by Chi Ibe

Melancholia, the end of the world film by Danish director and screenwriter Lars von Trier, will open at the Silverbird Cinemas in Nigeria and Ghana on 2 March.

  The film is brought to you by LuckyDoors Films, a film distribution and production company working out of West Africa. LuckyDoors release independent films, local and foreign, and you can catch any of their releases in your local cinemas across the African region.  

Melancholia is a 2011 film written and directed by Lars von Trier, starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland. The narrative revolves around two sisters during and shortly after the wedding party of one of them, while Earth is about to collide with an approaching rogue planet. The film prominently features music from Richard Wagner’s prelude to his opera Tristan und Isolde.  

Trier’s initial inspiration for the film came from a depressive episode he suffered and the insight that depressed people remain calm in stressful situations. The film is a Danish production by Zentropa, with international co-producers in Sweden, France, Germany and Italy. Filming took place in Sweden. 

The film premiered in May 2011 at the 64th Cannes Film Festival. Dunst received the festival’s Best Actress Award for her performance. 

Below is the Trailer for the film.