Norway last had a contender for the Palme d’Or in the Cannes Film Fest 36 years ago, when Anja Breien’s Next of Kin (1979) was in the Main Competition.
Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s third feature, Louder Than Bombs, will screen as the only Nordic selection for the Main Competition of the Fest, which runs May 13-24.
“My grandfather Erik Løchen participated with his first film «The Hunt» (Jakten) in Cannes in 1960, in the same programme as Antonioni, Fellini, Bunuel og Bergman. Cannes has always meant something special to me on a personal level. Cannes is the perfect place for my film to meet the world,” said Trier.
“Trier’s selection for the main competition at Cannes is a great recognition for him as a filmmaker as well as confirming the quality of Norwegian cinema,” added Sindre Guldvog, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute.
The director’s previous features, Reprise (2002) and Oslo, August 31st (Oslo, 31. August) were both awarded at international festivals, including Toronto and Sundance, as well as being distributed in several territories.
In Louder Than Bombs Trier continues his collaboration with Vogt, who has co-written his films since his short film Proctor (2002). Gabriel Byrne, Isabelle Huppert, Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid star in the Thomas Robsahm production for the Norwegian producer Motlys, which was shot in New York.
An upcoming exhibition celebrating renowned photographer Isabelle Reed three years after her untimely death brings her eldest son back to the family house – forcing him to spend more time with his father and withdrawn younger brother than he has in years. With the three of them under the same roof, the father Gene tries desperately to connect with his two sons, but they struggle to reconcile their feelings about the wife and mother they remember so differently.
One of the 20 entries vying for the Palme d’Or, Trier’s first English-language film was co-produced by France’s Memento Films and Denmark’s Nimbus, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute.