Niki Lindroth von Bahr is competing for the Palme d’Or in Cannes

Niki Lindroth von Bahr returns to Cannes Film Festival with her latest short film The End. This time she is competing for the Short Film Palme d’Or – one of the world's most prestigious film awards.

It feels absolutely incredible. It’s been an extremely demanding production, and I’m so grateful that The End is getting such a fantastic premiere. It really gives you the energy to keep going with the next project, says Niki Lindroth von Bahr.

The film is a dark, poetic tale of death and existence set in a large, international airport. An airplane has serious problems but cannot reach the control tower, the pig employees are engrossed in a reality series. A pushy slug seller in the Tax-Free shop tries to sell deeply immoral products. A dolphin barista at an exorbitantly expensive smoothie bar loses his mind. A mysterious figure moves in the periphery, soon ready to get us all.

Voice cast members include international names such as Alexander Skarsgård, Noomi Rapace, Denis Lavant,Tuva Novotny and Swedish artists/filmmakers Carl Johan De Geer and Marianne Lindberg De Geer.

Niki Lindroth von Bahr has been in competition previously at Cannes with her short film The Burden, which screened in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section in 2017. The film went on to receive international acclaim and won more than 80 awards worldwide, including the Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film in Toronto and the Cristal for Best Short Film in Annecy. Furthermore, it was recently named one of the 100 best short films of all time by 250 European film critics.

Niki Lindroth von Bahr is educated as a set designer and is internationally recognized as a filmmaker specializing in stop-motion animation. Her films have been screened and awarded at festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance. She also created an episode for the Netflix anthology The House (2022), which won awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and was nominated for a BAFTA. In 2018, she won a Guldbagge Award for The Burden and - was nominated seven years earlier - for Tord and Tord (2010).

The End is produced by Kalle Wettre through Malade AB and co-produced by France (Les Valseurs) and Denmark (WiredFly). The film has received funding from the Swedish Film Institute’s former short film commissioner Ami Ekström. Film i Väst and Sveriges Television are Swedish co-producers. International sales are handled by New Europe Film Sales.

Read more about Swedish presence and achievements at Cannes over the years: Cannes (In Swedish)

Cannes film festival takes place May 12-23: Festival de Cannes - International film festival for more than 78 years