This Cannes selection injects spooky twist into 'Cinderella' tale
Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt is set to introduce her daring first feature, The Ugly Stepsister, at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The film, a unique fusion of comedy and horror, offers a fresh perspective on the universally known Cinderella tale, Variety reported. The story unfolds from the viewpoint of Cinderella's stepsister, Elvira, who finds herself in fierce competition with her beautiful stepsister in a kingdom where beauty is ruthlessly pursued.
Lea Myren stars in her acting debut as Elvira
Newcomer Lea Myren stars in her acting debut as Elvira in The Ugly Stepsister, alongside Norwegian actors Thea Sofie Loch Naess (Delete Me) and Ane Dahl Torp (The Wave), reportedly. The film's crew includes acclaimed professionals such as costume designer Manon Rasmussen, cinematographer Marcel Zyskind, editor Border Olivia Neergaard-Holm, VFX supervisor Peter Hjort, and VFX makeup artist Thomas Foldberg.
Blichfeldt wants to draw audiences into a seemingly typical fairytale
Filmmaker Blichfeldt shared her connection with the stepsister character after revisiting the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, where the stepsister resorts to cutting off her toes to fit the shoe. She described her approach as "beauty horror," and stated, "I want to seduce the audience into a "girl-dreaming-of-marrying-the-prince-fairytale," before revealing its true and raw nature. This film will be featured alongside other notable films like The Other Way Around in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight.
Film is 'funny, bold, shocking, and destined to be cult'
Further, Blichfeldt believes it's time for the stepsister's story to step out of Cinderella's shadow, and be "cultivated as the iconic feminist narrative of the tyranny of beauty that it is." Meanwhile, Memento International lauded Blichfeldt's "unique take on the classic we all know is equally funny, bold, shocking and destined to be cult for a generation." "It is highly contemporary in its exploration of what one is willing to do to meet society's imposed beauty standards on women."
Film has received support from various European film institutes
The Ugly Stepsister is produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film in Norway (The Innocents), with co-producers Lizette Jonjic for Zentropa Sweden (Another Round), Mariusz Włodarski for Lava Films in Poland (The Girl with The Needle), Theis Nørgaard for Denmark's Motor (The Dead Don't Hurt), Zefyr and Film i Väst. The film has received support from various European film institutes. Scanbox will distribute the movie across Scandinavian countries.
