With the current cold snap we’re having, anyone feel like they’re an extra standing around in a winter Nordic film? What better time then to head inside for The Scandinavian Film Festival. The festival includes films from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with many screening for the first time outside of Europe. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of the festival.
I love this festival and must declare a bias towards their dark crime dramas and comedies. I’ve had a look through the trailers and here are my tips:
The GAMES PEOPLE PLAY (Seurapeli) was the media night screening. It’s about a group of old friends who gather at an idyllic Finnish seaside villa to celebrate a surprise birthday. It’s not long before old feelings and power struggles rise to the surface. The film includes Swedish star Christian Hillborg (The Last Kingdom, The Bridge, Fleabag).
Opening Night. Who doesn’t love the buzz of an opening night? The Festival opens with Danish Noir WILDLAND (Kød & Blod). Set in Denmark’s underbelly, Jeanette Nordahl’s striking Scandi-noir follows an impressionable teenage girl who is placed in the care of her estranged aunt who is the head of a family crime syndicate. The evening includes Nordic flavours, wine, Carlsberg beer & mocktails on arrival. Tickets always sell out fast for these nights so get in quick. It’s on at Luna Leederville, Wednesday 14 July.
Closing Night. Closing night always sell out fast too. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, THE EMIGRANTS follows a struggling farming family in mid-19th Century Sweden who decide to embark on the arduous journey to new hope in America. The film was nominated for five Oscars® and won Golden Globe awards for Best Actress (Liv Ullmann) and Best Foreign Film. The evening will feature a celebratory Scandi cocktail in tribute to acting great Max Von Sydow who passed away in March 2020. Enjoy Scandi cocktails, mocktails and Carlsberg beer on arrival. Palace Raine Square Wednesday 4 August.
GRANDMA HOFI Morning Tea. Presented by Young at Heart Seniors Film Festival & Feros Care, enjoy a special morning tea with your choice of tea or coffee, plus Danish pastries and popcorn. Then settle in for GRANDMA HOFI (Amma Hófí) where a pair of senior citizens, fed up with the conditions in their retirement home, decide to rob banks so they can afford a small apartment. Stars Icelandic comedy royalty Edda Björgvinsdóttir (Under the Tree) and Þórhallur ‘Laddi’ Sigurðsson (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). Palace Raine Square Friday 23 July.
Special Presentation. This year the special presentation is TIGERS (Tigrar). Crowned Best Nordic Film at the 2021 Göteborg Film Festival. The film is the enthralling true story of Swedish football wunderkind Martin Bengtsson, a former Inter Milan player, who lifted the lid on a world where everyone has a price tag.
THE LAST FISHING TRIP has been called The Hangover meets Sideways as six friends depart on their annual fishing trip leaving their wives, work and worries at home! It was Iceland’s #1 box office hit comedy of 2020.
THE EXCEPTION (Undtagelsen), is an electrifying Copenhagen-set psychological thriller about four colleagues at a NGO, who suspect each other after a series of mysterious death threats.
PERSONA NON GRATA is a black comedy about uncomfortable family relations following a cosmopolitan Copenhagen writer who returns to her rural hometown for her brother’s wedding.
THE COUNTY (Héraðið), Grímur Hákonarson’s eagerly anticipated follow-up to the global hit Rams. This film is a rousing, David-and-Goliath comedy about a dairy farmer’s wife (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) who takes on the corrupt local co-op in her remote Icelandic valley.
A PIECE OF MY HEART (En del av mitt hjärta) is a musical comedy starring Christian Hillborg opposite Hollywood star Malin Akerman who plays successful businesswoman Isabella. She returns to her hometown where she learns that her teenage love (Hillborg) is getting married in this Swedish box office sensation.
DIANA’S WEDDING (Dianas bryllup) is a bittersweet tribute to love, telling the story of Norwegians Liv and Terje and the unconventional, stormy marriage they embark on the very same day as Diana Spencer and Prince Charles exchange vows in London.
HOPE (Håp), was Norway’s official submission to the 2021 Academy Awards. The film is said to be a stunningly acted relationship drama about a creative couple.
HELENE, a captivating portrait of Finland’s most acclaimed painter of the early twentieth century, Helene Schjerfbeck, played by a luminescent Laura Birn.
TOVE is a fascinating depiction of the life and personal relationships of Finnish visual artist and author Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins.
DISCO is a provocative new drama about a young evangelical dance champion whose faith is tested, prompting her to search for radical solutions.
BEWARE OF CHILDREN (Barn). This multi award-winning and critically acclaimed drama traces the dramatic aftermath of a tragic event in a middle-class suburb of Oslo, examining society’s reaction when crisis strikes amongst children.
ANY DAY NOW (Ensilumi) is a celebration of the quietly humane; an Iranian family in Finland await a decision about whether they will be granted an official asylum status in Hamy Ramezan’s personal first feature.
PSYCHOSIS IN STOCKHOLM (Psykos i Stockholm). This deeply moving 2020 Göteborg Film Festival is a surreal drama about a mother and daughter who embark on a trip to Stockholm, yet their plan is derailed when the mother begins acting strangely.
CALL MUM! (Ring Mamma!). Niki has just turned 35 and is suddenly forced to come to grips with all her relationships and past choices in life in this charming comedy from the director of She Monkeys, Lisa Aschan.
AGNES JOY (Hæ, hó Agnes Joy) is a tale of intergenerational struggle in a picturesque setting that was a winner with audiences. The film was Iceland’s entry into the 2021 Academy Awards.
THE GARDEN (Gullregn) is a dark comedy of self-reflection that delves into xenophobia in Iceland.
The Scandinavian Film Festival screens from July 14 – August 4 at Luna Leederville and Luna on SX. For more information go to Luna Cinema and Palace Raine Square.
