About the Programme

The festival program consists of films, seminars, evening events, concerts, club nights and a Nordic market place.

In the Festival Catalogue (fully published in English) you'll find all the facts about this year's festival films, along with contact addresses and more. Download the Catalogue here» (Note! 11,9 Mb)

Opening film will be Jens Jonsson's The Ping Pong King, which will be the first contestant in the Nordic Competition. Closing film will be Iskariot by Miko Lazic.

This year we will focus on an exciting film country: Mexico, in the section New Mexico. During the last years the number of interesting films coming from Mexico have increased. At the Oscars in February 2007, the Mexico born trio Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel) and Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) on the stage. Time has come for the next generation of Mexican filmmakers to step forward.

In the section New Mexico the festival will screen eleven films. The six new feature films are all debuts and very different from each other, ranging from the colourful and lively Bad Habits to the strict and precise The Influence. Two documentaries, three retrospective films and one short film make the section complete.

For the 9th year in a row the Nordic Film Market, the festival's market place for new Nordic films and TV, presents closed screenings for specially invited buyers, distributors, and festival programmers from all over the world.

The Swedish programme Swedish Images/Svenska Bilder, includes a total of 150 films. The film year of 2007 is examined and the programme also includes eight brand new feature films and 106 short films.

In addition to the films the Göteborg International Film Festival programme presents seminar programme Cinemix. Cinemix 2008 includes 40 seminars and examines subjects such as how films affect our lives, documentary in Bosnia, The Bergman day an Master Classes with Julie Taymor, Gael García Bernal, Nik Powell and Hou Hsiao-hsien.

All the sections in the programme:

THE INGMAR BERGMAN INTERNATIONAL DEBUT AWARD
The Festival award to "a debutant who in his film treats an existential theme with a dynamic or experimental approach to the cinematic means of expression". Five classy international debutants! Opening film: The Class, by Ilmar Raag.

NORDIC COMPETITION
Eight new Nordic feature films are in competition for the festival's Nordic Film Prize - SEK 100 000 and Ernst Billgren's lovely mosaic dragon! Opening film: The Ping Pong King by Jens Jonsson.

SVENSKA BILDER
Brace yourself for anything from drug debts to dance bands and tree huts when seven Swedish feature films and a mini series get their première. Also: 106 short films - for example the sequels to Hating Gothenburg and Falkenberg Farewell, the directorial debuts of Tomas Norström and Gurra G and an animation about the murder of Anna Lindh that has received a lot of attention. We also look back, going through the cinema year of 2007 - as well as two newly restored films from 1968! Opening film: The Last Things, by Levan Akin.

NORDIC LIGHT
The best of the latest from our four Nordic neighbours. As usual, Denmark is well represented with films like Echo and White Night but don't miss the Norwegian comedy The Art of Negative Thinking! Opening film: White Night by Jannik Johansen.

FOCUS: NEW MEXICO
At the 2007 Oscars, Mexico took centre stage, represented by Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu (Babel) and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men), who have all made brilliant international careers for themselves. But their home turf is bubbling with new exciting directors willing to cut their own path. We present six feature film debuts, including that of successful actor Gael García Bernal - who is visiting Göteborg for the festival. Two documentaries, three gems from Mexican film history and a short film. Opening film: Deficit by Gael García Bernal..

GALA
Big films, big directors, red carpet and première atmosphere! Opening film: Lust, Caution by Ang Lee.

MASTERS
New films from directors whose cinematic art is always an event in itself. Bernard Émond, Werner Herzog, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Dorota Kedzierzawska, Jirí Menzel, Takashi Miike, Jacques Nolot, Manoel de Oliveira, Ermanno Olmi, Rosa von Praunheim, Svetlana Proskurina, Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Wayne Wang. Opening film: Encounters at the End of the World by Werner Herzog.

ANIMANIA/KOJI YAMAMURA
Animation to the max featuring the best animated films of the year. This year's animator in focus is Koji Yamamura, and the American feature film Year of the Fish by David Kaplan.

SILENT INSPIRATION
The silent film era still inspires us. Three black and white and silent, or at least not very talkative, gems! Opening film: The Aerial by Esteban Sapir.

POST 9/11
Last year brought a wave of films dealing with how the terrorist attacks on 9/11 still affect our world. You'll find three of the most powerful ones in this section. Opening film: Battle for Haditha by Nick Broomfield.

EPIC MOVIES
Here, we're talking big productions, mass scenes, battles and costumes! Opening film: The Sovereign's Servant by Oleg Riaskov.

CRITIC'S WEEK
Four Swedish film critics and three foreign ones (representing the FIPRESCI jury at the festival) have each selected a film, whose first screening they will personally introduce. Several of the directors of these films will also be present. Opening film: Little Moth by Tao Peng.

MUSIC NON-STOP
This year's section is better than ever, featuring everything from The Beatles, Lou Reed and Joy Division to Youssou N' Dour and French musical. Opening film: Lou Reed's Berlin by Julian Schnabel.

HORROR AND SUSPENSE
From Spanish horror in The Orphanage to PVC-1, a Columbian terror drama shot in a single take. The single common denominator for these films is that they are breathlessly thrilling. Opening film: The Trap by Srdan Golubovic.

FESTIVAL FAVOURITES
A selection of the best loved and most awarded films that have been screened at film festivals around the world in the past year. Opening film: Lars and the Real Girl by Craig Gillespie.

IMAGES ON IMAGES
Films about art, media, photography and film. Rewarding encounters with people who have influenced the world of images, like Andy Warhol and Annie Leibovitz. Opening film: My Kid Could Paint That by Amir Bar-Lev.

ANOTHER VIEW
Filmmakers who challenge our weary eyes, who tell a tale in a new way. A selection of different stories, where form is as important as content. Opening film: Stone Time Touch by Gariné Torossian.

FIRST CUT
Five years ago we screened Cristian Mungiu's debut Occident - last year he won the Palme d'or in Cannes with 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. Meet tomorrow's great film hope here! Opening film: Soul Carriage by Conrad Clark.

IT'S ALL TRUE
There are a thousand ways of depicting "reality". We show you some 30 of these, guaranteed nonfiction all. But the truth is always in the eye of the beholder. Opening film: Dust by Hartmut Bitomsky.

FIVE CONTINENTS
For those of you who hate all categorization and prefer an unconditional journey through the United Nations of film! Opening film: Actresses Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi.

INGMAR BERGMAN IN RETROSPECTIVE
Our tribute to our Honorary President Ingmar Bergman, who passed away this summer. This retrospective is the biggest one ever in Sweden, as far as his own films are concerned. It began on Jan 1 and will end on Feb 3. Don't miss this unique opportunity to see Bergman in the cinema!