The Reunion (Återträffen)
Synopsis: Moving the past into the present, THE REUNION raises questions about harassment, fear, courage, identity and belonging. The film opens with a class reunion where Anna Odell investigates what might have happened if she, a victim of childhood bullying, were to have been invited to her 20th high school reunion.
Anna Odell plays herself and actors play the roles of her former class-mates. The dinner party ends in chaos and Odell is eventually evicted by force by her classmates. Act II begins, and we learn that what we just saw was a staging, a “mise en scène”, by Odell, who then makes calls to her real class mates inviting them to watch the “mise en scène” with her, and asking for an open discussion about their common past.
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Starring
Anders Berg (Anders)
Robert Fransson (Robban)
Sandra Andreis (Louise)
Rikard Svensson (Rikard)
Niklas Engdahl (Nille)
Sanna Krepper (Sanna)
Sara Karlsdotter (Linda)
Christopher Wollter (Christopher)
Minna Treutiger (Minna)
Malin Vulcano (Malle)
Erik Ehn (Erik)
Sara Persson (Sara)
Ulf Stenberg (Ulf)
Fredrik Meyer (Fredrik)
Andreas Kundler (Andreas)
Henrik Norlen (Henrik)
Cilla Thorell (Cilla)
David Nordstrom (David)
Kamila Venhamza (Camilla)
Lena Mossegard (Lena)
Mikaela Ramel (Mikaela)
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Edited by
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Director's Bio
Anna Odell was born in 1973 and graduated from two of the most highly valued institutions in Sweden: University College of Arts, Craft and Design, and the Royal Institute of Art. UNKNOWN WOMAN 2009-
349701 was her final graduation project at the University College of Arts, Craft and Design in Stockholm. It has been shown at various locations in Scandinavia and in Paris May 2013.
THE REUNION is her first feature film, and beforehand speculation about its content has drawn substantial attention even before the film has been released.
Anna Odell caused an outcry and a heated debate in Sweden with her Art graduation project UNKNOWN WOMAN 2009-349701 (2009) from the University College of Arts in Stockholm. UNKNOWN WOMAN 2009-349701 is a re-enactment of a psychotic episode 10 years earlier. THE REUNION is Odell’s debut feature.
Awards
Guldbagge Awards (Sweden's Oscars) - Sweden - 2014
Best Film (Bästa film) (Anna Odell)
Guldbagge Awards (Sweden's Oscars) - Sweden - 2014
Best Screenplay (Bästa manuskript) (Mathilde Dedye (producer))
Brussels European Film Festival - Belgium - 2014
White Iris Best First Film (Anna Odell (director), French Quarter Film (production company))
Brussels European Film Festival - Belgium - 2014
RTBF TV Prize for Best Picture Best Film (Anna Odell (director), French Quarter Film (production company))
Dublin International Film Festival - Ireland - 2014
Dublin Film Critics Award Best Film (Anna Odell, French Quarter Film)
Kosmorama, Trondheim Internasjonale Filmfestival - Norway - 2014
New Directors Award (Anna Odell)
T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival - Poland - 2014
Films on Art International Competition (Anna Odell)
Bratislava International Film Festival - Slovak Republic - 2013
Student Jury Award - "For choosing and taking an unconventional formal approach to an intimate subject that does not lose depth in spite of its occasionally humorous approach." (Anna Odell)
Stockholm Film Festival - Sweden - 2013
Bronze Horse Best Film (Anna Odell)
Stockholm Film Festival - Sweden - 2013
Honorable Mention Best Directorial Debut - Motivation of the jury: "Bold, courageous, funny, provocative. Återträffen (The Reunion) is a well-crafted story, and navigates a mix of genres intelligently. We find ourselves in a labyrinth of mirrors where the viewer is confronted with questions about power, loneliness and bullying at every turn. The film does not present any answers, but but leaves one with a lot of rewarding questions. This is a film with strong artistic integrity." (Anna Odell)
Venice Film Festival - Italy - 2013
FIPRESCI Prize Parallel Sections (Anna Odell)
Venice Film Festival - Italy - 2013
Fedeora Award - Special Mention International Film Critics Week (Anna Odell)
Nominations
Guldbagge Awards (Sweden's Oscars) - Sweden - 2014
Best Actress (Bästa kvinnliga huvudroll)
Guldbagge Awards (Sweden's Oscars) - Sweden - 2014
Best Direction (Bästa regi)
CPH:DOX (Copenhagen International Documentary Festival) - Denmark - 2014
Doc Alliance Award
Göteborg Film Festival - Sweden - 2014
City of Gothenburg Award
CPH:DOX (Copenhagen International Documentary Festival) - Denmark - 2013
CPH:DOX Award
Quotes
"Ultimately, there's something insightful about how scars in childhood shape us, but the gamesmanship of the construction coats the content in a gelid irony." - Leslie Felperin, Guardian
"A skin-crawling examination of childhood trauma echoing in adult life." - Tom Huddleston, Time Out
"Odell is a perceptive director, a magnetic star, and a fascinating subject." - Calum Marsh, Film.com
Press
100% TomatoMeter - [Rotten Tomatoes]
