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The Conference (2023 film)

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The Conference
Directed byPatrik Eklund [sv]
Written byMats Strandberg
Screenplay byPatrik Eklund
Thomas Moldestad [no]
Based onKonferensen
Produced byIna Sohlberg
StarringKatia Winter
Adam Lundgren
Eva Melander
Bahar Pars
Amed Bozan [sv]
Maria Sid
CinematographySimon Rudholm
Edited byRobert Krantz
Music byAndreas Tengblad
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13)
Running time
100 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish

The Conference (Swedish: Konferensen) is a 2023 Swedish slasher film directed by Patrik Eklund [sv] and co-written with Thomas Moldestad [no] based on the 2021 novel Konferensen by Mats Strandberg and starring Katia Winter, Adam Lundgren and Eva Melander.[1] It premiered on Netflix in October 13, 2023.[2]

Plot

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A team-building conference for municipal employees turns into a nightmare when elements of corruption begins to undermine and plague the retreat with a scorned man out to avenge the suicide of his father over a real estate scam entailing the construction of a non-utilitarian retail mall in a farming community.[1][3]

Cast

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Production

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The screenplay was co-written by the director Patrik Eklund [sv] and Thomas Moldestad [no], based on the 2021 novel Konferensen by Mats Strandberg. A Netflix original film, it was produced by Ina Sohlberg for SF Studios.[1] The crew also featured Guldbagge-winning Tove Jansson, Eva von Bahr and Love Larson as make-up artists,[4] Ingrid Sjögren [sv] as costume designer, and Tim King and Jonathan Ridings as executive producers alongside Mats Strandberg, with Jimm Garbis as associate producer.[5]

Most of the film was shot in Stockholm and its surrounding areas.[6] In fact, the Mälaren lake is thought to be one of the shooting locations of Conference.[7]

Release

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The Conference premiered globally on Netflix in October 13, 2023.[2][8] It released during pre-Halloween season.[9]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10.[10]

Alexander Kardelo of MovieZine rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it a "brutally entertaining slasher comedy" and writing that "[it] offers its audience an intense nightmare experience that tickles the chest to death".[11]

Karolina Fjellborg of Aftonbladet rated it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a festive, fresh breath of a slasher film, which combines some of the genre's most classic approaches with very Swedish characters, in a very Swedish context".[3]

Mrinal Rajaram of Cinema Express rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, reckoning it is "based on an interesting premise" and "[brims] with potential" at first, but "loses a bit of itself in the slasher cliches", resulting in "the expectation [turning] soon to disappointment and [settling] eventually on boredom".[12]

Emiliano Basile of EscribiendoCine rated it with 6 out of 10 points, stating that "Patrick Eklund makes a social satire-like slasher comedy that's shamelessly gore and a fun reflection on humans' incredible capacity to resist".[13]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2023 59th Guldbagge Awards Best Makeup and Hair Tove Jansson, Eva von Bahr and Love Larson Won [14][4]
Best Visual Effects [sv] Alan Banis and Andreas Hylander Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b c Bergqvist, Mattias (2023-02-01). "Netflix gör film av Mats Strandbergs "Konferensen" – alla detaljer". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  2. ^ a b Romanchick, Shane (2023-09-15). "A Company Retreat Goes Horrifyingly Wrong in 'The Conference' Trailer". Collider. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  3. ^ a b Fjellborg, Karolina (2023-10-12). "Netflix "Konferensen" är en störtskön svensk slasher". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  4. ^ a b Rätzer, Sarah (15 January 2024). "Här är alla vinnare på Guldbaggegalan 2024" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  5. ^ "The Conference (Konferensen)". Cineuropa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  6. ^ Shrestha, Naman (2023-10-11). "The Conference: Every Filming Location of the Netflix Movie". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  7. ^ Fecou, Louie (2023-10-17). "Where was The Conference filmed? Horror Locations Explained". Ready Steady Cut. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  8. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (2023-02-03). "La comedia slasher sueca The Conference llegará a Netflix este año". Cineuropa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  9. ^ Adejobi, Alicia (2023-10-19). "Netflix's 'brutal' Swedish horror will put you off office team building". Metro. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  10. ^ "The Conference". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Skräckpremiär på Netflix! "Konferensen" hyllas (och slaktas) av kritikerna". MovieZine (in Swedish). 13 October 2023. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  12. ^ Rajaram, Mrinal (2023-10-15). "The Conference Movie Review: It had the potential to be a classic whodunnit but ends up being a campy slasher flick". Cinema Express. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  13. ^ Basile, Emiliano (21 October 2023). "Crítica de "La conferencia (Konferensen)", la máscara de la hipocresía". EscribiendoCine (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  14. ^ Pham, Annika (14 December 2023). "Axel Petersen's Shame on Dry Land leads Swedish Guldbagge nominations". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Nordisk Film. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
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