Scandinavia House

Beyond/Svinalängorna

Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 6:30 pm

Directed by Pernilla August, Sweden, 2010. The morning before Christmas, Leena (Noomi Rapace), 34, receives a phone call from a hospital in her childhood hometown telling her that her mother is dying. This news takes her on a journey to face her mother for the first time in her adult life. Leena fought her entire life to let go of her grief over her lost and dark childhood. She is now forced to deal with her past to be able to move on.

Based on the novel of the same name by Susanna Alakoski, Beyond screened at the 67th Venice International Film Festival in 2010 and received the International Critic's Week Award. 92 min.

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Le Havre

Friday, January 6, 2012, 6:30 pm

Directed by Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2011.Marcel Marx (André Wilms), a former bohemian and struggling author, has given up his literary ambitions and relocated to the port city Le Havre. He leads a simple life based around his wife Arletty (Kati Outinen), his favorite bar, and his not too profitable profession as a shoe-shiner. As Arletty suddenly becomes seriously ill, Marcel's path crosses with an underage illegal immigrant from Africa (Blondin Miguel), who needs Marcel's help to hide from the police.

The film premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the FIPRESCI Prize. Kaurismäki envisions it as the first installment in a trilogy about life in port cities. His ambition is to make follow-ups set in Spain and Germany, shot in the local languages. 93 min.

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Happy, happy/Sykt lykkelig

Monday, January 9, 2012, 6:30 pm

Directed by Anne Sewitsky, Norway, 2011. Family is the most important thing in the world to Kaja (Agnes Kittelsen). She is an eternal optimist in spite of living with a man (Henrik Rafaelsen) who would rather go hunting with the boys, and who refuses to have sex with her because she “isn’t particularly attractive” anymore. Whatever. That’s life. But when “the perfect couple” moves in next door, Kaja struggles to keep her emotions in check.

Not only do these successful, beautiful, exciting people sing in a choir; they have also adopted a child from Ethiopia! These new neighbors open a new world to Kaja, with consequences for everyone involved. And when Christmas comes around, it becomes evident that nothing will ever be like before – even if Kaja tries her very best. 88 min.

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The Speechless God/Stum sitter guden

January 11 & 13

Directed by Erik Leijonborg (Sweden, 2010). A man is found strung up alongside slaughtered animals; another is found sacrificed in his car in the middle of a summer meadow. The holiday paradise is shattered and soon attention falls on an old murder case involving a long-deceased killer that someone is clearly mimicking...

And while the investigation leads them ever deeper into a maze of Aesir beliefs and the obsessions of a sick mind, Maria Wern and her colleagues find themselves in a race against time, as they try to catch the murderer before he strikes again… 90 min.

All the Tranquil Dead/Alla de stillsamma döda

January 18 & 20

Directed by Erik Leijonborg (Sweden, 2010). An island mink farmer receives a death threat and a sadistic trap is set up on his premises. Two separate events that soon prove to be linked — and from the moment that the first dead body is discovered, it becomes clear that it is just the beginning of something much bigger.

Ignoring the protests of her colleagues, Maria Wern allows herself to become deeply involved, professionally as well as personally, in the investigation. But all is not as it seems, and soon Maria finds herself in greater danger than she realized... 90 min.

Dreams from Snow/Drömmar ur snö

January 25 & 27

Directed by Erik Leijonborg (Sweden, 2010). What at first appears to be an incomprehensible suicide soon proves to be something far more sinister, when behind the innocent façade it turns out that a group of girls at the local high school is harboring dark secrets.

Together with her colleagues of the Gotland Police Department, Maria Wern digs ever deeper into the conflicts at the girl’s high school — and when the police discover veiled threats on the Internet, there is a growing fear that this girl’s death will not be the last. 90 min.

FINLAND
Steam of Life/Miesten vuoro

Wednesday, January 5

(Dir. Joonas Berghäll & Mika Hotakainen, Finland, 2010) In Steam of Life, naked Finnish men in saunas speak straight from the heart and in the warmth of rusty stoves, cleanse themselves both physically and mentally. The film travels through Finland joining men of all walks of life in many different saunas to let us hear their touching stories about love, death, birth and friendship, in short, about life. 84 min.

About the film:
The idea of filming Finnish men in saunas, a quintessential part of Finnish culture, came to Joonas Berghäll’s mind at a time of his life when he felt down, and went to one of Finland’s oldest saunas in Tampere on a weekly basis to clear his mind. There, he started paying attention to men’s conversations. In this intimate environment, they could empty their hearts and souls, and in their nakedness, reveal their inner feelings.

Berghäll and co-director Mika Hotakainen saw a great opportunity in this subject to break the perception of Finnish men as uncommunicative and unemotional persons, and to let them talk about universal topics: love, death, birth, fatherhood, friendship.

Filming in the saunas, with directors and crew naked as well, helped the characters open up. From a technical standpoint, the equipment had to be heated to the temperature of the sauna (75-85 degrees Celsius) to avoid condensation on camera.

The film opened on March 26 in Finland and was a critical and audience success. Steam of Life is receiving a similar enthusiastic response from festival audiences and juries all over the world. The film was awarded the Risto Jarva Award and Audience Award from the National competition at Tampere Film Festival, the Interreligious Jury Award at Visions du Reel in Nyon, Switzerland, and the top prizes at the DocAviv Film Festival in Tel Aviv, Israel and at the Planeta Doc Review Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland.

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SWEDEN
Simple Simon/I rymden finns inga känslor

Wednesday, January 19

(Dir. Andreas Öhman, Sweden, 2010) Simon, 18, has Asperger’s syndrome. He likes space, science and circles but can’t understand feelings. Simon’s life turns into chaos when his brother Sam gets dumped by his girlfriend. Simon realizes it is up to him to find a new girlfriend for Sam to restore the order. Simon knows nothing about love. But he has a scientifically perfect plan.
86 min.

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The Sniper/Skytten

January 26 & January 28

Directed by Agneta Fagerström-Olsson (Sweden, 2009). When a small-time crook is killed by a sniper, Wallander and the Ystad police investigate. Meanwhile, trainee policeman Pontus is forced to consider his career and finds he has more than just a sniper to deal with when he receives a surprise visitor.

The Angel of Death/Dödsängeln

February 2 & February 4

Directed by Agneta Fagerström-Olsson (Sweden, 2009). A choir of young women gives an acclaimed guest performance in a country church outside Ystad. But when an 18 year-old member of the choir disappears, Wallander and the Ystad police are brought in to investigate. Initially it seems as if she left of her own free will, but soon traces are found that point in the opposite direction.

The Ghost/Vålnaden

February 9 & February 11

Directed by Mikael Marcimain (Sweden, 2009). Arson is suspected when a house burns to the ground following a gas explosion and a man and a woman are found dead. Wallander and the Ystad police investigate and uncover an intricate web of lies, betrayal and secret love affairs.

The Heritage/Arvet

February 16 & February 18

Directed by Mikael Marcimain (Sweden, 2009). When the wealthy owner of a successful cider business is found brutally murdered, suspicions fall on his family and workers and family secrets are revealed. But just when Wallander thinks he has worked it out, more deaths occur and he is back to square one, with his officers struggling to stay focused.

The Collector/Indrivaren

February 23 & February 25

Directed by Kathrine Windfeld (Sweden, 2009). In her flat, a woman is found dead. Traces point to the victim’s ex-boyfriend, a bouncer named Fabian. During the investigation however, Pontus realizes that his colleague Isabel carries a dark secret from her past – a secret that has a connection to the case. Isabel’s future as a police is suddenly at risk, putting her loyalty towards both Pontus and Wallander to the ultimate test.

The Witness/Vittnet

March 2 & March 4

Directed by Kathrine Windfeld (Sweden, 2009). A little girl is hiding somewhere in Ystad. She has seen something terrible and must be silenced at any cost. Meanwhile, a trafficking trial commences where the lives of Wallander and the prosecutor Katarina Ahlsell are threatened. The frightening situation forces them slowly to reassess their professions and lives. As the little girl herself contacts Wallander to tell him what she has seen, they both end up in a dramatic showdown with their lives at stake.

FINLAND

Twisted Roots/Väärät juuret

March 23 & March 25

Directed by Saara Saarela (2009). In this stylized Finnish drama, the secrets and desires of one family can no longer be suppressed as they confront a series of dilemmas they can’t solve themselves. For the first time in years, the Kuura family is united under one roof by the father Mikko’s hereditary illness. The imminent threat of his illness makes both parents hold tighter onto their secrets and dreams. At the same time, the children attempt to find their place within the family and understand what they are going to inherit from their parents and why. Filmmaker Saara Saarela’s striking yet sensitive feature debut is a fine example of the Nordic tradition of films about the burden of tradition and heritage.
96 min.
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About the director:
Saara Saarela (b. 1971, Finland) studied film history in France and graduated from the University of Art and Design's film department in Helsinki. Her works include the feature film Stripping/Hengittämättä ja nauramatta (2002), several TV-series and many awarded short films and commercials.

The Interrogation/Kuulustelu

March 30 & Saturday, April 2 @ 3 pm
Due to a scheduling conflict, the second screening of this film takes place on a Saturday instead of the customary Friday.

Directed by Jörn Donner (2009). Kerttu Nuorteva, a Finnish-born Soviet citizen and spy, was dropped into Finland by parachute in February 1942. She operated undercover in Helsinki until early September when she was arrested.

