The Square

Ruben Östlund studied graphic design before enrolling at the University of Gothenburg, where he met Erik Hemmendorff with whom he later founded Plattform Produktion. An avid skier, Östlund directed three ski films, alluding to his taste for long sequence shots, a taste he structured and developed throughout his film studies and which to this day remains an important trademark of his work. Ruben has become well known for his humorous and accurate portrayal of human social behaviour, as well as for his renowned used of Photoshop and other forms of image-processing software in his films. His feature debut The Guitar Mongoloid, won the FIPRESCI Award at Moscow in 2005. His second feature, Involuntary, produced by the co-founder of Plattform Produktion, Erik Hemmendorff premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard 2008. The film was then distributed in more than 20 countries and shown at numerous festivals, awarding Ruben international recognition. Two years later, he won the Golden Bear in Berlin for Incident by a Bank, a short film in which every camera movement was computer generated in post-production. The premiere of his third feature film Play (2011) was held in Cannes at the Director’s Fortnight, where he was awarded the ‘Coup de coeur’ Prize. After Cannes, Play was shown in Venice and Toronto as well as numerous other festivals where it received additional prizes and distinctions: among others, Play won the Nordic Prize, the highest distinction in Scandinavia andwas nominated for the prestigious LUX Prize of the European Parliamant. His fourth feature film, Force Majeure, premiered at Un Certain Regard in Cannes, where it was awarded the Jury Prize. The film was selected in countless festivals and won 16 Best Foreign Film Awards. Force Majeure was also nominated at the Golden Globes and shortlisted for an Oscar. The film has been distributed in over 70 countries. The Square is the fourth of Östlund’s films to premiere in Cannes.