Archive of films Teddy Bear / Teddy Bear

Denmark
2012, 93 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2012

A professional bodybuilder decides to find true love on a trip to Thailand. However, he can’t find the kindred spirit who would, in turn, discover a fragile soul concealed within his finely honed body. It isn’t until he visits the local gym that he sees the first rays of hope. A strong directorial debut, awarded this year at Sundance.

Synopsis

Dennis is a professional body-builder. Though nearly forty, he still lives in a tiny room in his mother’s house and has yet to find a girlfriend. But behind the massive, muscular exterior is a quiet, shy man desperate to find love and happiness. Following his uncle’s example, he goes to Thailand to find a partner among the many women available to foreign tourists. After several unsuccessful sorties to local bars, it seems the whole trip will end in fiasco. Then he meets the owner of a gym and is instantly attracted to her. This love story with a difference raises questions about various kinds of love while avoiding the oversimplifications of similar films. Thanks to its realistic style and reliance on authentic locations and non-professional actors, it succeeds in letting us see into the characters’ innermost lives.

About the director

Mads Matthiesen (b. 1976, Copenhagen) began dabbling in direction while still a student of comparative literature and rhetoric at Copenhagen University. He became more widely recognized after graduating in 2005, when his short films began turning up at a variety of international festivals, including Venice, Berlin, and Sundance. The success of Dennis (2007) was a turning point in his career: after screening at Sundance it won numerous awards and became an internet hit. His next film, Cathrine (2008), competed in the Generation section at the Berlinale; it was later screened at MoMA in New York. Teddy Bear (2012), which develops the theme of Matthiesen’s short film Dennis, is his first feature. He was awarded for direction in the World Cinema - Dramatic category at Sundance.

Contacts

CinemArt, a.s.
Národní 60/28, 111 21, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 949 110
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.cinemart.cz

Visit Films
140 Havemeyer St., NY 11222, Brooklyn
United States of America
Tel: +1 718 312 8210
Fax: +1 718 362 4865
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.visitfilms.com

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Mads Matthiesen
Screenplay:	Mads Matthiesen, Martin Zandvliet
Dir. of Photography:	Laust Trier-Mørk
Music:	Sune Martin
Editor:	Adam Nielsen
Producer:	Morten Kjems Juhl
Production:	SF Film Productions, Beofilm
Cast:	Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard
Contact:	CinemArt, a.s., Visit Films
Distributor:	CinemArt, a.s.

Guests

Aida LiPera

Sales Agent

Morten Kjems Juhl

Producer

Jan Jíra

Distributor