Based on a true story, The Interrogation is, true to its title. At first, the interrogations gave no results. Nuorteva, whose true identity was slowly revealed, refused to confess. Only after several interrogation sessions conducted with different methods she crumbled, having realized the fate of her colleagues, friends, and family in the Soviet Union. Paradoxically, her downfall correlated with the war turning in favor of the Allies. In spite of her co-operation, Nuorteva was sentenced to death. She was, however, saved by the ending of the war. This is a film about Kerttu Nuorteva’s difficult and impossible choices. 110 min.

THE FAROE ISLANDS

Short Films from the Faroe Islands

April 20 & April 22

In the last twenty-five years the history of Faroese cinema has only consisted of a handful of feature films. However, in the past two years alone a burgeoning and creative pool of young filmmakers has emerged to redefine and reestablish a stronger, more progressive voice in the cinematic community for the Faroe Islands. This program of short films includes Marianna Mørkøre and Rannvá Káradóttir’s Magma (2010), Sakaris Fríði Stórá’s The Passenger/Passasjeren (2009), and Heiðrikur á Heygum’s Aldur/Waves - A Portrait of Maria á Heygum (2010), among others.

ICELAND

Feathered Cocaine

April 27 & April 29

Directed by Þorkell Harðarson and Örn Marino Arnarson (2010). Alan Howell Parrot is one of the world’s leading falcon trainers with powerful connections in the Middle East, where he trained hunting falcons for the Persian Gulf power elite, including the King of Saudi Arabia, the President of the United Arab Emirates, and the Shah of Iran. After witnessing relentless falcon smuggling in the wake of the USSR’s collapse, he left the Middle East and formed a global nature conservation group with like-minded people to protect the falcons.

Through his connections, Mr. Parrot learned of the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden, who is an obsessed falconer. He relayed this information to various agencies within the Bush administration from 2005-2008 (the FBI, CIA, NSA, and NCS) but only met silence or obstruction. None tried to speak to the one man that says he has gone falconry hunting with Osama Bin Laden six times since 2004. In 2009, Parrot submitted his findings to the Rewards for Justice Program and to date has not heard back.

Feathered Cocaine reveals geopolitics, terrorism, petrodollars, and nature conservation in an intriguing and unlikely cocktail that sheds light on how business is conducted in the global merry-go round of money and politics. 80 min.
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King’s Road/Kóngavegur

May 4 & May 6

Directed by Valdís Óskarsdóttir (2010). King's Road is a dramedy, set in a rundown trailer park in Iceland. After 3 years abroad thirtysomething Junior returns to Iceland with a mysterious German acquaintance in tow. He hopes his dad, Senior, might help him out financially, though the new villa of the former multimillionaire and full-time embezzler turns out to be a tiny mobile home in a trailer park at the end of the eponymous road. Senior’s new wife, a former beauty queen, and Junior’s grandmother, who carries a stuffed seal around as a low-maintenance pet, complete the crackpot family picture as Junior realizes his homecoming isn’t quite what he had expected. 99 min.
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About the director:
Valdís Óskarsdóttir (b. 1950, Akureyri, Iceland) is an Icelandic film editor whose work includes The Celebration/Festen (1998), Les Misérables (1998), Finding Forrester (2000), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). She received multiple awards, including an Oscar, in early 2005 for her work on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In addition, she has twice won the Danish Film Academy's Robert Award for Best Editing. Country Wedding/Sveitabrúðkaup was her directorial debut; it screened at Scandinavia House in 2009.

Clean followed by the feature-length film Mr. Bjarnfredarson/Bjarnfreðarson

May 11 & May 13

Directed by Ísold Uggadóttir (2010). Clean tells the story of one young woman’s struggle to conceal a growing habit, whilst attempting to retain her composure as a charming dance instructor for the elderly.

Clean, Uggadóttir’s third short film, premiered at the Aspen Short Film Festival in April 2010, and was subsequently selected for the Palm Springs International Film Fest, Nordisk Panarama, and the Reykjavík International Film Festival, to name a few. Most recently Clean won the Edda for Short Film of the Year. 11 min.

Directed by Ragnar Bragason (2009). Mr. Bjarnfredarson documents the epic story of Georg (played by Jon Gnarr, current mayor of Reykjavík), a hapless man, out of synch with society and in search of redemption before his time on this earth runs out. Based on a wildly popular and award-winning television series, The Night Shift/Næturvaktin (2007), Mr. Bjarnfredarson is the final, stand-alone chapter in the lives of the former co-workers and friends Georg Bjarnfreðarson, an over-educated know-it-all and social outcast; Daniel Sævarsson, a young man who's struggling with the web of lies he concocted to deceive his family who think he's finishing medical school; and Ólafur Ragnar, a 40 year old man-child who is still struggling to fit in with the in-crowd.

The story begins when Georg is released on parole after a long stay in jail for murder. When Georg’s mother refuses to take him in, practically disowning him, Daniel, who Georg tried to frame for the murder he committed, reluctantly invites him to stay at his place until he gets back on his feet. Ólafur, a former co-worker of the two and a perpetual yet lovable loser who can't hold down a job for more than a few weeks, is also staying at Daniel's house. When these three men reconnect, all hell breaks loose. As Georg’s world spins out of control, he realizes that all his woe can be traced back to his mother, and a reckoning is inevitable. Mr. Bjarnfredarson is a tragic comedy about love, lies, parenthood, and everything in between. 109 min.
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DENMARK

Little Soldier/Lille soldat

May 18 & May 20

Directed by Annette K. Olesen (2008). Bristling with repressed rage Lotte, a female war veteran, drinks excessively to numb her fury. Needing money after abruptly leaving the Danish armed forces in Afghanistan, Lotte becomes involved with her sleazy father, Kurt’s brothel business. He offers her work as a driver, and she winds up as a chauffeur and protector for Kurt’s gorgeous mistress Lily, one of the Nigerian prostitutes he is pimping for, as a sideline to his legitimate trucking business.

Although Lotte is initially jealous of the attention Kurt showers on the ultra-feminine Lily, she soon discovers that Lily’s looks and attitude serve as a defensive cover, not unlike the façade Lotte had to assume in the army. Ultimately, the two “little soldiers” will form an uneasy bond. 100 min.
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About the director:
Annette K. Olesen (b. 1965, Denmark) graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1991. She has made a number of award-winning feature films, short fiction films, and documentaries, as well as commercials. Olesen made her breakthrough at home and abroad with Minor Mishaps/Små Ulykker (2002), which won the Blue Angel Award at the International Film Festival in Berlin (2004). Little Soldier is her fourth film and was nominated at the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival and won the Ecumenical Prize at Berlinale.

The Red Chapel/Det røde kapel

May 25 & May 27

Directed by Mads Brügger (2009). A journalist, a spastic, and a comedian travel to North Korea with a mission to challenge the conditions of the smile in one of the world’s most notorious regimes. On the pretext of being a small theater troupe on a cultural exchange visit, The Red Chapel was given permission to travel to North Korea with the objective of performing at special events for selected audiences. But in reality the small troupe had no such intentions. Two group members, Jacob and Simon, were both adopted from North Korea to Europe as infants; this is their story about the confrontation with their biological roots and their attempt to act and perform in a world where humor and humanity have very poor conditions.

It is also a story about the meeting between the free mind and the absolute surveillance society. North Korea’s 23 million citizens are ruled by the iron hand of “The Dear Leader,” General Kim Jong-Il. The country has a history of starving its people, violating human rights, and abusing and killing its handicapped citizens. The title The Red Chapel is a reference to a communist spy cell that operated in Nazi Germany under the name Rote Kapelle.

The film chronicles the amusing and often bizarre encounters between this Danish “theater troupe” and their North Korean hosts in a one of a kind, East-meet-West-meets-East look at cultural exchange in the modern world’s last anti-globalist bastion. 87 min.
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About the director:
Mads Brügger (b. 1972, Denmark) is a Danish journalist, TV-host, and author. He has written several books, the latest being Borderlands (2008), which is about Denmark’s biggest case of organized sexual abuse of children. He has also produced several award winning documentaries for national radio. In the TV-series Danes for Bush (2004), where he plays a neoconservative Dane, who travels across the U.S. to help George W. Bush get re-elected under the slogan “Save us from Old Europe,” he began experimenting with role-play in journalism.

As a feature writer he has worked for Danish magazines and newspapers such as Euroman, Ekstra Bladet, Dansk, and the investigative journalist magazine Virus, which he co-founded and edited for several years. He was also the founder and publisher of Denmark’s first magazine for second generation Muslim immigrant boys, called Döner. Today Brügger works at The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, where he produced a TV-series about the mysterious death of an EU civil servant, The Quatraro Mystery (2009), as well as hosts the daily news and debate program Deadline.

The Escape/Flugten

June 1 & June 3

Directed by Kathrine Windfeld (2009). The Escape is based on Olav Hergel’s 2006 novel The Refugee/Flygtningen. Danish journalist Rikke Lyngvig is taken hostage in Afghanistan by a terrorist group. With help of young Nazir, one of the terrorists, Rikke manages to escape. On her return, she is soon declared the Danish Jessica Lynch and her career is thrust into the spotlight. Meanwhile, Nazir flees Afghanistan, heading for Denmark. When he finally seeks out Rikke, she is shocked and torn. Is she willing to help the man who threatened to kill her, and to jeopardize her new-found career? Their tumultuous encounter turns into an ill-fated confrontation with their own demons and a nation driven by a hunger for sensation and political populism. 114 min.
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About the director:
Kathrine Windfeld (b. 1966, Denmark) graduated in 1995 from the National Polish Film School in Lodz and holds an MA in film production from the Northern School of Film and TV in the UK (1996). As an assistant director, Windfeld participated in the TV series The Spider/Edderkoppen (1999), Unit 1/Rejseholdet (2000-03), and The Eagle/Ørnen (2004-06). She also directed two episodes in Scandinavia House’s spring 2010 crime series Wallander: The Second Season, Part Two.

