More than just noir, the third annual Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival brings new dramas, documentaries and laughs to the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas. From 19 July 2016, see some of the most exciting and fresh movies from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland.
National Festivals Director Elysia Zeccola Hill, who has been running the festivals at Palace Cinemas for the last 18 years, said: “Scandinavia has produced some of the most iconic films ever made. This festival screens the hottest talent from the most current crop of films.”
To whet your appetite, here is a preview of the 2016 program:
Finland’s official Oscar contender, and winner of Best Film at Finland’s 2016 Jussi Awards, The Fencer, offers a fictionalised take on a real-life fencing teacher who took a stand against Stalinist oppression in Soviet-era Estonia.
Meanwhile, more in the spirit of recent Nordic fare, tense suspense thriller Absolution tackles the moral questions of guilt and revenge after a hit-and-run accident spirals out of control. Mari Rantasila (2015 Festival film Armi Alive!) took the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in this film at Finland’s recent Jussi Awards
Also from Finland, Other Girls (Toiset Tytöt) is a survival story about those moments when life gives you a brutal kick, but you decide to kick back. HARD! Based on true events, it follows 18-year-old girls Jessica, Jenny, Taru and Aino who are on the verge of adulthood as they lose their innocence and, at times, their faith.
From Sweden, the documentary comedy Nice People is a real-life “Cool Runnings” which has won over audiences’ hearts worldwide. The predominantly white community of the rural Swedish town of Borlänge are confronted by the influx of Somalis who have fled war. Integrating has proven difficult, so entrepreneur Patrik Andersson decides that all the Swedes and Somalis need is something to talk about together, and so he encourages them to learn Bandy (a cross between ice hockey and soccer).
Winner of the Audience Award at the Guldbagge Awards (Swedish Academy Awards) Staffan Lindberg’s Love is the Drug is a comedy about super rich Veronica and Mike, a carpenter, and all that stands between their love, including stepchildren, ex partners and new parents-in-law.
Danish Director Christina Rosendahl makes her mark with her second feature film The Idealist (Idealisten) that deals with the conspiracies about Thule airbase during the cold war and a young journalist whistle-blower who tries to reveal the secrets behind a nuclear disaster.
The first feature film of Swedish-born Dane Daniel Dencik, Gold Coast (Guldkysten) is a story of beauty and brutality, partly based on personal letters and diaries from the Danish botanist Wulff Joseph Wulff.
Norway heralds Scandinavia’s first disaster movie The Wave (Bølgen), based on the real-life event of the 1934 tsunami which hit Norway’s Tafiord and left 40 people dead in communities along the shore.
The Scandinavian Film Festival screens exclusively at Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas from Tuesday 19 July – Wednesday 27th July.
For the full program visit http://www.scandinavianfilmfestival.com or the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas website.
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