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Cannes: Another Round & Pleasure

Two Cannes selections with Dutch minority backing have garnered Cannes Label status in 2020. Topkapi's Frans van Gestel (Another Round) and Erik Glijnis of Lemming Film (Pleasure) talk to See NL.

Another Round

Another Round, supported by the Netherlands Film Fund, is scripted by Tobias Lindholm (The Commune, Borgen) and stars Mads Mikkelsen. "I immediately knew that Thomas Vinterberg could bring it home, and he did," says Van Gestel.

That said, there is no denying the acute disappointment the producer feels at the way events have panned out this year, rendering the Spring and early Summer festivals physically inaccessible.

"It's really, really sad when you have a strong film like this which would have been in Cannes, that it's not there," he comments. "My cinema heart is broken, but at the same time we know there are bigger problems in the world right now, and I am actually convinced that this film will find its way. It's a dramatic existential story on one hand - the meaning of my life at a certain age - and at the same time it is also very funny. The combination of those two elements fit perfectly for a post-Covid release."

Pleasure

Debutante feature filmmaker Ninja Thyberg pitched her project Pleasure at the Holland Film Meeting in 2016 before it continued on its BoostNL trajectory towards CineMart 2017. The film is set in the American porn industry. Bella, a young and ambitious 20-year-old, travels from Sweden to Los Angeles with a dream to become the next big porn star. Swedish actress Sofia Kappel plays the lead role, surrounded by a mostly authentic cast from the porn world. Pleasure is a film about ambition and feminism, set in one of the world's most patriarchal structures.

"We're extremely happy that the film is selected for the Cannes official selection, it's a powerful, relevant and daring debut that will open discussion on a parallel world that is part of our society, whether we like it or not."

Read full interview at SEE NL.