Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig will receive the RIFF 2011 Honorary Award for Creatice Excellence. The award is given in the name of Vigdis Finnbogadottir, former president of Iceland, and will be awarded every year from now on.
As the award is to meant to honor a woman for her outstanding achievement in the field of cinema, it is only fitting that they be given by former president Finnbogadottir, as she was the world's first woman to be elected head of state in a democratic election in 1980, and has ever been an outspoken advocate for equal rights and opportunities for women and men alike.
RIFF also organizes a masterclass with Scherfig on September 24th in collaboration with WIFT (Women In Films and Television). She will share her experiences, elaborate on the differences between the film industry in Denmark and Hollywood and share a few things she wishes she'd known when she first entered the world of filmmaking...
Moderating the masterclass will be Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur.
Lone Scherfig is in the forefront of Nordic filmmakers, with numerous awards and accolades to her name. She won international acclaim for her
dogme95-film,
Italian For Beginners (2000), earning praise with critics and public alike. The film earned Scherfig the Silver Bear at the Berlinale.
Italian For Beginners will be among the films in the section dedicated to Scherfig at RIFF this year, along with Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself (2002) and her latest work, One Day (2011). She will also attend select screenings and participate in Q&A afterwards.