She Monkeys
Encyclopedia
She Monkeys is a 2011 Swedish drama film directed by Lisa Aschan, starring Mathilda Paradeiser, Linda Molin and Isabella Lindqvist. The film focuses on psychological power struggles between two teenage girls engaged in equestrian vaulting
.
's Rookie Project, a special pot of financial support which only could be applied for by debuting feature-film directors. Inspirations for the film included a picture of Shirley Temple
and the book Story of the Eye by George Bataille. Casting of the lead actors took four months. The filmmakers needed to find girls who not only could act, but also met the requirements of the physically demanding roles.
. Several festival selections followed, including Berlin
where it screened in the section Generation 14Plus, Tribeca
and Karlovy Vary
. The earliest regular release was in France, where ASC Distribution launched the film on 3 August 2011. The Swedish release is set to 2 September 2011 through TriArt Film.
called the film "one of the most intense and complex feature debuts to come from Sweden since Lukas Moodysson
's Show Me Love", and wrote: "Aschan's provocative visual language links pleasure and pain as she focuses on the arousing nature of unpleasant things. Carefully framed compositions that are near cliche (a father cuddling his young child, a babysitter helping a youngster with teeth brushing) take on fresh significance. ... Just as remarkably, Aschan draws convincing, naturalistic performances from her young non-pro actors while putting them in highly charged situations."
At the Gothenburg Film Festival, She Monkeys received the top competition prize, the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film, with one million kronor in prize money. It also won the festival's FIPRESCI prize. The film received the award for Best Narrative Feature, World Narrative Competition Section at the Tribeca Film Festival. Linda Wassberg won the prize for Best Cinematography at the Transilvania International Film Festival
in Romania.
Equestrian vaulting
Equestrian vaulting, or simply Vaulting , is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback and, like these disciplines, it can be practised as a non-competitive art/performance or as a competitive sport. Vaulting has been an equestrian act at the circus from its early days. It is open...
.
Cast
- Mathilda Paradeiser as Emma
- Linda Molin as Cassandra
- Isabella Lindqvist as Sara
- Sergej Merkusjev as Ivan
- Adam Lundgren as Jens
- Sigmund Hovind as Tobias
- Kevin Caicedo Vega as Sebastian
Production
She Monkeys was produced as part of the Swedish Film InstituteSwedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the Filmhuset building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm...
's Rookie Project, a special pot of financial support which only could be applied for by debuting feature-film directors. Inspirations for the film included a picture of Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
and the book Story of the Eye by George Bataille. Casting of the lead actors took four months. The filmmakers needed to find girls who not only could act, but also met the requirements of the physically demanding roles.
Release
The film premiered on 31 January 2011 at the Gothenburg Film FestivalGothenburg Film Festival
Göteborg International Film Festival is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, launched in 1979. The first year the festival showed 17 films on 3 screens, and had 3 000 visitors. Today, the film festival is the biggest in Scandinavia and takes place 10 days every year between January and...
. Several festival selections followed, including Berlin
61st Berlin International Film Festival
The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to February 20, 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116...
where it screened in the section Generation 14Plus, Tribeca
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
and Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
. The earliest regular release was in France, where ASC Distribution launched the film on 3 August 2011. The Swedish release is set to 2 September 2011 through TriArt Film.
Reception
Alissa Simon of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film "one of the most intense and complex feature debuts to come from Sweden since Lukas Moodysson
Lukas Moodysson
- External links :*...
's Show Me Love", and wrote: "Aschan's provocative visual language links pleasure and pain as she focuses on the arousing nature of unpleasant things. Carefully framed compositions that are near cliche (a father cuddling his young child, a babysitter helping a youngster with teeth brushing) take on fresh significance. ... Just as remarkably, Aschan draws convincing, naturalistic performances from her young non-pro actors while putting them in highly charged situations."
At the Gothenburg Film Festival, She Monkeys received the top competition prize, the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film, with one million kronor in prize money. It also won the festival's FIPRESCI prize. The film received the award for Best Narrative Feature, World Narrative Competition Section at the Tribeca Film Festival. Linda Wassberg won the prize for Best Cinematography at the Transilvania International Film Festival
Transilvania International Film Festival
The Transilvania International Film Festival is a film festival held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and established in 2001 by Romanian Film Promotion...
in Romania.