French provocateur Catherine Breillat at hers 75 released “Last Summer”. She keeps exploring human emotions and asserting sexual hypocrisy. From her origins as an actress in Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris” and Édouard Molinaro’s “Dracula”, her admiration to Ingman Bergman, to her work with porn legend Rocco Siffredi, at her 75 she’s been honored with the Stockholm Visionary Award 2023. We reviewed her career to the new film with a score made by ex-Sonic Youth Kim Gordon.

Last Summer (2023) Directed by Catherine Breillat

Another highlight of the festival was Giorgos Lanthimos’ new film “Poor Things” – Golden Lion winner at Venice Festival – is some sort of Frankenstein-inspired story starring American actress Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, this is the story of Bella Baxter, a woman brought back from the dead by an unorthodox doctor. Quirky, offbeat humorous to satirise social constraints of gender and sexuality. Set in a kind of grandiose fairytale world, there are great performances from wonderfully disturbing ‘monster’ creation Emma Stone, sympathetic mad scientist Wilhem Defoe and a buffoonish rake Mark Ruffalo. The film is set in a fictional world which again all of it resonates with the festival motive about what is reality anyways. Furthermore, Poor Things has been this year’s winner of the Audience Award. runner-up “All of Us Strangers‘ by Andrew Haigh; and bronze to “Monster” by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Poor Things (2023) Directed by Giorgos Lanthimos

The prestigious Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 honored the legendary director, and film producer Ken Loach for his long and devoted service to the film industry. His film “The Old Oak” was screened during the festival and friend and screenwriter Paul Laverty attended the festival giving a masterclass at the Swedish Film Institute.

All of Us Strangers (2023) Directed by Andrew Haigh

Other interesting titles which have been presented this year were “All of us strangers” thought-provoking and moving films interested in the way childhood trauma compounds over time and the mind fantasizes about the unreachable, unchangeable past. Andrew Scott plays a lonely, gay writer who lost both parents when young and has been isolated ever since. His chance encounter with a neighbor, played by Paul Mescal, prompts a very real voyage down memory lane to revisit his losses and the gaps they have left.

Also “The Holdovers” by Alexander Payne, and “The Settlers” by Felipe Gálvez Haberle – winner of Best Film award. Hanna Ardéhn is this year’s winner of the SkyShowtime Rising Star Award 2023, a recognition to up-and-coming Swedish actors and actresses with other successful cases such as Alicia Vikander. This year’s winner of Stockholm Short Film Competition is the Chilean filmmaker Nemo Arancibia for his film “Cuarto de Hora”

Here is the final list of winners 2023:
Best Film: The Settlers by Felipe Gálvez Haberle
Best Director: Molly Manning Walker (film: How to Have Sex)
Best Debut: How to Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker
Best Script: Hounds, Kamal Lazraq
Best Actress: Maeve Jinkings (film: Toll)
Best Actor: Kauan Alvarenga (film: Toll)
Best Photography: Nikolai Zheludovich (film: Grace)

Stockholm Film Festival 2023
Date: November 8th – 19th, 2023
Place: Several theaters in Stockholm
Tel: +46 8677 50 00
info@stockholmfilmfestival.se
https://www.stockholmfilmfestival.se