XXV edition
8/13 December 2015
Mankell: The Journey to the End of the World
It's the title of his 2008 novel but also perfectly portrays his personality. Henning Mankell, who died today, was a great writer, a remarkable man, whom we had the honor of meeting for the Raymond Chandler Award in 2013, in Courmayeur. That year the ceremony occurred on Dec. 13, a very special day for Sweden, Mankell's birthplace, as they celebrate their most important popular festivity (with an unusual Italian accent): St. Lucia. So that night we put on stage a small ceremony of St. Lucia, thanks to the girls from the dance school of Courmayeur, all dressed in white and wearing crowns of candles lit given by the Embassy of Sweden (thanks to the mythical Ann-Louice Dahlgren!) to thank Mankell for having accepted our Prize. During the unusual ceremony, the creator of Wallander, the most European and most Chandlerian detective of the history of noir genre, but also in recent years the stage director who loved the most working with a theatrical group in Mozambique, was surprised and touched, but only for a moment. Then he regained his tough look and staged a fun remote competition with the "rival" John Grisham, whose speech in Italian for the acceptance of the Chandler Award in 2002 is still legendary in Courmayeur.
Mankell's books, his characters will remain forever and not only in the memory of thrillers fans, but in the hearts of millions of readers who loved him and love him right from the beginning, for his Wallander and for his Africa, for his love to the investigation and his political passion for the defense of civil rights .
At > this link < you'll find a fine interview by Valentina D'Amico made precisely in Courmayeur in 2013, where you'll see all his passions and a last warning against racism which today sounds more current than ever.
Below you'll find a brief video of Henning Mankell's appearance at Courmayeur Noir in 2013.