Windfeld has directed several short films and documentaries, among these You Can't Eat Fishing (1999), My Son, My Husband, My Father/Min søn, min mand, min far (2002), and Little Man/Lille mand – lille mand (2002), which won awards at the Chicago's International Children's Film Festival. Her professional breakthrough as a director came with the Swedish TV series The Crown Princess/Kronprinsessan (2006), which was nominated for an Emmy, and His Wife/Kungamordet (2008), both based on Hanne-Vibeke Holst’s best-selling novels. The Flight is Windfeld’s feature film debut.

Gnarr

Viewpoints

Directed by Gaukur Úlfarsson (Iceland, 2010).You'll never see politics the same after this raucous documentary. Following his country's economic meltdown, acerbic Icelandic comedian Jon Gnarr launches his own political party, The Best Party. His platform? Free trips to Disneyland, more polar bears at the zoo, and refusing to work with anyone who doesn't watch The Wire. But when support for Gnarr's wacky mayoral bid surprisingly snowballs, what started out as a joke quickly captures the imagination of a nation desperate for a change. 96 min.

More info

Co-presented by Scandinavia House.

The Good Life/Det gode liv

Viewpoints

Directed by Eva Mulvad (Denmark, 2010). How do you cope with being broke after having lived a life of luxury and privilege? This is the fundamental question facing spoiled Anne Mette and her mother, a once-rich family now living off a small pension and struggling to adapt to their new situation in a coastal Portuguese hamlet. A Grey Gardens for the current financial era, The Good Life is a character study at turns touching and frustrating, but ultimately poignant. 87 min.

More info

Co-presented by Scandinavia House.

Screening of Backyard
with DJs Matti Nives & Provköket

Directed by Árni Sveinsson (Iceland, 2009). A guy named Árni Rúnar had the idea of gathering a few bands together in his backyard to do some live recording. His idea evolved into this film. He filled his little shack of a studio with equipment and prayed for good weather. He invited all of his neighbors and made them pizza, cupcakes, and pancakes. And then many of the most exciting Icelandic musicians of their generation (including múm, FM Belfast, Hjaltalín, and Sin Fang) showed up to play, giving a unique look at the diverse music scene of Reykjavík in the summer of 2009. 70 min.

Borkmann’s Point/Borkmanns punkt

July 6 & July 8

Directed by Erik Leijonborg (Sweden, 2005). Van Veeteren finds retiring from the police force is easier said than done when two decapitated bodies are found in quick succession. The matching MO in the two grisly murders brings the investigation teams of Maardam and Kaalbringen together – a collaboration that is not without its problems, especially when those in charge of the case seem a little too eager to make an arrest. In solving the case, Van Veeteren learns that it is not always easy to distinguish friend from foe. 90 min.

Münster’s Case/Münsters fall

July 13 & July 15

Directed by Rickard Petrelius (Sweden, 2005). When the body of a wealthy wine merchant washes up on a beach with multiple stab wounds, police fear a media frenzy. But the quick arrest of the man’s former partner in the face of damning evidence promises a quick resolution to the case. Münster is unconvinced and angers his superiors when he follows up leads that hint at a dark secret in the dead man’s family. Removed from the investigation, Münster teams up with Van Veeteren in a deadly race to solve the case that nearly costs him his life. 90 min.

Moreno and the Silence/Moreno och tystnaden

July 20 & July 22

Directed by Erik Leijonborg (Sweden, 2004).When a girl is murdered soon after leaving a closed religious community, Moreno faces a difficult investigation as the community closes ranks and refuses to cooperate. When another girl is abducted and her bloody fingernails mailed to the police, tongues begin to loosen. But time is running out as the disturbed killer prepares to carry out another ritual murder – will Moreno be able to crack the case in time? 90 min.

The Swallow, The Cat, The Rose, and Death/Svalan, katten, rosen & döden

July 27 & July 29

Directed by Daniel Lind Lagerlöf (Sweden, 2005). Münster comes across the strangled body of a young woman in her home and surprises the murderer who is still on the premises. Though the murderer escapes, a rare book is found at the scene with a dedication by the killer. When another victim is uncovered, Van Veeteren’s literary expertise is put to the test as it becomes clear they are dealing with a serial killer who murders his victims using names taken from 19th century crime novels. Which name will he use for his next victim? 90 min.

Carambole

August 3 & August 5

Directed by Daniel Lind Lagerlöf (Sweden, 2005). Following a clandestine meeting with his lover a man kills a young boy in a hit and run, but does not escape unseen. The ensuing blackmail drama claims further victims, including Van Veeteren’s son, Erich. Van Veeteren’s attempts to involve himself in the investigation put his relationship with Münster and Moreno under strain, especially as a picture of Erich begins to emerge that Van Veeteren refuses to accept. In the end Van Veeteren has to use himself as bait to lure the killer into the open. 90 min.

Case G/Fallet G

August 10 & August 12

Directed by Rickard Petrelius (Sweden, 2005). Van Veeteren’s only unsolved case comes back to haunt him when the daughter of a murdered private detective comes to see him. A brutal wife killer who went into hiding years before has resurfaced under an assumed name, or so it seems, and Van Veeteren has personal reasons for wanting him caught. Always one step ahead of his friends on the police force, Van Veeteren has to face the killer alone in a final twist that surprises even this master detective. 90 min.

The Growth of the Soil/Markens grøde

September 28 & September 30

Directed by Gunnar Sommerfeldt (Norway, 1921). Isak (Amund Rydland) and Inger (Karin Thalbitzer) are pioneers in the wilderness of Northern Norway. They struggle with their homestead, but see results of their hard work: their turf hut is replaced by a real house; they get cattle and have children. But when one child is born hare-lipped, Inger kills it and is sent to prison. While she is away, the society changes – a copper mine is constructed and more settlers arrive. But Isak keeps on with his farming, which is what most of the settlers must to do after the mine fails. The film is based upon Knut Hamsun’s 1917 Nobel Prize-winning epic by the same name. 117 min.

The Bride of Glomdal/Glomdalsbruden

October 5 & October 7

Directed by Carl Th. Dreyer (Norway, 1926). Injured in a fall from her horse, and cast out by her father, Berit (Tove Tellback) is cared for by her fiancé Tore's (Einar Sissener) parents until a reconciliation is effected; and the marriage takes place, but not before Tore has had to make a hazardous crossing of the river on horseback.

After focusing in on the details of daily life in Tore’s tiny apartment, the film opens outwards and Dreyer turns his lens on log cabins tucked away in great rolling hills, Berit on horseback galloping across the fields, valley peasants dancing in the smoke of a lakeside fire, and two wedding parties standing helplessly on opposite sides of the river watching as Tore and his horse are swept down towards the rapids. With live piano accompaniment by Ben Model. 115 min.

Tramp/Fant

October 12 & October 14

Directed by Tancred Ibsen (Norway, 1937). The arrival of some kind of “free spirit” — usually a dark, handsome stranger — that upsets rigid local customs is a frequent theme in Norwegian film; adapting Gabriel Scott’s novel, Tancred Ibsen created one of the most moving renditions of this classic plot. Josefa lives with her uncle while waiting for her fiancé Oskar to return from the sea. Fearing her uncle’s intentions, she runs away and seeks shelter in the boat of Fendrik, a “sea gypsy” who wanders the coast. But Fendrik soon develops his own lust for her, as he attempts to draft her into his shady lifestyle. In Tramp Ibsen had clearly mastered all the conventions of Hollywood-style melodrama, with stark delineations of good and evil and progress towards a final resolution. And yet while Fendrik clearly falls into the “evil” column, there’s a sense that Josefa’s time with him introduces her to a sensuality and freedom that her eventual life with the upstanding Oskar most probably won’t provide. 95 min.

Nine Lives/Ni liv

October 26 & October 28

Directed by Arne Skouen (Norway, 1957). This harrowing account from the real life of Jan Baalsrud – Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II and the lone survivor of a Nazi attack in the winter of 1943 – is based on his struggle, related in flashback, to escape across northern Norway to neutral Sweden neutral. Blind from the snow, frostbitten, and dependent on the mercy of strangers, he manages to endure for weeks. Based on the book We Die Alone by David Howarth, Nine Lives was nominated for best foreign language film, and was entered into the Cannes Film Festival. In 1991, Norwegian television audiences voted it the greatest Norwegian film ever made. 96 min.

An-Magritt

November 16 & November 18

Directed by Arne Skouen (Norway, 1969). The film is an adaptation of the well-known trilogy Bread of Night by Norwegian writer Johan Falkberget. The plot, set in the ravishing natural landscape of the Norwegian countryside, offers a slice of 17th-century life in a rugged region of ore mines and smelting furnaces. The heroine, An-Magritt (Liv Ullman), is a simple woman who thrives because of her beauty and her exceptional survival skills. The village of her birth is a harsh environment dominated by men; as an orphan girl it was all she could do to survive. She learned to handle herself as a man in husbandry and trade, and even to read and write. Her adult life is full of daily drudgery and adversity as she struggles against poverty, prejudice, and the natural elements. Then her pride is broken by the arrival of a stranger – Johannes (Wolf von Gersum), a German scholar and builder of waterwheels. Charmed by his noble masculinity, An-Margitt experiences the power of love, but human malice and resentment can still do their work. 101 min.

