Carl International Film Festival presents the program for the first festival edition 2017!

Today August 16, 2017 the program for the first edition of Carl International Film Festival in Karlskrona Sweden September 8–13 is announced! 

With a creative and cinematic focus on the nine countries of the Baltic Sea region the festival presents premiere films, special screenings, director talks, open air cinema, school cinema, events and much more! For six days, 36 films from 17 countries and over 50 films and events are presented.

-With Carl International Film Festival we want to create a film festival for southern Sweden and, above all, to strengthen Southeastern Sweden as a film region! The festival has a main focus on the Baltic Sea, a fantastic dynamic film region where Karlskrona, with its central location, can act as a new important meeting place for the film and the surrounding industry, says Henrik JP Åkesson, festival director.

Check out the full festival program HERE, and the festival catalogue HERE.

The festival presents a number of premiere films. In the festival's main program with focus on new feature film from the Baltic Sea countries Baltic Sea Program, films like Dors Dörrie's Fukushima Mon Amour (Germany) and Renārs Vimba's Mellow Mud (Latvia) has their Swedish premieres during the festival. The Italian documentary The Last Resort by Davide Del Degan and Thanos Anastopoulo has its Nordic premiere in the section Panorama Borders. 

Andrius Blazevicius strong and acclaimed feature debute The Saint is screened for the first time in Scandinavia during Carl International Film Festival 2017. In the film Yvtas loses his job in the wake of the economic crisis in 2008 at the local factory in the small Lithuanian town where he lives. The film is a dark humor drama about him desperately trying to regain balance in his live.

–The Saint is a film about a small person from a small eastern European country, in the middle of a very big crisis. I am very happy to have the opportunity to show my film in Sweden at the new Carl International Film Festival, to meet the audience and see what reactions it will raise, says Andrius Blazevicius.

Tarik Saleh's critically acclaimed feature film The Nile Hilton Incident opens the first edition of the Carl International Film Festival on September 8, 2017 at Karlskrona Concert Hall. The film received the jury's grand prize during the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and in the lead role is the Swedish actor Fares Fares.

-The Nile Hilton Incident is a Swedish world-class film, a unique modern noir thriller that has received a great international reception. It is just an example of the diversity of stories that exist in Sweden and the Baltic Sea region, says Josef Kullengård, Program manager at CIFF.

Kristina Åberg, the producer of the film:

–It's a great honor that our thriller The Nile Hilton Incident by Tarik Saleh will open Carl International Film Festival. The screening will be the first in Sweden and it makes me very glad that a forum for new film is created. It is also a bonus to get the opportunity to visit the Swedish region of Blekinge, as it is close to my heart. I grew up in the city of Karlshamn

Get your tickets to the festival opening HERE

The Nile Hilton Incident has its official theatrical release in Sweden September 29 (Distribution: Scanbox).

Carl Film Forum is the festival's industry forum and focuses on co-production of films in the Baltic Sea Region - new ways to financing and development of regional funds and film production. Carl Film Forum aims to strengthen southern Sweden as a film region, create opportunities for collaboration with institutions, companies and organizations working with film production in the region. Organizations like Eurimages, Film i Väst, Baltic Event and Cine Region, among others, participate in the forum. Accreditation is open via the festival website and costs 800 SEK.

Carl Film Forum is held parallell to Carl International Film Festival, September 11-12 2017 for accreditated participants. Read more HERE