Bille August is one of the best known and most acclaimed Scandinavian directors around the world. After graduating from the National Film School of Denmark, he began his career in television, making his film debut with In My Life/Honningmåne in 1978. Right from the start, he showed signs of being a talented filmmaker with a unique flair for depicting the psychology of relationships in family and social environments, earning him numerous directing successes, e.g. Zappa (1983) and its popular sequel Twist and Shout/Tro, håb og kærlighed (1984). His film Pelle the Conqueror/Pelle Erobreren (1987), an adaptation of a novel by Martin Andersen Nexø, was his first to be met with great international acclaim, winning the Oscar® for Best Foreign Film in 1988 as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes IFF. His collaboration with the renowned Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman won him a second Palme d'Or at Cannes, for directing Bergman’s screenplay about the early life of his parents Anna and Henrik Bergman – The Best Intentions/Den Goda viljan (1992).
August has continued to make features in both Hollywood and Scandinavia, such as The House of the Spirits (1993), an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Chilean author Isabel Allende. His many other successes have included literary adaptations such as Jerusalem (1996), Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997), Les Misérables (1998) and A Song for Martin (2001). Marie Kroyer (2012), a biographical film made when he returned to Denmark after 25 years abroad, was released in Slovak cinemas last February. For his work as a film director, he has been honoured with both the Danish and the Swedish “Royal Order of Chivalry” and the French order “Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres”.
Bille August will present his latest film Night Train to Lisbon (2013) to our audience in Bratislava, another adaptation of a best-selling novel, this time by Pascal Mercier. It is the story of Professor Raimund Gregorius, played by Jeremy Irons, who meets a mysterious woman and decides to turn his life around and move to Portugal. Following in the footsteps of his favourite author, the miserable aristocrat doctor Amadeu de Prada, he boards the night train to Lisbon. The film was first released at the 2013 Berlinale.
The programme of the 15th Bratislava IFF is currently in its final stages of preparation, as we endeavour to include the latest features from this year’s Venice Film Festival and International Film Festival in Toronto.
All the latest updates and information about The 15th International Film Festival Bratislava will be gradually posted at our official website www.iffbratislava.sk and on Facebook.
15th International Film Festival Bratislava
November 6 – 12, 2013
Main organisers
Ars Nova Association
Partners Production
The Festival is held with the generous financial support of the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.
COME AND EXPERIENCE IT!
