We are enormously proud that COMEDY QUEEN by director Sanna Lenken has won the prestigious Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation Kplus section at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. This is the second time Sanna Lenken has won for Best Film in the Generation section at the Berlinale. In 2015, she won the Crystal Bear for her feature debut “My Skinny Sister”.
The family drama is based on Jenny Jägerfeld’s acclaimed novel of the same name and Linn Gottfridsson (“Beartown”, “Glowing Stars”) has written the script.
The statement from the Children’s Jury says: “A great protagonist, powerful and vulnerable at the same time, provided us with her captivatingly told, bittersweet story of loss, grief, anger and healing. This film was a rollercoaster ride full of emotions: sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes embarrassing. The music was always most appropriate and appealing. The camera was occasionally stable, yet also shaky. In a word, the film was superb.”
Director, Sanna Lenken says: “I am very happy, and delighted that the film has come across. And now my first Crystal Bear gets a friend!”
“We are so thrilled that Comedy Queen is being awarded with the Crystal Bear for Best Film at the Berlinale! And to be recognized by a jury of children and youths is especially honouring“ says Anna Anthony and Rebecka Lafrenz, producers of the film for FLX.
COMEDY QUEEN was released locally on February 11th to impressive reviews, as local media praised the film with phrases as:
“A modern classic” (Dagens Nyheter)
“A solid hit” (P4)
“Incredibly life affirming” (Moviezine)
“The best Swedish film in a very long time” (Expressen)
“Superb acting” (SVT)
“Warmth and humour. Sigrid Johnson is absolutely phenomenal” (SVD)
Director Sanna Lenken already has an impressive resumé; her latest work before COMEDY QUEEN, the series “Thin Blue Line”, was a massive success on SVT (Swedish Television and she has previously directed the Guldbagge Award-nominated short films “Eating Lunch” (2014) and “Night Children” (2018). Her feature film debut “My Skinny Sister” (2015) was awarded with the Crystal Bear, like COMEDY QUEEN, and it was also nominated for two Guldbagge awards and won the Grand Film Award at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
Sasha is just 13 years old and wants nothing more than to become a stand-up comedian. She wants to make everyone laugh, especially her father who cries in the shower when he thinks no one is listening. Everything at home reminds her of her mother who no longer lives, and behind Sasha’s eyes the life-threatening tears burn. But she refuses to mourn. She secretly writes a list of everything she has to do to survive – shave her hair, stop reading books, say no to the world’s cutest puppy and above all – become a Comedy Queen.
The main role Sasha is played by Sigrid Johnson (“Maria Wern”, “Tusen år till julafton”), Sasha’s father Abbe is played by Oscar Töringe (“Thin Blue Line”, “My Dad Marianne”, “Top Dog”) and in the role of Sasha’s bestie Märta we see feature film debutant Ellen Taure.
Producers of the film are Rebecka Lafrenz, who previously produced “Bert’s Diary” (2020), “Cockpit” (2012) and was awarded the Guldbagge Award for “Sebbe” (2010), and Anna Anthony, who previously produced “Jalla! Jalla!” (2000), “In a Better World” (2010), “Becoming Astrid” (2018) and “Zozo” (2005), for which she received the Nordic Council Film Award. Executive producers are Joshua Mehr and Pontus Edgren.
COMEDY QUEEN is produced by FLX in co-production with Film i Väst, SF Studios and SVT and with support from the Swedish Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond. SF Studios is distributing the film in the Nordics and REinvent International Sales handles international sales. The film premiered in Swedish cinemas on February 11th 2022.
About FLX
FLX is one of Scandinavia’s fastest growing production companies in TV drama, feature films and commercials with successes such as the TV series Sunny Side, Love & Anarchy, The Bonus Family, Grotesco, The Simple Heist, Andra åket and Quicksand, the first Swedish original series for Netflix, as well as the feature films The Jonsson Gang, The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared, Sunny Side, Bert’s Diary and Felix Herngren’s upcoming film Day by Day. FLX is also a leading supplier of commercials for customers such as IKEA, the Swedish Pension Authority, Ikano and many more.
About SF Studios
SF Studios, established in 1919, is one of the world’s oldest film companies. Today SF Studios is the leading film studio in the Nordic region with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The company is producing and distributing feature films and TV series as well as providing the digital services SF Anytime and SF Kids.