Swedish Film Institute

An intimate portrayal of loneliness that comes with old age, THIS IS NOW masterfully captures in black and white images the feeling of isolation and longing felt in old age. Downhearted voice-overs of elders intimately speak to us of the universal difficulties that each person experiences: the physical and psychic need for affection and the recurring memories of dear ones. The stillness of the shots emphasizes a heavily bearing atmosphere, where the layers of gray in the image suffocate the space, hope and finally, the sanity of the soul. (Bianca Bănică, BIEFF)

“A word is not a simple and separate entity but part of other words”, says Virginia Woolf in her last known recording, as used in Man by Maja Borg. Since language creates the reality it describes, then no aspect of reality “is a simple and separate entity”. Intelligently playing with this notion, the director re-enacts cliché depictions of manliness while pregnant, thus bleeding dry of their initial connotations the images and the stereotypical ideas they represent. The mix of super 8mm footage and watercolour-negative animation makes for a poignant and innovative parallel between the body’s ability to create new life to the artist’s ability to create new meaning. (Diana Mereoiu, BIEFF 2017)

When the family fails to satisfy basic psychological needs, computer games may step in, offering - albeit only in a virtual version - rewards, freedom and a connection to other individuals sharing the same interests. Escaping occasionally to some parallel world and morphing into a daring, powerful and highly self-confident hero can be refreshing. Yet, refusing to return to real life spells destructive dependence. Jonas Odell uses in I Was a Winner the very imagery of the gaming world to deliver the personal narratives of three people who have experienced computer game addiction. Under the shape of their avatars and wandering through the landscape of their respective games, the characters tell uncanny stories of a to and fro motion between the real and the illusory, and of the struggle you need to put up to break free when the gaming goes beyond fun. The real world with all its imperfections is out there, waiting, provided you are strong enough to log out. (Adina Marin, BIEFF 2017)