The Hunt/Jakten

November 30 & December 2

Directed by Erik Løchen (Norway, 1959). The wave of formal experimentation in cinema in the late 50s/early 60s was represented in Norwegian cinema by Erik Lochen’s intriguing first feature, The Hunt. The film tells the story of three people — a married couple and the husband’s best friend, who go off together on a trip to the country. Along the way, and once they arrive, we hear their thoughts, memories, and fears, moving between each characters’ private visions and the story world often without warning, until personal and public space blur. Like another 1959 release, Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour, The Hunt shows how the past can be so alive that it overwhelms the present. The three central performances by Rolf Søder, Benedikte Liseth, and Tor Stokke are outstanding, and help anchor Lochen’s innovative approach to storytelling to a very emotional drama. 94 min.

Lake of the Dead/De dødes tjern

December 7 & December 9

Directed by Kåre Bergstrøm (Norway, 1958). Six friends on a weekend outing far from Oslo discover that one member of their party, an early arrival, has disappeared. According to local legend, a phantom with one leg stalks the nearby lakeshore. A fascinating thriller based on the book by Bernhard Borge (alias André Bjerke) about para-psychology and mysteries in the deep forest. A cult film among contemporary young film makers in Norway today. 76 min.

Special thanks to the Norwegian Film Institute and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York.

Fårö Document

November 2

Directed by Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1969). 60 min.

Fårö Document 1979

November 4

Directed by Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1979). 103 min.

SWEDEN
Involuntary/De ofrivilliga

Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 6:30 pm & 9 pm

Directed by Ruben Östlund (Sweden, 2008).With Maria Lundqvist, Leif Edlund, Olle Lijas, Vera Vitali. In Swedish with English subtitles. 98 min.

It's almost summer in Sweden and minor indiscretions and misbehavior abound. Leffe likes to show off for his friends and play salacious pranks, especially when he's drinking. Meanwhile, a righteous grade-school teacher doesn't know where to draw the line: she insists her fellow educators need a bit of instruction. Then there are two young teenage girls who like to pose for sexy photos and to party, but one night in a park, one of them is found passed out drunk by a complete stranger.

Involuntary is a tragic comedy that explores the nature of group dynamics and moral dilemmas about when to stand up for oneself or for others. The film has won several awards; best film at the Brussels film festival, best director in Geneva, the audience award and best screenplay at the Stockholm Film Festival.

DENMARK
Terribly Happy/Frygtelig Lykkelig

Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 6:30 pm & 9 pm

Directed by Henrik Ruben Genz (Denmark, 2008). With Jakob Cedergren, Kim Bodnia, Lene Maria Christensen, Lars Brygmann. In Danish with English subtitles. 95 min.

Terribly Happy is a blackly comic thriller about the universal nature of compromise and corruption. Robert, a Copenhagen policeman with a big city temperament is sent to a small village in southern Jutland on punishment duty after a being accused of professional misconduct. The village is unwelcoming, outsiders either adapt or disappear. The alluring Ingerlise, herself an outsider, tries to enlist his help in escaping from her abusive husband, Jørgen. Robert’s initial skepticism to the seemingly idyllic country surroundings is confirmed as he discovers the village harbors a dark secret. The cleverly constructed script alludes to Noir and references other genres such as Western, all the while toying with conventions, as in the showdown between Robert and Jørgen, staged as a drinking contest rather than a shootout.

Terribly Happy won several awards for acting, directing and screenplay, among them the Grand Prix Crystal Globe at the 2008 International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, best actor and actress and five other awards at Robert Festival in Copenhagen and the Grand Prix award at Flanders International Film Festival.

ICELAND
Reykjavík-Rotterdam

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Directed by Óskar Jónasson (Iceland, 2008). With Baltasar Kormákur, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Lilja Nótt Þórarinsdóttir, Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson, Victor Löw, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jörundur Ragnarsson, Theódór Júlíusson, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Pálmi Kormákur Baltasarsson, Stormur Jón Kormákur Baltasarsson. In Icelandic with English subtitles. 90 min.

Like a fish on a dry land, Kristofer is stuck in a dull everyday routine, working as a security guard. He got fired from the freight ship he worked on, when he was caught smuggling alcohol. Faced with money problems, he is tempted to accept the help of his friend, Steingrimur, who manages to pull some strings to get his old job back. He decides to take his chances one last time on a tour to Rotterdam.

One of the biggest budgeted Icelandic films of all time, Reykjavik-Rotterdam has all the action one would expect from a Hollywood production: guns, big explosions and intriguing plot twists. Reykjavik-Rotterdam received Edda Awards for best director, editing, music, screenplay and sound. There is also a US produced remake in the works, due in 2011.

FINLAND
Letters to Father Jacob/Postia pappi Jaakobille

Friday, January 15, 2010, 6:30 pm & 9 pm

Directed by Klaus Härö (Finland, 2008). With Kaarina Hazard, Heikki Nousiainen, Jukka Keinonen, Esko Roine. In Finnish with English subtitles. 75 min.

Letters to Father Jacob is a warm-hearted and touching story of Leila, a life sentence prisoner who has just been pardoned. When she is released from prison, she is offered a job at a secluded parsonage; she moves there against her will. Leila is used to taking care only of herself, so she experiences conflicting feelings when she starts working as the personal assistant for Jacob, the blind pastor living in the parsonage. Every day the mail man brings letters from people asking for help from Pastor Jacob. Answering the letters is Jacob’s life mission, while Leila has already decided to leave the parsonage when the letters suddenly stop coming. Jacob’s life is shaken to its foundation. Two completely different lives are intertwined unexpectedly, and the roles of the helper and the one being helped are turned upside down.

Letters to Father Jacob received the Interfilm Church Prize and audience award at Nordic Film days, Lübeck, main award at Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival and the Golden Pyramid and prize for best screenwriter at Cairo International Film Festival.

FINLAND
Forbidden Fruit/Kielletty hedelmä

Wednesday, February 17 & Saturday, February 20

Watch trailer (no English subtitles)

Directed by Dome Karukoski (2009). Maria and Raakel are 18 years old and belong to a community of Laestadians – a conservative Lutheran revival movement – who live in the remote countryside of Northern Finland. They are both engaged to marry boys from the community and have grown up sheltered from the worldly pleasures one would expect girls of their age to have enjoyed. That summer the strong-minded Maria decides to break with the community and flee to the city to experience the forbidden fruits it has to offer. She wants to dance, drink and kiss boys, all the while thinking she can always return to her community and have her sins forgiven when she gets tired of the city. Back home the community elders grow worried for Maria and convince her best friend Raakel to travel to the city to look after her. Soon Raakel too caves in to the pleasures she didn’t know she was longing for. 104 min.

Overseas and Under Your Skin/Maata meren alla

Wednesday, February 24 & Saturday, February 27

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Directed by Lenka Hellstedt (2008). Overseas and Under Your Skin tells the story of Ida, a young woman who is almost thirty, unemployed, and lives at home with her activist mother, Kati. With all the best intentions, Kati tries to set Ida up with a job at her work. This simply drives Ida to prove to her mother that she can take care of herself. Under the encouragement of her new friend, Ville, Ida decides to do something about her life and takes off for Berlin to find a job, and perhaps herself. Slightly bewildered, but excited by the big city, Ida is having the time of her life. Back in Finland however, her mother finds out she is terminally ill. Not wanting to hinder Ida in her quest for independence, Kati neglects to tell her daughter of her condition. 86 min.

Recipes for Disaster/Katastrofin ainekset

Wednesday, March 3 & Saturday, March 6

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Directed by John Webster (2008). Recipes for Disaster is a film about climate change and catastrophe. We love to blame the corporations and industries for what's going wrong with the planet, but we are mistaken; it's up to the individual to make a change. Director John Webster shows us that at the core of the impending climate catastrophe are those little failures that we as individuals make every day, and that are so much a part of human nature: all the everyday stuff that we don't do or that we can't help doing that eventually lead to destruction. Webster and his family decide to kick the oil habit. Quite simply, they go on with their average suburban lives, but without using any fossil fuels, driving cars or flying in airplanes, or buying anything packaged in plastic, like food, make-up, shampoo, toothpaste or kid’s toys. In this comedy of errors, they find themselves questioning their values and testing their willpower, and ultimately, their happiness. 85 min.

DENMARK
What No One Knows/Det som ingen ved

Wednesday, March 24 & Saturday, March 27

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Directed by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen (2008). Thomas Delauren is an emotionally-stunted children’s entertainer with a divorce looming over him. A strenuous family dinner reunites Thomas with his sister Charlotte who confesses she has important information about their late father that she wishes to divulge at a later time. When Thomas arrives at their scheduled rendezvous point he is met by police officers who deliver the terrible news that his sister drowned while swimming. Knowing that his sister was a strong swimmer, Thomas becomes suspicious of her death and as he is going through her personal affects he discovers documents about their father’s past as an intelligence officer during the Cold War. These documents prove to be dangerous in Thomas’ hands as an attempt is made on his daughter’s life. Dark images, intense clips and haunting music set the mood in this political thriller that raises questions about the increasing presence of surveillance cameras in our society. 99 min.

