Saturday, October 7----The Woodstock Film Festival, which opens this coming Thursday, has announced that its Centerpiece Film will be the latest work from acclaimed Danish director Susanne Bier. AFTER THE WEDDING will be screened as a US Premiere on Saturday evening, October 14 at the Tinker Street Cinema. The film will be released later this year by arthouse distributor IFC Films.

The film tells the story of Jacob Petersen, a man who has dedicated his life to helping street children in India. When the orphanage he heads is threatened by closure, he receives an unusual offer. A Danish businessman named Jørgen offers him a donation of $4 million dollars. There are, however, certain conditions... Not only must Jacob return to Denmark, he must also take part in the wedding of Jørgen's daughter. The wedding proves to be a critical juncture between past and future and catapults Jacob into the most intense dilemma of his life. The film stars Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen and Rolf Lassgård.

Susanne Bier, a diverse director who has helmed a mixture of feature films, shorts, music videos and commercials, is best known in the US as the director of OPEN HEARTS(2002), one of the celebrated Dogma films, and BROTHERS (2004), an intense family drama that won several international awards, including a European Film Award.

Susanne Bier at Sundance FF

AFTER THE WEDDING has been a box office sensation in its native Denmark and had its international premiere last month at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film reunites Bier with scripter Anders Thomas Jensen, with whom she collaborated on both OPEN HEARTS and BROTHERS, and lead actor Mikkelson, who also starred in OPEN HEARTS.

"AFTER THE WEDDING is already living up to Beir's other films and is gaining critical acclaim as an international audience favorite", Meira Blaustein, executive director of the Woodstock Film Festival exclaimed. "We’re pleased that the Woodstock Film Festival will be the first in the US to present this amazing film.