Seriously Funny: A Good Laugh with Ruben

With: Ruben Östlund, moderated by Florian Weghorn

“All my films”, Ruben Östlund says, “are about people trying to avoid losing face”, and anyone familiar with his piercing oeuvre will know this to be true. Hot on the heels of his ruthlessly savage “Triangle of Sadness”, Ruben heads to Berlin with future fun in the works already: In a talk set to unspool as a stand-up encounter with the audience itself, the Swedish director will share all about his next film, and by “all” he means the whole plot as he’s imagined it so far. Because to understand how humour works for Ruben, it’s best to take his development process seriously: the inspiration he gains from sharing ideas freely with others at all points, his careful handling of actors, and last but certainly not least his strong relationship with the audience. It’s one thing in satire to poke fun at someone, quite another, as Östlund’s work unfailingly manages, to get people to laugh along with you.

Ruben Östlund

Sina Östlund

Ruben Östlund

Ruben Östlund studied at the University of Gothenburg where he met Erik Hemmendorff with whom he later founded Plattform Produktion. His taste for long sequence shots, a taste he structured and developed throughout his film studies, remains to this day an important trademark of his work. Ruben’s feature debut “The Guitar Mongoloid” (2005) won the FIPRESCI Award at Moscow Film Festival. All of Ruben’s subsequent feature films premiered at Cannes. He won the Golden Bear in Berlin for his short film “Incident by a Bank” (2010). ”Play” (2011) was awarded the Nordic Film Prize. “Force Majeure” (2014) premiered in Un Certain Regard and won the Jury Prize. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe and shortlisted for an Oscar. For his feature films “The Square” (2017) and “Triangle of Sadness” (2022) he received the Palme d’Or. The latter is also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Directing and Original Screenplay.

Florian Weghorn

Alexander Janetzko

Florian Weghorn

Florian Weghorn is the Programme Manager of Berlinale Talents. Together with Christine Tröstrum, he heads the initiative and advises its seven international offshoots and the alumni network. He holds an MA in Theatre, Film and Television Studies from the University of Cologne. He joined Berlinale Generation in 2002, serving as co-director and curator from 2008 to 2014. Between 2012 and 2019, Florian was also a member of the Berlinale Competition selection committee. He has written and edited several publications on film and youth culture.