The Candidate/Kandidaten

Wednesday, April 7 & Saturday, April 10

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Directed by Kasper Barfoed (2008). Jonas Bechmann is a defense attorney who specializes in acquitting criminals charged with murder. After his father – also a defense attorney – is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Jonas is convinced that his father was murdered by a disgruntled former client. A night on the town leads him to check in to a hotel room with a young blonde.He wakes to find her brutally murdered, with a video showing him killing her. Having no memory of the supposed incident, Jonas decides to flee. When he discovers his framing may have ties to his father’s incident he decides to turn the tables on the blackmailers. A fast-paced thriller, full of plot twists, The Candidate continues to intensify to the very end. A U.S.-produced remake is currently in the works. 90 min.

The Invisible Cell/Blekingegadebanden

Wednesday, April 14 & Saturday, April 17

Watch trailer (no English subtitles)

Directed by Anders Riis-Hansen (2009). Blekingegadebanden was a group of political activists who robbed a number of banks in Denmark in the 1970s and 1980s. Rooted in Gotfred Appel’s Communist task force (KAK), this gang of idealistic young men saw themselves as revolutionaries supporting a great cause. Their actions quickly spun out of control, however, as their professionally executed robberies helped fund terrorist attacks committed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The gang, always one step ahead of their pursuers, continued to elude the police until the robbery of a postal transport in 1988 when an officer was killed. This event prompted the police to redouble their forces and finally bring down the group. The film consists of archival interviews from the gang members and police involved, as well as dramatized reconstructions of the heists the group committed. 104 min.

Danish Dynamite/…Og det var Danmark

Wednesday, April 21 & Saturday, April 24

Watch trailer (no English subtitles)

Directed by Carsten Søstedt (2008). Danish Dynamite follows the Danish national soccer team from 1979 through the 1984 European Championship in France and the 1986 World Championship in Mexico, to their improbable but glorious victory at the 1992 European Championship in Sweden. When German trainer Sepp Piontek took charge of coaching the team, he ushered in a new era of professionalism. The team he met was a gang of merry chain-smoking, beer-drinking everymen in the habit of celebrating a loss with a glass of champagne. Danish Dynamite captures the Danish mentality and laid back nature through encounters with the soccer players and the roligan (peaceful hooligan). The film consists mostly of archival footage, edited in a dramatic format that gives the audience the feeling of being present at the games, witnessing the team’s thrilling victories. 112 min.

ICELAND
The Higher Force/Stóra planið, preceded by Committed/Njálsgata

Wednesday, April 28 & Saturday, May 1

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Directed by Olaf de Fleur Johannesson (2008). In his dreams David is a kung fu master. In reality he is a debt collector who gets pushed around by his debt-collecting friends. When his new landlord, Harald, finds out he is a member of a gang of debt-collectors, he starts to play himself off as a big crime lord, just to have some fun with his tenant. David hatches a scheme that surely will elevate his status with the gang. As they find out about this mysterious crime boss, David quickly gains their respect and is given the task of spying on Harald. When the gang’s boss (Michael Imperioli of Soprano’s fame), flies in from New York to commend David for his efforts, things quickly spiral out of control for the hapless hero. 90 min.

God Bless Iceland/Guð blessi Ísland

Wednesday, May 5 & Saturday, May 8

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Directed by Helgi Felixson (2009). The film lends its title from Prime Minister Geir Haarde’s address to the Icelandic people on October 6, 2008, breaking the terrible news of bankruptcy in three of Iceland’s major banks and one of the worst economic crises in modern history. God Bless Iceland chronicles the lives of four Icelanders and how they cope in the aftermath of economic crisis and their battle against the government in which they have lost all faith. Felixson narrates the film, which takes place in the time period from the announcement of the country’s bankruptcy, through the resignation of the Prime Minister and his cabinet, to the election of the new Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. 70 min.

Smiles of a Summer Night/Sommarnattens leende
Film screening with lecture by Astrid Söderbergh Widding

Thursday, March 11, 6:30 pm

Directed by Ingmar Bergman (1955). The 1956 prize-winning comedy Smiles of a Summer Night ushered in an international audience for director Ingmar Bergman. Set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, four women and four men attempt to juggle the laws of attraction amidst their daily bourgeois life. When a weekend in the country brings them all face to face, the women ally to force the men’s hands in their matters of the heart, exposing their pretensions and insecurities along the way. Chock full of flirtatious propositions and sharp-witted wisdom, Smiles of a Summer Night is one of film history’s great tragicomedies, a bittersweet view of the transience of human carnality. 108 min.

Swedish costume designer and culture personality MAGO (Max Goldstein) designed the film’s costumes, firmly establishing an example of centralized cooperation between the two artists that lasted throughout the years and spanned many films. Whereas Bergman preferred his old leather jacket and beret, MAGO was a true elegant. However, they could unite their artistic vision for absolute quality. Their two artistic temperaments are as fascinating as they may seem out of date in an age rather dominated by effects and quantity.

Professor Astrid Söderbergh Widding is in the Cinema Studies Department and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Stockholm University, Chair of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, and on the board of The Swedish Film Institute and The Swedish Fulbright Commission.

Mannequin in Red/Mannekäng i rött
Film screening with lecture by Louise Wallenberg

Thursday, March 18, 6:30 pm

Directed by Arne Mattsson (1958). A private detective doubling up as a fashion mannequin, a head designer with lesbian inclinations and a mean, wheelchair-based fashion house matron ominously accompanied by a white cat…welcome to the strange world of the couture salon “La Femme,” where the elegant surface soon starts to peel, revealing what’s hidden and repressed underneath. 108 min.

The combination of uncanny murders, romantic love and traditional comedy make this film one of a kind, thanks in part to director Arne Mattsson, dubbed the “Swedish Hitchcock” due to his daring framing and calculated use of color. What adds to its uniqueness are the costumes made by designer MAGO, who in the making of this film must have had the time of his life, designing effeminate fashion without – it seems – any limitation to his creativity and fantasy.

Dr. Louise Wallenberg will focus on the specific Mattssonian crime genre and its relation to the Italian giallo and to the crime genre as developed in Swedish cinema and literature. She will also focus on the meaning of the many costumes and on the implicit narrative that deals with women’s desire.

Wallenberg is the acting director of the Centre for Fashion Studies and holds a PhD in Cinema Studies (2002) from Stockholm University.

Into Eternity
Feature Documentary
Co-presented by Scandinavia House
By Michael Madsen (Denmark)

Thu, April 22, 5:45pm at Village East - Cinema 2
Sat, April 24, 5:30pm at Village East – Cinema 3
Mon, April 26, 6:30pm at Village East – Cinema 6
Wed, April 28, 2:45pm at Village East – Cinema 2

Three miles below the earth, the people of Finland are constructing an enormous tomb to lay to rest their share of humans' 300,000 tons of nuclear waste. To avoid disaster, it must remain untouched for at least 100,000 years. In this poetic, hauntingly beautiful, and thought-provoking doc, Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen ponders how to warn future civilizations that the buried treasure of our nuclear era - unlike the pyramids and great tombs of pharaohs - must never, ever be discovered.

Metropia
Feature Narrative
By Tarik Saleh (Sweden, Denmark, Norway)
More info.

The New Tenants
Short Narrative
By Joachim Back (USA, Denmark)
More info.

Freetime Machos
Feature Documentary
By Mika Ronkainen (Finland, Germany)
More info.

Epic Fail/Epik feil
Short Narrative
By Ragnar Agnarsson (Iceland)
More info.

Feathered Cocaine/Falkasaga
Feature Documentary
By Örn Marino Arnarson, Thorkell Hardarson (Iceland)
More info.

Grandmother’s Eye/ Mormors Öga
Short Experimental Narrative
By Jonathan Lewald (Sweden)
More info.

Before the Frost/Innan Frosten

Friday, February 26

Kurt Wallander and Linda face a religious fanatic intent on carrying out his personal version of God's will, at a brutal cost. Mysterious events mark this suspenseful drama. A flock of swans are burned to death. Shortly thereafter, a young woman is horribly murdered.

The Village Idiot/Byfånen

Friday, March 5

A man with long braids and a Native American-style feather in his hair walks into a bank with a bomb around his neck and demands that a sum of money be transferred to an account. It’s obvious that someone is exploiting the man, who is known in the village as being intellectually handicapped. Detective Wallander and his colleagues face a long and complicated investigation that unexpectedly demands an understanding of astrology.

The Brothers/Bröderna

Friday, March 12

A wealthy couple is found dead during a military exercise, murdered in their stately home, and Wallander is under pressure from his superiors in Stockholm to find out who killed them. The emerging evidence seems to point to an act of revenge for a 20-year-old transgression.

The Darkness/Mörkret

Friday, March 19

A child sits alone in a parked car on a deserted road with no adult in sight. Her father has been reported missing, and the mother is in a psychiatric institution, unresponsive and apathetic. Due to Detective Wallander’s failing health, Linda takes the lead in the case. It will touch her deeply as she discovers that the child has been unscrupulously tricked, exploited, and humiliated. Linda has never been so committed to solving a case.

