Since co-directing Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019), American filmmaker Benny Safdie has emerged as one of the most exciting filmmakers in contemporary cinema.  His solo directorial debut, The Smashing Machine (2025), stars Dwayne Johnson as real-life MMA pioneer Mark Kerr and premiered at Venice, where it received a 15-minute standing ovation.

‍Benny Safdie brings a unique blend of urgency and emotional rawness to cinema. His work blurs the line between documentary grit and narrative tension. With The Smashing Machine, he steps into the solo director spotlight and continues to reinvent how stories are experienced.

At Stockholm Industry Days 2025, Safdie leads an exclusive masterclass exploring the alchemy of filmmaking and storytelling.

‍He will share insights from the making of The Smashing Machine, dissecting the filmmaking, (being shot on 16 mm and VHS), while challenging conventional hero narratives.

Face 2 Face & Film screenings

Since his feature debut Jalla! Jalla! (2000), filmmaker Josef Fares has established himself as one of Scandinavia’s most original storytellers. His work continues to challenge formats across screens, and audiences.

‍After directing award-winning films such as Kopps (2003) and Zozo (2005), which earned him a Guldbagge Award for Best Director, Fares made a move into the world of interactive storytelling.  

Fares, the founder of Hazelight Studios, has created two-player games such as, A Way Out (2018), and the multi-award-winning It Takes Two (2021), which received Game of the Year at The Game Awards. His new game Split Fiction (2025), has been one of the most anticipated and well-received games of the year.

‍One of the few filmmakers to successfully bridge film and gaming, Fares merges cinema with the emotional agency of gameplay. His approach challenges traditional ideas of narrative, showing how character depth can thrive within gaming as powerfully as they do on the big screen.

Since her striking debut feature Raw (2016), French filmmaker Julia Ducournau has emerged as one of the most prominent female pioneering voices in body horror cinema.

‍Her work dismantles the boundaries between beauty and brutality, exploring the physical and emotional layers of transformation, identity, and the human condition.

‍In 2021, Ducournau made history when Titane won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making her the second woman ever to receive the award. The film, a visceral exploration of grief and desire, cemented her position as a significant filmmaker in modern cinema.

Her films balance the intimate and the extreme, the body and the soul. They ask audiences not just to watch, but to feel, often in discomfort. Ducournau’s cinematic language challenges convention and pushes the concept of “quality cinema” into new territory.

‍During Stockholm Industry Days, Ducournau will host an exclusive masterclass, offering insight into her process and the making of her latest film, Alpha (2025), that will also be screened during the festival.  

Face 2 Face & Film screenings