THE NEW COUNTRY (DET NYA LANDET) International Competition

THE NEW COUNTRY recently received awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay at the Nordic Awards and won the Prix Europa at the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels 2001, in addition to the Ecumenical Award at the Berlin Film Festival 2001.

The film follows two unlikely friends – Massoud, a 40-year-old Iranian, and Ali, a 15-year-old Somalian – who, having been denied a residence permit in Sweden, decide to tour the country that they hope to make their home. During their travels, Massoud and Ali meet an ex-Miss Sweden down on her luck, Ali spends a day as a human scarecrow, they kidnap the King Apparent and they spend a night with some good ol’ boys whom they meet in an RV park.

Along the way, they discover friendship, loyalty and love. A classic road movie, THE NEW COUNTRY adds a unique sensibility that can only be attributed to the fact that its locale is Sweden.