The African/Afrikanen

Friday, March 26

Members of the Social Democratic party in Ystad are putting up campaign posters for their candidate, whose fight against anti-immigrant forces and the town’s racial prejudices are his main priorities. When a train rolls into Gdansk, Poland with a dead black man on board, it appears that he was murdered in Ystad, where the train originated. Most of the evidence points to a racially motivated crime, but then the investigation takes an unexpected turn.

The Tricksters/Den svaga punkten

Friday, April 2

When a farmer is kicked to death by his favorite horse, the horse breeder claims it is impossible, while an examination of the farmer's body provides new clues to the cause of death. The neighbors confirm that the farmer lived alone, but there had been a mysterious woman he met through a personal ad staying at the house. The search for the woman turns up nothing until the police discover the farmer's bank accounts were emptied the day he died.

Mastermind

Friday, April 16

Someone has infiltrated the Ystad police station, effectively closing it down for several critical hours while the culprit is everywhere and nowhere like a virus diagnosed far too late. At the same time, Detective Wallander tries to comprehend the connection between his colleague Martinson’s daughter and a woman found hanged.

The Photographer/Fotografen

*Thursday, April 22

An American tourist is found dead, and her husband demands that the body and all his wife’s possessions be returned. The woman had been visiting an internationally renowned Swedish photographer, which fuels her husband’s suspicions of infidelity. Detective Wallander is surprised to learn that the dead woman was murdered—and then more people die.

The Container Lorry/Täckmanteln

Friday, April 30

When the police are called to investigate an abandoned container lorry they find it filled with dead bodies, including those of children. Human trafficking and a complicated ring of suspects, each part of a larger puzzle, emerge as the investigation unfolds. Wallander finally gets a lead from an unlikely source, a group of local nuns, and a sports fan who fails to completely hide his true identity. But the case isn't over until Kurt can figure out who is really behind the smuggling.

The Castle Ruins/Luftslottet

Friday, May 7

An older man enters a bank with his two growling dogs in tow and asks to cash in his 20 million crown bank account. Soon afterward he and the dogs are found dead, and there’s no sign of the money. Suspicion falls on the victim’s neighbor, but when the neighbor and his family are found dead the tracks lead in different directions. Kurt Wallander and his colleagues soon realize that almost anyone in the village of Soldala could be the murderer.

The Black King/Blodsband

Friday, May 14

The police find a boat in the harbor that looks like a slaughterhouse. It’s covered with blood, but they can’t find a body. Then a dead woman’s body drifts ashore. The investigation leads to Oskar, an old flame of Linda Wallander. Their former relationship makes it hard for Linda to be involved in the investigation, and Kurt insists that she step aside. That is easier said than done.

The Forger/Jokern

Friday, May 21

A woman is found shot in the head outside a restaurant, the victim of a brutal execution-style murder witnessed by her 7-year-old daughter. The murder takes place on the outskirts of Ystad but appears to have connections to Malmö’s underground crime network. The police in Ystad get help with the investigation from Frank Borg, a detective from Malmö with questionable ethics.

The Secret/Hemligheten

Friday, May 28

A boy's body is discovered in an abandoned barn. The murder shocks Kurt, Linda and Stefan, but the crime and the suspects don't seem to match. As they delve into the world of child abuse the characters are forced to come to terms with their own experiences and struggle with hidden demons. The battle is more than Stefan can take, and Kurt and Linda are left to deal with their grief and anger – and a dark secret from the past.

The Revenge/Hämnden

June 28 & June 30

Kurt Wallander has just bought a house by the sea and is happier than he has been in a long time. But suddenly a heavy explosion ruptures the peace and quiet in Ystad. The town’s single transformer station has blown up, with more explosions following shortly thereafter. The town starts to resemble a war zone as the military is called in. Are the explosions acts of sabotage or terrorism? Everything is chaos and Wallander fumbles in darkness as he tries to chase down the culprits.

The Guilt/Skulden

July 6 & July 7
Please note this episode will be screened on Tuesday & Wednesday

One day, six-year-old Albin Landberg disappears without a trace from daycare. Everyone in Ystad is soon engaged in the increasingly desperate search for the boy. The trail seems to point Wallander and his colleagues towards a man previously sentenced for pedophilia. He has recently been released from jail having served his time. However, as the investigation continues it becomes evident that the crime has its roots in relationships far more complicated than the Ystad police could ever have imagined.

The Courier/Kuriren

July 12 & July 14

A motorcyclist is found murdered. Clues lead the police to the local bikers club. It turns out that the club uses motorcycle couriers to smuggle narcotics across the Öresund Bridge to Denmark. The victim seems to have been involved in the trade, which leads Wallander to conclude that someone powerful is trying to seize control of the region’s drug trade. It is not until his colleague Isabelle is brutally attacked in her home that he realizes just how far these people are willing to go to achieve their goals.

The Thief/Tjuven

July 19 & July 21

Ystad is hit by a wave of burglaries. A group of neighbors decide to take matters into their own hands by guarding the streets at night. One night they spot a suspicious person entering a house. The upset neighbors respond with violence and the man is severely beaten. The next day a man is reported missing by a devastated Polish woman. The case isn’t given high priority, but Wallander decides to investigate anyway. He finds the missing man’s phone, which contains terrifying pictures of a dead woman.

The Cellist/Cellisten

July 26 & July 28

A Russian cellist is subject to a bomb attack following a performance in Ystad. Incidentally the woman is the key witness in a murder prosecution against the son of the Russian mafia boss Leb Munchin. Wallander and his colleagues suddenly find themselves in the midst of a war against a powerful international enemy driven by something much deeper than money and whose methods are merciless Finally, Wallander finds himself eye-to-eye with an aged criminal who is ready to fight his last battle.

The Priest/Prästen

August 2 & August 4

A priest is found shot outside a hostel in Ystad, in what looks like attempted murder. The priest, who would be able to identify the shooter, fights for his life in the hospital. Meanwhile, Wallander and his colleagues look for clues. Only when the police learn that the priest had a love affair outside his marriage do they realize that they are dealing with a crime of passion. But where is the murder weapon - and who of the deceived parties has the strongest motive to kill?

The Infiltration/Läckan

August 9 & August 11

Several security vans are robbed on separate occasions in Ystad. Police cadets Isabelle and Pontus are present at one such robbery and try to hunt down the culprits, but Pontus is captured. Wallander finds a clue that leads him to Sven Adelgren, a friend and former colleague. Adelgren now works for the security company Skandiguard, which owns the robbed security vans. Meanwhile, Svartman tracks a case about a murdered orienteer, stumbling upon the thieves and nearly getting himself killed.

NORWAY
Together/Sammen

September 29 & October 2

Directed by Matias Armand Jordal (2009). Together is a drama about loss and love, told in a realistic style with a great deal of humor and warmth. It is a story of a father and son’s journey through a landscape of sorrow after they tragically lose the one person they love the most. It’s about how they deal with their new everyday life without her, and their strain to win control over a new situation. The woman who dies was the glue that kept the family together, and without her they feel like they have to make a new start, a situation that exhausts them both. They realize that they haven’t spent much time together, and have a hard time trying to communicate with each other. Even simple things like making a meal become a challenge. The father experiences the loss of this woman so strongly that he isn’t able to pull himself together and take responsibility of his own and his son’s life. In pure desperation he meets with child welfare services, and when his son is temporarily sent to an orphanage, he isolates himself from his surroundings and rejects every attempt at contact, even from his own son. But the son refuses to give up hope that they can become a family again, and fights bravely to bring his father back to life. 100 min.

Watch trailer (no subtitles)

The Storm in My Heart/Jernanger

October 6 & October 9

Directed by Pål Jackman (2009). The Storm in My Heart is a tale about the short-tempered Eivind who isn’t scared of anything- except love. Eivind lives aboard a boat in Southern Norway. The boat lies low and lopsided in the water. Thirty years ago Eivind left his homestead and his teenage sweetheart behind, and he has not been back since. He meant to go back when everything was okay - only that never happened. One day young Kris appears. He wants to travel the world but didn’t get any further than to the lifeboat of Jernanger. The two men find one another and together they hatch a great plan. 96 min.

Watch trailer (no subtitles)

The Angel/Engelen
Norway's official submission to the 83rd Academy Awards
for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

October 13 & October 16

Directed by Margreth Olin (2009). Lea grows up in a home where she is unprotected. From being a cheerful, curious little girl, Lea sees her life brutally change when her mother returns to her ex-husband Ole. The death dance between the two adults damages the child growing up between them.

Lea turns to drinking in order to cope with everyday life in her family. When Lea gives birth to her daughter Sonja, she tries to make a clean break with her family and start a new life. Despite wanting to take care of her child and provide her with the protection she herself was deprived of, Lea soon realizes she lacks this ability. As a consequence, she must make an impossible decision. 97 min.

Watch trailer (no subtitles)

Upperdog

October 20 & October 23

Directed by Sara Johnsen (2009). As young children, half-siblings Axel and Yanne are adopted to Norway - he to material wealth on Oslo’s west side, and she to an average family on the east side of town. With his well-meaning, but indulgent adoptive parents, Axel grows into a spoiled brat who hides the insecurity of his troubled past behind an indifferent façade. In contrast to her younger brother, Yanne remembers their journey to Norway, but because they were separated upon arrival, she has no idea where or who he might be now.

However, all this changes when Yanne’s Polish friend Maria starts working as a maid for Axel’s parents, and discovers a photograph of him as a young boy. Maria saw the same picture on the wall of Yanne’s flat, and with an outsider’s enthusiastic lack of restraint, she takes on the task of reuniting them.

