Göteborg Film Festival proudly presents the 2018 Nordic Honorary Dragon Award recipient: Alicia Vikander. Vikander will visit the festival to receive the Honorary Award, give a Master Class and attend the Nordic premiere of Lisa Langseth’s Euphoria playing in the Nordic Competition.

“I’m very honoured to be chosen by the festival and to receive this award at the same time as Euphoria is finally being shown to Swedish audiences. It has been such a privilege to work with Lisa again. Lisa tells the stories that no one else dares to address, but that touch on something genuine and intimate about issues we can all relate to. Euphoria is especially important to me as it is my first time as coproducer. It has a distinctly female voice, and it is full of female talent on both sides of the camera.” – Alicia Vikander.

Already in her feature film debut it was impossible to miss that Alicia Vikander was a star. Her sensational portrayal of the receptionist Katarina in Lisa Langseth’s Pure was awarded the Swedish Guldbaggen for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her career then continued down the same brilliant track with amazing performances in films like A Royal Affair, Hotel, Ex Machina, Anna Karenina, The Light Between Oceans, not to mention her role as Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2016. It was the first time in 41 years that a Swedish actress won an Academy Award.

“With her artistic precision and unique cinematic presence, Alicia Vikander has quickly become one of the major Swedish actors in film history. Whether playing a wistful receptionist, romantic robot or distressed artist, she always gives life and freshness to her characters. The interpretation of Ines in Euphoria is an excellent example of how she, with intelligence, sharpness and sensitivity to the human condition, is able to bring an existential depth to her scenes, making them immediately unforgettable” – Jonas Holmberg, Artistic Director at Göteborg Film Festival.

The creative collaboration between Alicia Vikander and Lisa Langseth spans three films (Pure, Hotel and Euphoria) and is undoubtedly one of the most interesting artistic partnerships in Swedish film. Euphoria is Lisa Langseth‘s English-language debut, and Vikander plays alongside Eva Green as the sisters Ines and Emilie. They are joined in the cast by Charlotte Rampling and Charles Dance. Euphoria has its Nordic premiere in Nordic Competition at Göteborg Film Festival, where the winner is awarded the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film, one of the world’s largest film prizes, with an amount of one million Swedish crowns.

“Euphoria brings up issues we are all faced with at some point during our lives that force us to confront ourselves and our choices, and to question who is responsible for our happiness, inner harmony and for how we relate to those we love. Alicia’s performance is amazing and it has been incredibly fun and enriching to work with her again. The sisters portrayed by Alicia and Eva struggle to agree on a mutual picture of how their lives have played out so far. The result is a mix of their own psychological explorations and of the absurd” – Lisa Langseth

Euphoria has its Nordic premiere at Göteborg Film Festival on January 27. Göteborg Film Festival will also screen a retrospective of a selection of films starring Alicia Vikander.

Alicia Vikander will visit the festival January 27 to 28.

The accreditation for the 41st Göteborg Film Festival is open. Apply here.

Photo: Johan Bergmark.