THE MIGHTY BEAN

Full of surprises and sharp as an ice pick.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Ravishing…nuanced and compelling to watch… There are moments when FAR NORTH achieves the visionary, timeless quality of a folk tale.The film looks (and sounds) stunning.
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

A strong, simple human story economically told with minimal dialogue and breathtaking cinematography. The film casts an inexorable spell and is always moving, right up until the shocking finale… Kapadia doesn’t put a foot wrong.
PREMIERE

Be sure to visit the Celluloid dreams library for Far North, with a lot of interessting stuff on it, like the UK press reactions to this film.

http://www.celluloid-dreams.com/library/e_f/far_north/press_quotes

The BFI (http://www.bfi.org.uk/) will screen Far North on December 10

Some screencaps. Making those cost a lot of time, so please be so kind to give credit to this site when using them.

Making screen caps takes a lot of hard work and time. Please be so kind to credit when you take them.

Image Entertainment will release "Far North" AKA "True North" on DVD this September 23rd. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Krusiec, and Sean Bean.

Extras will include: a "Making Of" featurette and a "Trailer."

Synopsis:
Michelle Yeoh, Sean Bean and Michelle Krusiec star in this chilling epic thriller about the battle for survival, unexpected passion and the temptation of revenge. Haunted by a violent past, Saiva (Yeoh) and Anja (Krusiec) share an isolated, brutal existence in the desolate Arctic tundra. When Loki (Bean), a wounded stranger, enters their lives, a romance quickly develops, and the betrayal that follows leads to consequences as shocking as they are bloody.

http://www.dvdtown.com/news/far-north-on-dvd/5634

http://www.image-entertainment.com/dvd/detail.cfm?productID=73158&CFID=260849&CFTOKEN=77214113

Some of the girls from the German Bean website bean-land.de went to a Far North screening, and managed to have a private chat with Asif Kapadia, the director. Read their interview here :

Interview with Asif Kapadia

Screenshots from the Far North Presskit. Click for full size.

Far North trailer

Vertigo Magazine article

STORIES OF THE EYE: Far North

1. The Seal Hunt

One of the most complex scenes in the screenplay, it was set on a sea dotted with icebergs, where the three characters are in the boat hunting a seal. High winds prevented shooting the scene as it was written on the water so at the last moment we had to change location and improvise, or risk losing the sequence.

We ended up shooting in a field of icebergs washed ashore. It was dangerous and difficult work for the crew and actors. We had to create an improvised path through the slippery ice. The tide came in as we were shooting and we were forced to retreat every few minutes. Often the actors were up to their knees in freezing water.

3. Saiva and Anja hug

The set in our main location, a simple tent of birch logs and reindeer skins on the Temple Mountain where the majority of the story takes place

 

 

 

4. Loki and Anja skating

One of my favourite images from the film, with Loki and Anja messing about and tumbling on top of each other in the snow, and the vast, flat landscape with snow capped mountains in the background and far away in the distance at the end of the fjord, the awesome blue green Tuna Glacier.

 

 

 

5. Saiva watches Loki and Anja kiss

This image sums up the heart of the story, three people living together in a simple tent in the middle of nowhere. Two begin a relationship, leaving the third simmering with jealousy. The original six page short story by Sara Maitland was just that. Nothing was known about their stories and the challenge in writing the screenplay was to expand the tale to explain who they were and how they came to be there while maintaining the original dynamic of the tale.

6. Loki runs in terror into the freezing waste

The film ends with a horrific act. In the harsh desolate beauty of the arctic, people survive on the edge and, when threatened, they may be driven to desperate actions.

 

 

http://www.vertigomagazine.co.uk/showarticle.php?sel=bac&siz=1&id=874

 

The photos are from "Longyearbyen lokalstyre" and one taken during the Svalbard filming, and provided by Lasse Ostervold who worked with them on the film. Click to enlarge.

Source : http://www.michelleyeoh.info/Movie/farnorth.html

Far North will be screened at ICA Cinema in London on Sunday, January 13, followed by a Q&A with director Asif Kapadia.

Far North was an official selection for the 4th annual Amazonas Film Festival in Manaus, Brazil, November 9-15, 2007.

Far North will have three screenings at the TIFF, on 17th, 18th and 19th. The online ticket sale opens January 11 and the box office opens January 12. Michelle and director Asif Kapadia are scheduled to attend the Tromso International Film Festival.

- Far North is on Celluloid Dreams's screening lists for the American Film Market (AFM, Oct 31 - Nov 7) and the Rome Film Festival Market (Oct 18 -27). Far North is currently looking for distributors. It has been sold in the following territories: Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Ex-Yugoslavia, Middle East, Bulgaria, Brazil, Colombia, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. The Chinese title of the film in Taiwan will be "Crime and Punishment in the North".

Click to enlarge

AFM                                          Rome Film Market

Source : http://michelleyeoh.info/Movie/farnorth.html

The new release date for Sara Maitland's "Far North and Other Dark Tales" is March 27, 2008. The collection of short stories features Far North/True North as the title story and will be published by Maia Press Limited. Image at left: book cover. Click for full size.

Source :  http://www.michelleyeoh.info/Movie/farnorth.html

Far North will be a competition film at the 3rd International Eurasia Film Festival (October 19-28) in Turkey. Read more : http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/2115/53/

Far North will be screened at the BFI 51st London Film Festival. It's the the UK's largest public film event, Far North screening will be on October 30 and 31.

