2015 Cannes Film Festival / Goteborg Film Festival, best Nordic Film, Audience Choice Award / Berlin International Film Festival, Crystal Bear (Generation Kplus), Special Mention of the Generation Kplus International Jury - Best Feature Film)
When did we learn to ¡®compete¡¯? Since when have we adopted an idea called ¡®struggle for existence¡¯which compares ourselves to the others and beats them in order to survive. Stella, an elementary school student, sees her big sister as her role model, Katja. Katja, a figure skater, has a secret she cannot tell anyone, even her parents or her coach. She has an eating disorder called ¡®anorexia¡¯ which makes her refuse to eat or throw up. She has become anorexic to maintain her slim figure as a figure skater and it¡¯s all because she¡¯s eager to excel in everything she pursues. As she promised not to tell anyone about her sister¡¯s secret, Stella makes every effort in her own way to help her sister. Just like most of women¡¯s movies, there are no villains in My Skinny Sister. The film denounces a negative effect of ¡®competition¡¯ on younger generation and portrays the world of young girls in a kind, profound and affectionate perspective.
This seemingly small world of the little girl serves as a metonymy telling that human beings in this world have survived not from competition but from mutual support and care. This is what makes this movie so powerful. My Skinny Sister won the Crystal Bear award as well as the International Jury Special Mention in the Generation kplus section at the Berlinale in 2015 and also received Nordic Film: Dragon Award Audience Choice at the Goteborg International Film Festival in Sweden. This Swedish Little Miss Sunshine is one of the films you cannot miss this year.
KIM Sun-ah / Chief Programmer
SEOUL International Women¡¯s Film Festival