Interview: Ruben Östlund (The Square)

This weekend, Magnolia Pictures release Swedish auteur Ruben Östlund‘s latest film, The Square. Winner of this year’s Palme d’Or at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, The Square is Östlund’s most ambitious attack on humanity yet … with a compellingly affectionate touch. In other words, this guy knows how to do satire: he delivers a rant while he keeps you laughing. I had the chance to sit down with Ruben during the 2017 New York Film Festival. In this interview, we dig deep into the specifics of Östlund’s process: how he forms an idea, his take on the industry, his critiques of young artists — along with critiques of himself — and, finally, how he reacted to an Oscar snub for his previous film, Force Majeure (2014).