It was announced today that Ruben Östlund's latest film "Force Majeure" (Turist) will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival. This is the third feature by Swedish director Ruben Östlund to be screened at Cannes, after Involuntary (2008) and Play (2011).

Written and directed by Ruben Östlund, Force Majeure will be screened as part of the official programme at this year's Cannes Film Festival, in the section Un Certain Regard.

Well-to-do tourists lose their dignity. Through a "state of emergency", a family on holiday come into contact with human mechanisms that they have never confronted before. They are now forced to ascribe to themselves urges and instincts they'd learned to despise and credit only to others.

Swedish director Ruben Östlund (born 1974) is one of the most distinct voices of the new European cinema. As an avid skier, Östlund directed three ski films, testifying his taste for long sequence shots. Östlund went on to study film at the University of Gothenburg where he developed his sense for constructed and well thought out sequence shots, which has continued to evolve in his shorts and feature films until now. Östlund has also become known for his humorous and accurate observations of human social behavior. With films like The Guitar Mongoloid, Involuntary and Play, Ruben Östlund has proven to be one of the most interesting European directors of his generation.

We are happy and proud! Ruben being invited to Cannes for the third time is an honour and an important affirmation of the work we have done. It is going to be incredibly fun to finally screen this film, says producer Erik Hemmendorff.

The last time Sweden had a feature in the official selection at Cannes was in 2008 when Ruben Östlund’s Involuntary was screened. Since then, the international film world has had its eyes on him. With Force Majeure, he takes another big step  forward and solidifies his position as one of Sweden’s foremost directors, says Pia Lundberg, Head of International Department at the Swedish Film Institute.

Force Majeure is produced by Erik Hemmendorff and Marie Kjellson, Plattform Produktion, in association with  Eurimages, Film i Väst, Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, Société Parisienne de Production, Coproduction Office ApS and Motlys.  The film was granted production funding by the Swedish Film Institute, former feature film commissioner Lars G. Lindström, and also the Norwegian Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, CNC – Cinémas du Monde, BLS – Business Location Südtirol – Alto Adige in association with ZDF/Arte, SVT, CMore, DR and

This movie could be one of the best movies from Sweden which can be missed if you are visiting Cannes Film Festival this year!


Foto: PR
Text: PR & Sandra Bakula