers with a first and second feature. MOSTRA has devised an innovating, democratic formula for competition. All of the films that comply with the regulations below and that are applying to NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION must have copies available to be shown to the audience at least twice during the first week of the festival. The VOTE FROM THE PUBLIC will then define, from among all of the films in competition, a minimum of ten films to be shown during the second week of the festival to an International Jury consisting of persons from various countries of acknowledged importance to the cinematographic industry. The winners of NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION will be awarded the BANDEIRA PAULISTA award, a trophy designed by artist TOMIE OHTAKE.

"The Art of Crying" in San Sebastian - again!

San Sebastian has 'Cold Fever'
Festival tauts 'New Nordic' section
By EMILIO MAYORGA
(Article from Variety)

BARCELONA -- Peter Schonau Fog's "The Art of Crying", Pernille Fischer Christensen's "A Soap" and Aleksi Salmenpera's "A Man's Job" are all set to unspool as part of the San Sebastian Festival's "Cold Fever - The New Nordic Cinema" section, announced today


Other films in the sidebar include: Tomas Alfredson's "Four Shades of Brown," Bard Breien's "The Art of Negative Thinking," "Parents" and "Children," both helmed by Ragnar Bragason, and Jens Lien's "The Bothersome Man"


"Cold Fever" aims to explore new trends in contemporary post-Dogma filmmaking Showcase
includes 38 movies from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, and will be accompanied by a book, written by Danish film critic and writer Christian Monggaard.


"Cold fever" is one of the three sidebars announced by the festival The other two are a tribute to Philippe Garrel and a Henry King retro.


San Sebastian fest runs Sept. 20-29.

Svend nomineringer

Svend er den eneste store filmpris i Danmark, der helt og aldeles bestemmes af publikum. For det er først og fremmest årets mest populære film, der er på stemmesedlen, og hvem der vinder, ja, det afgør bl.a. bt.dk's og B.T.s læsere.

Svend-prisen er etableret i samarbejde mellem danske filmproducenter, danske filmudlejere og Svendborg Kommune ­deraf navnet Svend.

Se nomineringer og stem her.

Reykjavik International Film Festival

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

Reykjavik International Film Festival

Main Competition

(Sep 27-Oct 7 2007)

Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) was founded in 2004 by a group of film enthusiasts and professionals with the goal of creating an annual international film festival in Reykjavik. The aim is to establish a major film event to enrich and enliven the local film culture, but moreover, to become an international attraction. We believe that by building up an innovative film festival in Reykjavik, our foreign guests will have a unique opportunity to participate in an exciting cultural event, as well as visiting a country renowned for its natural wonders and dynamic culture.

Special mention in Motovun, Croatia

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor recieves a

Special Mention

in Motovun Film Festival, Croatia.

Read about it in croatian, and in english.

Warsaw International Film Festival

The Art of Crying has been selected to the Warsaw International Film Festival Oct 12 - 21 2007.

The Norwegian International Film Festival

The Art of Crying - Kunsten å gråte i kor has been selected to the main programme of The Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund 17. – 24. august 2007.

And will have a cinematic release in Norway 21. of september. SF Norge.

'KUNSTEN AT GRÆDE I KOR ' VINDER BEDSTE UDENLANDSKE FILM!

Peter Schønau Fogs debutfilm 'Kunsten at græde i kor' har netop vundet i kategorien 'Bedste udenlandske film' samt Runner-Up priserne for 'Bedste film' og 'Bedste børneskuespiller' (til Jannik Lorenzen), og er nu oppe på 16 priser i alt.

Der er tale om de såkaldte PROSKARS som uddeles af ifbm. Seattle Film Festival, hvor 'Kunsten' vandt tre priser ud af sine i alt fire nomineringer (Jannik Lorenzen var også nomineret for sin rolle som ALLAN i kategorien BEST DEBUT ACTOR).


Steve Clare, editor for PROST AMERIKA!, skriver i sin annoncering bla.:'Art of Crying won the PROSKAR for Best Foreign Language Film. Just as impressively, it won the Runner Up for Best Film altogether, which is an incredible achievement for a film in Danish with subtitles.'

Og fortsætter: 'Let's not forget the very talented Jannik who carried off the Runner Up for Best Child Actor. The first of many awards for him I think.'


'Kunstens' to børneskuespillere, Jannik Lorenzen der spiller Allan og Julie Kolbech der spiller storesøster Sanne, er begge blevet castet i lokalområdet, hvor 'Kunsten' er blevet optaget. Forud for optagelserne har de modtaget undervisning og coaching af skuespiller Sarah Boberg, og opbyggede et 3.persons forhold til deres roller. Dette har givet en professionalisme og troværdighed i deres arbejde, som mange har beundret.

PROSKARS nomineringer & priser:
1) The Art of Crying for BEST FILM - Runner Up
2) The Art of Crying for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - Vinder
3) Jannik Lorenzen for his role as ALLAN for BEST CHILD ACTOR - Runner Up
4) Jannik Lorenzen for his role as ALLAN for BEST DEBUT ACTOR - Nomineret

Kunsten at græde i kor wins award in Brussels

The Brussels European Film Festival

Prime Award for Best Film
5.000 € (distribution value) – chosen by the audience to

« The Art of Crying »

by Peter Schonau Fog

(Denmark - 2006)

The award was hand over by Philippe De Beer, Loyalty Program Manager de Prime

The Art of Crying Nominated for FOUR Awards at Seattle

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at græde i kor has been nominated for a FOUR PROSKARS in the following categories of at the Seattle International Film Festival:

1) The Art of Crying for BEST FILM

2) The Art of Crying for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

3) Jannik Lorenzen for his role as ALLAN for BEST CHILD ACTOR

4) Jannik Lorenzen for his role as ALLAN for BEST DEBUT ACTOR

To see the PROSKARS coverage of SIFF in full, please go to http://www.prostamerika.com/SIFF.html for coverage in German and http://www.prostamerika.com/SIFF_English.html to see the same page in English. Once all the Nominees have been notified the final decisions will be made. They will be announced on the http://www.prostamerika.com/SIFF.html site first and then the Winners notified and congratulated.

The Committee is meeting on July 10th.

'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.