DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT – RUBEN ΓSTLUND FORCE MAJEURE has its origins in a question I have long been fascinated by: How do human beings react in sudden and unexpected situations, such as a catastrophe? The story concerns a family on holiday that witnesses an avalanche and the father runs away, terrified. When it is over, he is ashamed because he has succumbed to his primal fear. This particular story came about from an anecdote that I found impossible to forget. Some years ago, a Swedish couple—friends of mine—were on holiday in Latin America when suddenly, out of nowhere, gunmen appeared and opened fire; the husband instinctively ran for cover, leaving his wife unprotected. Back in Sweden, she could not stop, after a glass of wine or two, telling the story over and over again... My imagination fired, and I began to research other true stories like this one - stories of distress and emergency, of passengers during the sinking of ships, of tourists stricken by tsu