Special Programs at Stockholm Fest
November 9 - 19 (Sweden)

Digital film production - the medium for 10 percent of the films produced this year - is notable at more and more film festivals. Stockholm hosted one of the first virtual film festivals last spring. The i-festival, representing both the internet and independent film is not surprising in the second largest IT capital of the world, where 10 short films will premiere over the net on November 9-and which filmfestivals.com will showcase on this site.

All in all there are 12 sections to the festival. In addition to sections already mentioned, the short film competition includes a selection of 35mm films, maximum 30 minutes in length. Open Zone is a division that profiles global contemporary cinema movements. One of the hallmarks of the festival is the American Independent section which features films made out of the traditional studio system. New to the festival is the Asian Images section with 20 features this year. Films from the Nordic and Baltic countries are presented in Northern Lights, in conjunction with FIPRESCI. The Twilight Zone features examples of cutting edge cinema subcultures. Spotlight changes from year to year, focusing on different trends and themes in film each year and this year the i-festival is featured. Collage presents experimental work in documentaries and TV production. And last, Made in Sweden 2000 presents some of this year's Swedish films.

A regular feature of the festival will be the presentation of six of the 40 nominated films for the European Film Awards where three Swedish films are nominated: Roy Andersson's Songs from the Second Floor, Liv Ullman's Trolösa and Ella Lamhagen's Tsatsiki.

Being held concurrently with the festival will be the 2000 European MTV awards and hopefully actress Jennifer Lopez can be persuaded to make a guest appearance in conjunction with the screening of her film The Cell directed by Tarsem Singh (USA 2000).

Other films to be shown at the 19th edition are Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory, (USA 2000) a prison drama starring himself, Mickey Rourke, Edward Furlong and Willem Dafoe -- and Girlfight, (USA 2000) by Karyn Kusama, an urban feminist drama on boxing and love between boxers.

The queen of film noir, Lauren Bacall, will receive the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award on November 19. Later in one of 50 'Face to Face' meetings arranged by the festival, Bacall will speak with Nils Peter Sundgren, one of Sweden's most distinguished film critics. Afterwards a remastered copy of To Have and Have Not starring Bacall and Humphrey Bogart will be shown. Bacall has chosen six of her favorite films to be shown at the festival.

Previous festival Lifetime Achievement Awards have gone to independent film actress Gena Rowlands (1998) and Roman Polanski whose latest film The Ninth Gate (1999) was featured last year.

For festival goers who want to spent time in the movie theater 24 hours a day, several all-night venues of films are held including Fright Night, Girl's Night, Gay Night and Date Night. A memorable all night event was the screening of the first episodes of David Lynch's television series "Twin Peaks" in the early 1990's, when the dark November lights disappeared in the warmth of the cinema hearth. The opportunity to brighten up November is the trademark of this innovative film festival.

Moira Sullivan