Similarly to Balagov, Mati Doep has achieve an impressive status with her very first feature film. She is the winner of the Gran Prix at Cannes this year and she made history by being the first black woman included in the festival Competition’s section.

Atlantics (2019) by Mati Doep

Furthermore, Atlantics has received praise and win several awards internationally. This film is based upon a Dope’s short film Atlantiques (2009) which was a comment on migration in Africa, following a man on his journey through the Atlantic Ocean from Senegal to Spain. This time, she focused on the view of a woman who stays in land. The movie is a love tragedy combining mysticism and social comment. A ghost story, voodoo and love, very lyrical rather than a mere documentary on migration problem. Tender and lyrical masterpiece. Once of the strongest debuts since Citizen Kane?

Ema (2019) by Pablo Larraín

The film portraits a new generation in Chile represented by Ema, played by the up-and-coming actress Mariana Di Girolamo. She copes with this leading role challenge working along heavy weights Gael Garcia Bernal and Larrain himself, who is been in the international spotlight with recent works Jackie (2016) and Neruda (2016). The movie had no scripts. Gael Garcia Bernal speech against reggaeton was lol. Pablo Larraín is too great a director for this ludicrous story to fall apart completely even though it should.

Marriage Story (2019) Noah Baumbach

Marriage Story (2019) by American film director Noah Baumbach is a divorce drama. The movie combines a sort of Woody Allen approach – even Alan Alda is in the film – but it takes the drama further away with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson seeing how their relationship vanishes whilst the legal process of a divorce takes over. The movie will be available in Netflix next December. Good people at their worst.

All in all, Stockholm Film Festival continues pushing the gender equality with 50-50 presence of men and female directors.
Furthermore, storytelling from the female point of view it is also very important – as seen with the Impact Award winner Beanpole (2019). For 12 days 150 films from over 60 countries have been screened at seven film theaters in Stockholm. As Rosanna Arquette herself said during this edition – ” I have been to many film festivals, but this one is my favorite, it stands out totally with its vibrant focus on film and the people around it. I’m happy to be an ambassador for the festival”.

The 30th International Stockholm Film Festival
Date: November 2nd – 18th, 2019
Place: Several theaters in Stockholm
Tel: +46 8677 50
https://www.stockholmfilmfestival.se