Press Release

This marks the fifth year that the Europa Cinemas Label has been awarded at Berlin, and complements the Labels awarded at the Giornate degli Autori section in Venice, the Quinzaine des réalisateurs in Cannes and Karlovy Vary.

The Europa Cinemas jury for this year’s Berlinale consisted of: Christin Berg : Exhibitor/Oslo Kino (Norway);  Krisztina Paldy : Distributor/Budapest Film (Hungary); Robert Rider: Exhibitor/Barbican Centre (UK); Dagmar Wagenknecht : Exhibitor/Kinoklub am Hirschlachufer/Erfurt (Germany).

The Jury issued the following statement: ‘We found it impossible to choose between two very strong but contrasting candidates, hence our decision to award the Label ex aequo to both of these excellent films with a strong humanistic context. WELCOME is a robust and moving drama driven by powerful performances, tackling big issues which are all too relevant today. By contrast NORD is a warm, visually exciting and original road movie set in the snowy North of Norway. We are confident that both films have every chance of finding a wide audience around Europe, aided by the award of the Label.’

Sold internationally by Memento Films, NORD is Rune Denstad Langlo’s debut feature and stars Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Marte Aunemo, Lars Olsen, Mads Sjogard Pettersen, Astrid Solhaug, and Kyrre Hellum. A Motlys A/S production, the screenplay is by Erlend Loe, with Brede Hovland and Sigve Endresen as producers.

www.memento-films.com

Synopsis of the film NORD:

Following a nervous breakdown, former skiing ace Jomar Henriksen finds a job as a piste patroller. He begins to overlook his duties as an attendant, spending most of his time smoking, drinking and lazing. Then one day an old friend turns up and all of a sudden he sees a fresh opportunity to put this life behind him and start afresh. The friend tells Jomar that he is the father of a child living in the north of the country. On his long journey north Jomar comes across tanks, dangerous tunnels, a mysteriously tethered Sami, full fridges in empty houses and unusual ways of getting drunk … and, in the end, maybe even his own child.

WELCOME is sold internationally by Films Distribution. Directed by Philippe Lioret, the film stars Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi, and Audrey Dana. The producer for Nord-Ouest Films is Eve Machuel, and the screenplay is by Philippe Lioret, Emmanuel Courcol and Olivier Adam.

www.filmsdistribution.com

Synopsis of the film WELCOME:

Bilal, 17, left his native Iraq shortly after his girlfriend emigrated to England and is now in the midst of an adventurous journey across Europe in order to see her again. However, his trek has now come to an abrupt end on the northern coast of France and he can go no further. Between him and his girlfriend Mina lies the wintry English Channel, the busiest waterway in the world. Could Bilal join the number of bold swimmers who have attempted the crossing? The boy decides to head for the local swimming pool to begin training. There he meets lifeguard Simon, to whom he eventually confides his grand plan. Simon takes Bilal under his wing and secretly teaches the young Kurd how to do the crawl.

NORD and WELCOME will now receive the invaluable support of extended theatrical exposure and additional promotion from the Europa Cinemas network.