Simon Lereng-Wilmont: Last News

Christopher Vourlias In the days before Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Danish filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont – the director of two critically acclaimed documentaries shot in the Eastern European nation – began to field messages reporting of increased hostilities in the restive eastern part of the country.The director’s feature directorial debut, “The Distant Barking of Dogs,” was filmed in the hamlet of Hnutove, a stone’s throw from the frontline of Donbass, where war has been simmering for the better part of a decade.

Twice-Oscar-nominated producer Monica Hellstrøm and her partner at Copenhagen-based Final Cut For Real, Simon Lereng Wilmont, have helped to evacuate the protagonists of one of their films, The Distant Barking of Dogs, from a war-torn area of eastern Ukraine.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentIn the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Danish producer Monica Hellström (“Flee”) and Sundance-winning helmer Simon Lereng Wilmont have joined forces to orchestrate the evacuation of some of the subjects portrayed in their Oscar-shortlisted documentary “The Distant Barking of Dogs.”Hellström told Variety that she and Lereng Wilmont quickly enlisted the help of their assistant director and local production coordinator to evacuate Oleg Afanasyev and his grandmother Alexandra, the protagonists of “The Distant Barking of Dogs,” from their war-torn village of Hnutove in Donetsk. The news was first reported by the website Nordic Film and TV News.Meanwhile, the children at the shelter that was the focus of “A House Made of Splinters,” which just earned Lereng Wilmont a best director award at Sundance last month, have also been evacuated to a safer area after facing a bombing threat.

Alissa Simon Film CriticDanish debut feature helmer-writer Tea Lindeburg’s period drama “As In Heaven,” that portrays a fateful summer day and night in 19th century farming society, came away the biggest winner at the 44th Göteborg Film Festival, scoring on Saturday the best Nordic film kudo, this year worth approx. $44,000.Meanwhile, Seidi Haarla of Finland’s Oscar-shortlisted drama, “Compartment No.

Guy Lodge Film CriticIn the same way that children at slumber parties share ghost stories after dark, a group of young boys regale each other with tales of horror in their shared dorm, as a kaleidoscope lamp casts strange, shifting patterns over their faces for extra atmosphere. These aren’t supernatural chestnuts or spooky urban legends, however, but grim recent anecdotes.