Read more : http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/lff/node/2285/more

Click for full size.

Hi res pictures of the Venice International Film Festival, thanks to Pudge ! Sean with co-stars Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Krusiec and director Asif Kapadia. Click for full size ! Much more pictures in the Photogallery!

Venice International Film Festival Premiere. Thanks to Pudge ! Click for full size.

From AP Television (Associated Press) - Media Alerts for 64th International Film Festival in Venice:

Thursday, 30 August 2007

Entertainment Europe bulletin: 1300 - 1320 GMT:
Feature - 'Sleuth' (Michael Caine/Jude Law/Kenneth Branagh) press conference.
Feature - 'Far North' (Sean Bean/Michelle Yeoh) press conference.

Feature - 'Lust Caution' (Ang Lee/Tony Leung/Joan Chen) press conference.

Entertainment Americas bulletin: 2000 - 2020 GMT:
Premiere - 'Lust Caution' (Ang Lee/Tony Leung/Joan Chen).

Friday, 31 August 2007:
Entertainment Europe bulletin: 1300 - 1320 GMT:
Premiere - 'Sleuth'.
Premiere - 'Far North'
Feature - 'The Nanny Diaries' press conference - part one (Scarlett Johansson).
Feature - 'Michael Clayton' press conference (George Clooney/Tilda Swinton).

http://www.aptn.com/aptn/website_2005/gvw.nsf/(httpAdvisories)/490114053609E06B802573410051C40C?

APTN Entertainment will provide comprehensive daily coverage via our satellite network, the Global Video Wire (GVW):

Far North will be screened at the 64th Venice Film Festival (Aug.29 - Sept.8) at Venezia Notte (Out of Competition). The running time is listed as 89 minutes.

More info here

The Satyajit Ray Foundation announced that there will be "An Evening With Writer Director Asif Kapadia" held on October 11 at London's Nehru Centre. Asif will talk about his past films as well as giving a preview of Far North which is presently in post-production. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.

Look for more information : here

Source : http://www.michelleyeoh.info/Movie/farnorth.html

A hi-res new picture, courtesy Michell Yeoh's site, click twice to enlarge.

Two more pictures, source : Michelle Yeoh's Far North site.

This film has been renamed Far North. (Probably trying to avoid the confusion with Steve Hudson's True North (2006).)

Source text and picture: Michelle Yeoh's Far North site.

From Michelle Yeoh's website : Far North/Michelle Yeoh Full size on Movie Picture Gallery 3

Far North is a dark romantic thriller about the battle for survival. Revenge, jealousy and courage are played out against the harsh beauty of the desolate Arctic tundra.

Saiva, an aboriginal woman shunned by her tribe as a young girl, lives with her beautiful adopted daughter, Anja, in a remote land far away from civilization where she believes they will be safe. They struggle to survive, living off the scarce prey they can kill. Saiva is the sole survivor of a massacre by a troop of marauding soldiers who killed Ivar, the only man she ever loved. Having avenged their deaths, she has avoided any other human contact ever since.

One day a young fugitive, Loki, staggers into their camp and collapses, close to death. Despite all of her fears and doubts, Saiva takes him in and the two women nurse him back to health.

Sean flew to Norway on Wednesday, September 6, 2006, to begin filming Far North. This is an independent film directed by Asif Kapadia, written by Asif Kapadia and Tim Miller and based on Sara Maitland short story. True North will be filming in Svalbard during September and will move to the FilmCampen in Målselv in October. Co-stars are Michelle Yeoh and Michelle Krusiec. Filming is expected to continue until November 2006.

Michelle Krusiec posted the following on her website on September 3: I'm in Norway at the moment about to begin shooting a film called, "Far North," directed by Asif Kapadia. Check out Asif's other film, "The Warrior." He's a very talented director. This film stars Michelle Yeoh, Sean Bean and yours truly. This story is a bizarre love triangle set in the arctic. I'm obviously very excited to be working with this cast and the story is really compelling. Needless to say, I'll be a little out of touch as we are planning to go further north into the arctic circle.

"Stormbreaker" posted the following on Michelle Yeoh's chat board on the IMDb on September 9:

This is a co-production between British production company The Bureau and Norwegian producers FilmCamp, PJB Picture Company and Petter Bergli.

Some information about the cast, crew and story line are leaked to the Norwegian press:

The director is Asif Kapadia
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Sean Bean, Michelle Krusiec, Per Egil Aske, Sven-Åge Henriksen and Norwegian professor Bjarne Østerud as a shaman doctor.
Budget: 56 million Norwegian kroner. The manuscript is written by Asif Kapadia and Tim Miller, and is based on a novel by Sara Maitland.
Plot Outline: The main theme concerns the conflict between modern society and native people, because values and way of life are different by nature. But the main story boils down to a love triangle between native nomadic woman Saiva (Michelle Yeoh), which has adopted a younger woman Anja (Michelle Krusiec) as her own daugher. They let a man from the west (Sean Bean) move in, and the conflict that evolves between the three people causes serious consequences to their lives.

The main female cast, Michelle Yeoh and Michelle Krusiec, arrived sometime in August at FilmCamp's production locations in a discontinued military camp called Holmen leir in Målselv, Norway. In preparation for their roles they will learn about the way of life of the native Sami people, that will also involve things like how to slaughter reindeer.

Source: The Compleat Sean Bean