For many Stockholmers, dark and gloomy November has become synonymous with cuddling up in the cinema and taking in the best new independent movies that the film festival circuit has to offer.

And this year, they’ll again be spoiled for choice. For about two full weeks, starting November 7, Stockholm Film Festival will screen 170 films from across 40 countries. Directors and actors will be visiting, popcorn will be had and champagne will be drunk.

The interesting seminars, quizzes and festivities aside, the festival centers around a lineup of films that always exceeds expectations and that will quite rightly will be hailed to the heavens by critics. But then again, they have picked the cream of the crop from the world’s best and most interesting new flicks.

We spoke to George Ivanov, the festival’s program director about what treats they will throw at us this year.

The film festival program always feels fantastic and always seems to be hyped up. Do you ever feel that the current year in film is better or worse than other years? This must obviously make its mark on the festival as well, so how does this year’s installment keep up with its predecessors?

You can absolutely feel that it’s a better or worse year, and it does influence the festival, but with so many new films it takes a long time before you can tie the two together. Before and during the festival it always feel like it’s the best year ever. Maybe it always is, but possibly not. You cannot really tell until you get a bit of perspective much later.

We have an interview with Mikael Marcimain och Marietta von Hauswolff von Baumgarten in this issue. How high were your expectations of Call Girl and what was your immediate reaction?

I both hoped and expected it to be great. But straight after seeing it I was immensely impressed. It must be one of the best debut films of the year. And one of the most ambitious.

What’s your best memory of all time from the Stockholm Film Festival?

Probably when Wes Anderson was here for the premiere of Darjeeling Limited. He was very funny and humble when he stood up in front of almost 1,000 people in the cinema and surprised everyone by doing a speech in Swedish – he’s a Swedish descendant and wanted to honour our audience. Everyone was in ecstasy and it was a fantastic showing and a great party afterwards that went on all night.

George Ivanov’s top five at this year’s festival:

Beasts of the Southern Wild

An incredibly original story that changes uninhibitedly between hard-hitting stark reality and dazzling fantasy, until the boundaries between fiction and reality seem completely pointless. As a viewer you get drawn into the story about a poor girl and her father in the American south. I have never seen anything like it and look forward to the director being here at the festival and presenting the film to our audience.

The Company You Keep

Robert Redford is incredibly good in his own thriller The Company You Keep. The film has the best and the most interesting cast of any film this year. With

Shia LaBeouf, Brit Marling, Susan Sarandon, Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Julie Christie, Richard Jenkins, and Stanley Tucci every scene is so well acted and exciting and it really proves that Redford is a figure of power, even as a director.

Call Girl

I already called it the best debut of the year by any European director. The way it’s made, it’s extremely bold. The way there are many main characters, nowadays most don’t dare go away from the tried and trusted formula with an evident main character. It’s very faithful to that period of time, also in the way the story is told. It makes me think of the best political thrillers from the 70s.

A Perverts Guide to Ideology

Slavoj Zizek’s one man show analyze phenomenons as diverse as Jaws, propaganda films and Coca Cola advertising. In Sofie Fiennes’ Pervert’s Guide to Ideology Zizek manages to link popular culture, philosophy and politics in a fun and absorbing way.

Love, Marilyn

Liz Garbus’ Love, Marilyn is simply a must for anyone with a passing interest in who she really was. Her letters to Arthur Miller and Truman Capote amongst others, poems and diary entries are performed by actors Paul Giammatti and Lindsey Lohan.

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