Day 3 – Slano Film Days 2025
The Film Talk with director Ruben Östlund, one-on-one meetings, and the screening of a new film starring Steve Buscemi marked the third day of Slano Film Days 2025.
Director and two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund shared insights into his directing journey. From ski films to TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, Östlund described how he gradually transitioned from documentary to fiction. “The transition from documentary to fiction didn’t happen at once. I gradually started staging and orchestrating scenes in my documentaries, until I realized I was actually making fiction” he said.
Ruben Östlund also gave the participants an exclusive glimpse into his upcoming film THE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM IS DOWN, which recently finished filming and is currently in the editing phase. Alongside behind-the-scenes photos, he described the challenges of shooting a film set entirely on a passenger airplane and shared his expectations: “It’s important to say your ambitions out loud to force yourself to follow through on them and get the best possible performance from others. We’re aiming for a third Palme d’Or.”
The entire afternoon was reserved for one-on-one meetings between the program participants and guest speakers.
The third day of Slano Film Days 2025 ended with a screening at the once again fully packed open-air cinema at Villa Riva, where the film PSYCHOTHERAPY: A SHALLOW TALE OF A WRITER WHO DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER was shown. This dark comedy was written, directed, and co-produced by Turkish filmmaker Tolga Karaçelik and stars Steve Buscemi. The film, which won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, was introduced to the audience by both the director and the actor.
“I'm so excited that this film is showing. I had such a great time making this movie with Tolga. I think what you're doing is so wonderful and important. Just in these past three days, I've met so many wonderful people, so many wonderful filmmakers, established filmmakers whose work I admire, and young filmmakers and young actors who are already doing great work. I'm just so honored to be a part of this and to be here. And I want to say to all of the filmmakers, young and established, I'm available”, said Steve.
Director Karaçelik added „I'm so happy that we are showing it here. We love you guys. We love the crew of this festival. I am kind of feeling myself, like I'm amongst the family. This is, I think, a good movie, I love the movie, and enjoy it!“
All information about the Slano Film Days program and accompanying events is also available via social media.