The Northern Film Festival opens its 33rd edition on Wednesday, November 9 in Leeuwarden with the feature film King of Devil's Island by Marius Holst (Norway). To mark the opening, director Marius Holst will present his film in Leeuwarden. Prior to the main feature, the Northern Film Festival will screen the award-winning short film Olifantenvoeten in the presence of its maker, Dan Geesin. The opening films mark the start of an extensive film program at the Northern Film Festival. The festival runs through Sunday, November 13.

King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy) had its world premiere in its home country of Norway in late December 2010. Earlier this year, King of Devil's Island won the Norwegian National Film Awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Music. The King of Devil's Island is a thriller based on true events about a reformatory on the Norwegian island of Bastøy. The film tells the story of seventeen-year-old Erling, who arrives at the institute in 1915. Although determined to escape, circumstances make him the leader of a violent rebellion.

Marius Holst made his debut in 1994 with the feature film Cross My Heart and Hope to Die. The film was a Norwegian box office success and internationally won the prestigious Prix de Montreal at the World Film Festival in Montreal and the Blue Angel Award at the Berlinale. King of Devil's Island is, after Dragnflies (2001) and Mirush (2006), Marius Holst's fourth and most ambitious feature film.

The short film Elephant Feet won the Golden Calf for Best Short Film at the most recent Netherlands Film Festival. Visual artist, composer, and filmmaker Dan Geesin, born in England, uses Elephant Feet to allude to the 'Dutch immigration problem'. In Elephant Feet, Thomas, a white immigrant, experiences quite unexpected things during his first night shift at a gas station.

The Northern Film Festival officially kicks off with the opening films. The beating heart of this program is the Interregional Competition: a selection of eight films competing for the Matad'Or and the associated cash prize of €10,000.

The full program of the Northern Film Festival will be published on Tuesday, October 25, in the festival program newspaper, as a supplement to the Leeuwarder Courant, and online at www.noordelijkfilmfestival.nl.

King of Devil's Island, from distributor Amstelfilm, will be shown in Dutch cinemas from December 8, 2011.



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