Yanne isn’t immediately convinced that contacting her brother after all these years is such a good idea; she’s already got her hands full with Per, a tormented ex-marine with a full load of demons in his baggage after serving in Afghanistan. For her part, Maria becomes much more intimately involved with the son in the house than would seem proper for a maid, and soon finds herself entangled in a turbulent affair with her friend’s little brother. Before she has time to realize the consequences, she has sparked a chain of events which involves many more feelings than just her own.

Upperdog is a vibrant relational dramedy with a wide thematic palette, where young people’s longing and search for themselves and for love, their vulnerability and conceit, is addressed with both liberating buoyancy and thoughtful gravity. With elegant narrative flair and direction, the team behind Upperdog has created a truly heartfelt film in this entertaining and moving story from contemporary Norway. 100 min.

Watch trailer

Shabana’s Choice/Shabanas valg

October 27 & October 30

Directed by Martin Rehman Gaarder (2010). Shabana's Choice is an account of the remarkable life and provocative work of a standup-comedian and a special Norwegian woman with an immigrant background. It is a story of the personal risks, advantages and disadvantages of chasing a radical dream: claiming the freedom to choose for herself who she wants to be, without being dictated by ethnicity, religion, gender, prejudices or ignorance. In a small country on the edge of Europe, an immigrant girl grows up to become a highly rebellious and provocative Muslim woman. Her shocking political stunts, sexy stand-up performances and satirical columns catapult her to fame as a champion of liberal Muslim women aspiring to the Scandinavian lifestyle of gender equality and freedom of expression.

But the publicity comes at a price. Suddenly her life is at stake and she escapes to New York. This real-life journey jump-starts an internal one. The long-hidden, painful story of her youth begins to surface. It is time to confront her own inner demons and show the world how this victim became a freedom fighter. Outwardly she is tough, but inside she is still vulnerable. And in love.

This is her personal story as seen through the eyes of her Norwegian husband about a modern cross cultural marriage. 69 min.

Watch trailer (no subtitles)

SWEDEN
Sebbe

November 3 & November 6

Directed by Babak Najafi (2010). Duct tape, electric wires, trigger, explosives. Sebbe never planned on building a bomb, things just turned out that way. Sebbe is fifteen and lives with his mother in an apartment that is much too small. He does his best. He never hits back. Sebbe loves his mother because he has no other choice.

Sebbe escapes to the junk yard, and in his hands, dead things come to life. He has the power to create. Here he is free, but alone. His detachment increases at the same pace that his world shrinks, until finally, one day he is completely isolated, without anyone except his mother. When she fails him, all else fails. 83 min.

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A Rational Solution/Det enda rationella

November 10 & November 13

Directed by Jörgen Bergmark (2009). Erland is working in a paper mill in a small industrial town together with his best friend Sven-Erik. In his spare time he is, together with his wife May, running an evening marriage discussion group at the local church. At a party Erland is overcome by a strong attraction and soon begins a love affair with Sven-Erik’s new wife Karin. Erland’s rational solution is that the four of them should sit down and discuss the situation. They decide that Sven-Erik and Karin should move in with Erland and May. Furthermore they set up 10 rules for their new life together. This experiment really puts them to the test, threatening to plunge them all into the abyss. 104 min.
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BANANAS!*

November 17 & November 20

Directed by Fredrik Gertten (2009). BANANAS!* is a suspenseful, layer-peeling, court room drama chronicle contextualized within the global politics of food and developing world dynamics. Directed by Fredrik Gertten, Sweden’s preeminent documentarian and investigative journalist, BANANAS!* focuses on a slippery fact trail and a landmark and highly controversial legal case pitting a dozen Nicaraguan plantation workers against Dole Food Corporation and its alleged usage of a deadly banned pesticide and its probable link to generations of sterilized workers.

Central to both the film and case is Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez, a Los Angeles-based personal injury attorney who, although iconic within the Latino community for his ubiquitous billboard ads, is unquestionably facing the biggest case and challenge of his career. As the legal representation on the first Nicaraguan sterility case to be tried in U.S. courts, Dominguez and his colleague, Duane C. Miller, are breaking new ground. Theirs is a bellwether case: The first of thousands of cases awaiting trial in Nicaragua and the first legal case where foreign farm workers were allowed to testify against an American multinational corporation before a full jury on U.S. soil. At stake are the futures of generations of workers, their families, as well as the culture of global, multinational business.

This case has been followed by experts and companies all over the world. If Dominguez is successful, it could rock the economic foundations of Dole and Dow, and would open the U.S. courts to other global victims of U.S.-based multinationals. It would represent a new day in international justice, and there are further cases of a similar nature coming up next in many jurisdictions. BANANAS!* is a court room drama covering the case of the 12 Nicaraguan banana workers who have sued Dole in what has become an extremely controversial trial. Cameras inside the court and interviews with Dominguez and the plaintiffs take the audience directly to the story. 87 min.
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Starring Maja/Prinsessa

December 1 & December 4

Directed by Teresa Fabik (2009). Maja, 18 years old, lives in a hopelessly backward small town in Sweden. Her life’s dream is to become an actress. She wants to be the center of attention and for everyone to see the beautiful person she is on the inside. Only it’s a little hard to see, since Maja is heavily overweight, clumsy, and socially inept.

Erika Sohlman is a 28 year-old documentary filmmaker from Stockholm. When she meets Maja, she sees an excellent opportunity to create a reality show about Maja’s life, a tragicomic piece of entertainment, at Maja’s expense. Happy to finally get the attention she deserves, Maja gratefully embraces the opportunity to be on camera.

Maja struggles to realize her dream and establish her own identity during her final term of high school. Her road to success is lined with comedy and tragedy: she is dogged by the prejudices against someone with the “wrong” appearance; she is caught between a self-centered mother and an indifferent father; her timid crush on the popular guy reveals that even he harbors hidden secrets and disappointments.

Over time, Maja realizes that Erika may be using her, and she must ask herself if the attention is worth the price. Their roles are suddenly reversed when Maja grasps that Erika needs her more than she needs Erika. In the end Maja finds the strength and the self-assurance necessary to really take center stage – on her own terms. 94 min.
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The Torso
Based on the novel Tatuerad Torso by Helene Tursten

October 8 & October 9

Part of a dismembered corpse is washed up on a rocky shore on the outskirts of Göteborg. The only worthwhile lead Detective Inspector Irene Huss has to go on is a striking tattoo on the torso.

Her investigations lead her to Copenhagen, where she is plunged into a manhunt for a depraved and vicious killer. A killer she knows will soon strike again, and who is becoming far too interested in her family.

The Horse Figurine
Based on the novel Den Krossade Tanghästen by Helene Tursten

October 22 & October 23

A man jumps from a balcony and dies. His terrified wife witnesses the event in a nearby taxi cab. Once D.I. Irene Huss arrives on the scene, it soon turns out that what appeared to be a tragic suicide is actually a brutal murder, and the victim is one of Göteborg's wealthiest men.

When it becomes clear that a biker gang is involved, the investigation gets even more complicated and Irene finds herself tracking down a shrewd and dangerous murderer among ex-millionaires, motorcycle gangs, drug-dealers and blackmailers. Suddenly, the lives of Irene, her family and her colleagues are in danger. At the same time, she has to deal with everyday life and a teenage daughter who has decided to join a gang of skinheads with neo-Nazi tendencies.

The Fire Dance
Based on the novel Eldsdansen by Helene Tursten

October 29 & October 30

Göteborg is struck by a series of fires. Irene Huss starts investigating an arson case that may be connected to an event that occurred fifteen years ago, a tragic unsolved case that challenged the D.I. when she first came to the Violent Crimes Unit. The population is unnerved by the thought of an arsonist on the loose, and the pressure on Irene and the rest of her team is immense.

In the midst of everything else, a woman has been stabbed to death. The victim, a reclusive elderly woman, seems to have little in common with the fires that ravage the mainland. But as Irene digs deeper into the case, she reveals secrets from the past.

The Night Round
Based on the novel Nattrond by Helene Tursten

November 5 & November 6

A blackout leaves the distinguished halls of the Löwanderska Hospital in complete darkness. Doctor Sverker Löwander hears the alarm when one of the ventilators goes off, and rushes to the intensive care unit only to find the nurse in charge dead in the stairwell and the other missing without a trace.

When D.I. Irene Huss arrives, the sole witness claims to have seen Nurse Tekla doing her rounds. There's only one slight problem: Nurse Tekla committed suicide at the hospital sixty years ago.

Irene is challenged by an intriguing case and dramatic relations, all spiced up with wandering ghosts from the past.

The Glass Devil
Based on the novel Glasdjävulen by Helene Tursten

November 12 & November 13

In a small village near Göteborg, three members of the Schyttelius family are brutally murdered in their respective homes, and the victims’ blood is used to draw upside-down pentagrams on the walls. The investigators soon learn that the upside-down pentagrams symbolize the face of Satan.

Irene Huss learns that Sten Schyttelius, a minister, and his family, were trying to investigate a local Satanist movement in their parish. Irene pursues the lead, but is the answer really a satanic cult? And do only the good go to church?

The Gold Digger
Based on the novel Guldkalven by Helene Tursten

November 19 & November 20

An online poker company promises fame and fortune, but when the bubble bursts, it’s not only the dream of big money that bites the dust: three separate men are all brutally executed in one of Göteborg's most fashionable areas.

