Video Interview: Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure)

I’d argue that he was a mostly known as a film festival favorite yet art-house oddity entity beforehand, which is certainly is no longer the case for Scandi filmmaker today. After being the break-out buzz title in Cannes 2014’s Un Certain Regard section and taking home the jury prize, the multi territory picked-up Force Majeure (Magnolia Pictures /10.27 limited release) was selected as Sweden’s official entry for this year’s Oscars. Contrarily to the gravity dependent sport that is featured in the film, Ruben Östlund is having the kind of year that is all uphill.

I previously had the chance to chat with Ruben back in 2011 for the Cannes preemed Play, and at the Toronto Int. Film Festival’s North American premiere of the film would get to sitdown with this latest oeuvre. In the interview I discussed the implied meanings behind the title, comedic and dramatic strategies found in the screenplay, some of the chosen aesthetic choices made in the film (he points to this the popular crazy bus driver Youtube video as a direct inspiration for one of the many key sequences in the film) and we wrapped up with details on a retrospective of all his works taking place in some keys cities in North America.