Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark
Synopsis
Director's Biography
Ruben has become well known for his humorous and accurate portrayal of human social behaviour, as well as for his renowned used of Photoshop and other forms of image-processing software in his films. His feature debut THE GUITAR MONGOLOID, produced by the co-founder of Plattform Produktion, Erik Hemmendorff, won the FIPRESCI Award at Moscow in 2005. The film was then distributed in more than 20 countries and shown at numerous festivals, awarding Ruben international recognition. Two years later, he won the Golden Bear in Berlin for INCIDENT BY A BANK, a short film in which every camera movement was computer generated in post-production, also nominated for the European Film Awards. The premiere of his third feature film PLAY (2011) was held in Cannes at the Director’s Fortnight, where he was awarded the ‘Coup de coeur’ Prize. After Cannes, PLAY was shown in Venice and Toronto as well as numerous other festivals where it received additional prizes and distinctions: among others, PLAY was nominated for the prestigious LUX prize of the European Parliament and won the Nordic Prize, the highest distinction in Scandinavia. His fourth feature film, FORCE MAJEURE, premiered at Un Certain Regard in Cannes, where it was awarded the Jury Prize. The film was selected in countless festivals and won 16 Best Foreign film awards. FORCE MAJEURE was also nominated for the European Film Awards and the Golden Globe, and shortlisted for an Oscar®. The film has been distributed in over 70 countries. THE SQUARE is the fourth of Östlund’s films to premiere in Cannes and his first feature to be selected to compete for the Palme d’Or.
Filmography:
2017 THE SQUARE
2014 FORCE MAJEURE
2011 PLAY
2010 INCIDENT BY A BANK (SHORT)
2008 INVOLUNTARY
2005 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SCENE NUMBER 6882 (SHORT)
2004 THE GUITAR MONGOLOID
Cast & Crew
Directed by: Ruben Östlund
Written by: Ruben Östlund
Produced by: Erik Hemmendorff, Philippe Bober
Cinematography: Fredrik Wenzel
Editing: Jacob Secher Schulsinger, Ruben Östlund
Production Design: Josefin Åsberg
Costume Design: Sofie Krunegård
Make-Up & Hair: Erica Spetzig
Sound Design: Andreas Franck
Cast: Dominic West (Julian), Terry Notary (Oleg), Christopher Læssø (Michael), Claes Bang (Christian), Elisabeth Moss (Anne)
Nominations and Awards
- European Production Designer 2017
- European Comedy 2017
- European Screenwriter 2017
- European Director 2017
- European Actor 2017
- European Film 2017
- Feature Film Selection 2017