Rome 22 July 2010

Pernilla August’s directing debut ”Beyond”, starring Noomi Rapace, to compete in Critics’ Week at the Venice film festival

Palme-d’or winning actress Pernilla August will present her directorial debut in a world premiere at the 67th Venice Film Festival. Swedish film “Beyond” is the only Nordic feature film among the seven titles in the prestigious Critics’ Week line-up, unveiled Thursday at a press-conference in Rome. “Beyond”competes for the Luigi de Laurentiis Debut Award consisting of 100.000USD and International Film Critics’ Week –Regione del Veneto Award of 5000 Euros.

Pernilla August, highly acclaimed for her work with Ingmar Bergman, Bille August, Liv Ullmann, George Lucas, Per Fly, Bo Widerberg , among others, makes her debut as a feature film director with “Beyond”. The film is based on the best-selling Swedish novel Svinalängorna by Susanna Alakoski and tells the story of a young woman’s confrontation with her dramatic childhood, of her grief and the struggle to move on.

Celebrated Swedish actress Noomi Rapace stars in the leading role as Leena. “Beyond” is Rapace’s first feature film after her performance as Lisbeth Salander in the enormous global hit “The Millennium Trilogy”. “Beyond” is Rapace’s first appearance on screen opposite her husband, actor Ola Rapace. The stellar cast is rounded out by acknowledged Finnish actors Ville Virtanen and Outi Mäenpää. Leena as a child is played by the rising star Tehilla Blad, also featured in the Millennium Trilogy.

-I am moved and deeply honoured to have been selected by the Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival, I can hardly believe it! One thing I know for certain; we would never have made it without the enormous support that I received, and the collective effort that went into making this production. I feel proud, happy and deeply honoured! says Pernilla August.

Nineteen years ago I played "Nora" in "A Doll’s House" directed by Ingmar Bergman in Venice... It’s going to be incredibly exciting to return to that wonderful city as a first-time director.

“Beyond” is produced by Helena Danielsson (Hepp film), and Ralf Karlsson (Drakfilm). Helena Danielsson also produced “A rational solution” selected for Critic’s week 2009, starring Pernilla August.

Co-producers: Helle Ulsteen/Kamoli Films (DK), Tero Kaukomaa/Blind SpotPictures (FI), Lone Korslund, Mikael Frisell/Nordisk Film, Ralf Ivarsson/Film i Skåne, Gunnar Carlsson/SVT, Nordsvensk Filmunderhållning 7/Lars Nilsson

Supported by: SFI/Peter “Piodor” Gustafsson, DFI/Molly Malene Stensgaard, FFF/Kaisu Isto, YLE/Erkki Astala, NFTF/Hanne Palmquist, MEDIA Programme

International sales: Trust Nordisk

The 67th Venice Film Festival will be held from September 1-11.

The italian pressbook can be downloaded here.

Web-tv Interview with Pernilla August - Dagens Nyheter - Swedish national major newspaper.

Screen International - article about Beyond

Variety - article about Beyond

Corriere della Sera - major Italian national news paper

Repubblica – major national Italian national newspaper

Ansa (Italy’s major news agency)

Ion cinema

Cinecorriere – Italian high-profile cinemag

Cineuropa – international film business site

Coming soon – Italian Cinema TV-Channel/Sky

La gazetta del mezzogiorno – major newapaper in South Italy

Vogue Italy

Il Tempo - Italian national newspaper

L'Unita - Italian national newspaper

Punto di vista - Italian culture magazine

Cinematogrofo - high profile Italian cinemag

Yahoo.it

For latest news, please visit www.sicvenezia.it

A poignant story, told with sincerity and humor, about a young woman´s dramatic childhood and about her grief and the struggle to move on.

Noomi Rapace plays the main character in her first feature after the success with the Millennium trilogy and she plays opposite her husband, actor Ola Rapace.

Award winning actress Pernilla August makes her directorial debut with her take on the bestselling novel Svinalängorna by Susanna Alakoski.

In other main roles we see rising star Tehilla Blad and the Finnish acclaimed actors, Ville Virtanen and Outi Mäenpää.

A morning just before Christmas, Leena, 34, receives a phone call from a hospital in her childhood hometown telling her that her mother is dying. This news takes her on a journey to face her mother for the first time in her adult life. Leena has fought all her life to let go of her grief over her lost and dark childhood. She is now forced to deal with her past to be able to move on.

Our past will always catch up with us.

When I started working with this film I thought that the obvious theme was ”growing up in an abusive family”. A story about how terribly difficult it can be to be poor, from another country and unable to master the language. But as I got deeper into the story it struck me that it would be more interesting to combine the childhood story with a contemporary about the adult Leena. Together they tell the story about self-deception, to lie to yourself and the people around you. It is this story I want to tell and how you reach your resolution and how you can move on in life despite your past.

In the film the adult Leena’s memories are almost physical, as in the film Dolores Claiborne (Taylor Hackford), where neither we, the audience, nor the mother (Kathy Bates) can protect herself from her memories, the past. When I slowly, digged my way deeper into the story I was struck by the connections to Ibsen whom I love and have played much. I thought of Mrs Alving in Gengangere with her self-deception, of Greger Werle in Vildanden, where the lie becomes visible, destroys the family and takes Hedwig’s life. I realized that Svinalängorna/Beyond for me is about living in and with a lie. Unlike Ibsen’s characters, Leena’s journey takes her from the darkness and to the truth and to her resolution.

The narrative form is affected by intimacy. I aim for the details and the mood of the film, using a subjective camera in the point of view from Leena- grown up and as a child. So we can feel and remember the fragrances from our childhood street.