But that's all they appear to have in common. The complex investigation of the three dead men immerses D.I. Irene Huss and her colleagues into a world of expensive cars, fancy homes and impressive castles in the air.

Meanwhile, the normally peaceful atmosphere of the Huss family is disturbed by marital tension as Irene suspects her husband Krister of a having an affair with a younger woman.

SWEDEN

The King of Ping Pong (Ping-pongkingen)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, February 7, 2009, 3 pm

With Gyorgi Staykov, Ann-Sofie Nurmi, Frederik Nilsson, Jerry Johansson, and Hampus Johansson. In Swedish with English subtitles. 107 min.

Directed by Jens Jonsson (2008). Rille, a portly 16-year-old outcast, finds his reigning position as the local ping-pong champion unexpectedly compromised when a series of long buried family secrets set him on an emotional collision course with his feisty younger brother Eric. Even though his home life is fractured by divorce and his love life is decidedly nonexistent, Rille does his best to endure with grace and dignity and is at least able to take solace in the fact that he is the most accomplished ping-pong player in town. The founder of a community-based ping-pong program for kids, Rille is admired by the young players and presides over his subjects with the zeal of jovial royalty. The delicate balance of Rille's life is suddenly thrown for a loop, however, when family secrets surface and immediately threaten to send the lives of both himself and Eric into an irreversible tailspin.

To Love Someone (Den man älskar)

Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, February 14, 2009, 3 pm

With Sofia Ledarp, Jonas Karlsson, Rolf Lassgård, Camilla Larsson, Gustav Hammarsten, and Mats Blomgren. In Swedish with English subtitles. 92 min.

Directed by Åke Sandgren (2007). Åke Sandgren’s devastating To Love Someone explores issues of domestic violence and obsession with empathy and clarity. At the story’s centre is Lena, who has rebounded from her disastrous marriage to the alcoholic and abusive Hannes, and built a home with Alf. But Lena’s hellish life with Hannes still haunts her, and when he’s released from prison, she finds herself slipping back into his orbit. Psychologically acute and fearless in its depiction of emotional perversity, this film becomes a pseudo journey to the end of night, realized within the context of a domestic triangle. Sandgren uses a variety of approaches to capture the plot’s emotional complexity. The interpersonal attachments here are explicitly unhinged and profoundly self-destructive, but recognizably human nonetheless.

Wonderful and Loved by All (Underbar och älskad av alla)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, February 21, 2009, 3 pm

With Martina Haag, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Ellen Mattsson. In Swedish with English subtitles. 102 min.

Directed by Hannes Holm (2007). Motivated by the looming end to a lackluster acting career, Bella tells a white lie to land a plum role, only to find that the truth catches up with her. Inching into her forties, she learns that Ingmar Bergman will be directing a new stage adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, and she decides to take a chance and show up for an open audition. After Bella's reading, one of the members of the production staff asks if she has a background in acrobatics. Eager to land the part, Bella says yes, and to her delight she's cast in a small role. However with each passing day, Bella becomes increasingly aware that if she doesn't confess the truth soon, her esteemed director will find out the hard way.

Kidz in da Hood (Förortsungar)

Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, February 28, 2009, 3 pm

With Gustaf Skarsgård, Beylula Kidane Adgoy, Embla Hjulström, Christopher Mhina and Jennifer Brown. 96 min.

Directed by Ylva Gustavsson and Catti Edfeldt (2006). Winner of five Swedish Film Awards, Kidz in da Hood is a gripping and touching story of Amina, who came to Sweden with her grandfather from northern Africa three years ago. Still without a residency permit, Amina’s life turns into a chaotic game of survival after her grandfather dies, having to outsmart social service agencies and evade curious neighbors. She lives in a Stockholm suburb with Johan, an edgy, tattooed rocker who takes on a parental role in Amina’s life, while the street-smart neighborhood kids complete her surrogate family circle. Set to a potent soundtrack of impromptu rap and rock numbers, this film blends serious drama and playful hijinks, exploring themes of personal responsibility, loyalty, grief, and socio-economic class structures.

NORWAY

The Man Who Loved Yngve (Mannen som elsket Yngve)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, March 7, 2009, 3 pm

With Rolf Kristian Larsen, Arthur Berning, Ole Christoffer Ertvåg, and Ida Elise Broch In Norwegian with English subtitles. 90 min.

Directed by Stian Kristiansen (2008). It’s 1989 and in the city of Stavanger 17 year-old Jarle Klepp has no idea that his life is about to change. He seemingly has everything: an amazing girlfriend and the world's coolest best friend, who together are launching Stavanger's toughest punk group, Mattias Rust Band. But when the new boy in class, Yngve, appears, Jarle is immediately drawn to him. As Jarle develops intimate feelings for Yngve, he becomes increasingly frustrated and confused. All he knows is that he cannot stop meeting Yngve, even if it involves doing things he despises, like listening to pop music and playing tennis. Slowly but steadily Jarle’s behavior forces him to make difficult choices, finding out in the end what it means to stand alone.

Kautokeino Rebellion (Kautokeino-opprøret)

Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, March 14, 2009, 3 pm

With Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Aslat Mahtte Gaup, Mikkel Gaup, Nils Peder Gaup, Mikael Persbrandt, Bjørn Sundquist, Sverre Porsanger, Peter Andersson, Mikael Nyqvist, Jørgen Langhelle, and Ole Niklas Guttorm. In Norwegian and Sámi with English subtitles. 96 min.

Directed by Nils Gaup (2008). Based on a Sámi rebellion that occurred in 1852 against the local authorities that abuse and exploit them, this sweeping epic by Nils Gaup delineates the many threads of the complex weave behind the conflict: alcohol abuse, religious revival, historical context, reindeer husbandry, commercial interests and the tug-of-war between local and central authority, both within government and the church. He also reveals compelling parallels between contemporary drug abuse and the alcoholism of the past, through a local merchant named Ruth, who plies the Sámi people with liquor to encourage their dependence. Enraged by her husband's constant state of drunkenness and her people's indifference, one determined Sámi named Elen convinces them to take a stand, initiating a revolt that leads to one of the most dramatic episodes in northern Scandinavian history.

The Art of Negative Thinking (Kunsten å tenke negativt)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, March 21, 2009, 3 pm

With Marian Saastad Ottesen, Fridjov Såheim, Kirsti Eline Torhaug, Per Schaaning, Henrik Mestad, Kari Simonsen, and Kjersti Holmen. In Norwegian with English subtitles. 79 min.

Directed by Bård Breien (2006). This black comedy follows 33 year-old Geirr who, after becoming severely handicapped in a traffic accident, slips into isolation, self medication, and bitterness, and develops an odd yet worrisome weapons fixation. Desperate to wrest him from this depression, his girlfriend Ingvild invites a support group to their home where for the next 24 hours Geirr resists any help, instead taking them down an intense road of anguish, anger, and hopelessness, forcing everyone to confront their own inner struggles. Only as dawn breaks do they once again catch sight of light, if only as a faint glimmer of hope.

Natural Born Star

Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, March 28, 2009, 3 pm

In Norwegian with English subtitles. 75 min.

Directed by Even Benestad (2007). This moving documentary chronicles the rise and fall of Fred Robsahm, who gained fame in the 1960s as a Norwegian actor in Italian westerns and dramas including the cult classic, Barbarella (1968). He was living a life most dreamed of, full of glamour and its trappings, married to one of his beautiful co-stars, Agostina Belli: they lived in a palatial home and amassed an impressive fortune. However, years later in the 1990s, Fred is found back home in Norway, disillusioned, HIV-positive, rundown, alone and broke in a rented room. In a story almost too unbelievable to be true, Benestad applies a nuanced sense of dignity and sensitivity as he retraces the film star’s steps and missteps, revealing how a dream can easily devolve into a nightmare.

DENMARK

The Early Years - Erik Nietzsche Part 1 (De unge år)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, April 4, 2009, 3 pm

Jonatan Spang, Carl Martin Norén, Therese Damsgaard, David Dencik, Line Bie Rosenstjerne, and Paprika Steen. In Danish with English subtitles. 91 min.

Directed by Jacob Thuesen (2007). Written by Oscar-nominated Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, this satirical comedy follows the young and naïve Erik Nietzsche, whose artistic ambition is to make a film about leaves. After being rejected from several film schools, he (accidentally) is accepted by Denmark's National Film School, which is rife with self-absorbed, tyrannical teachers and bizarre fellow students who consider themselves geniuses. As Erik vainly tries to negotiate this psychological and emotional minefield while maintaining his innocence, the film becomes a portrait of an artist’s maturation and corruption – processes which, according to the filmmakers, inevitably go hand in hand. Thuesen and von Trier skillfully utilize wry parodies of key figures in Danish film history along with poignantly absurd cameos by some of the country’s most significant figures, including one by Dogma mainstay and director Paprika Steen.

Dancers (Dansen)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, April 18, 2009, 3 pm

With Trine Dyrholm, Birthe Neumann, and Anders W. Berthelsen. In Danish with English subtitles. 90 min.

Directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen (2008). When the fuse box at her family’s dance studio blows, sparks fly between bright and vivacious Annika and the shy electrician Lasse. He is, at first, reluctant to get close to Annika, but soon confides in her that he was – unjustly as he would have it – convicted and jailed for a brutal crime, but is vague about the details. Annika’s sympathy surprises Lasse and eventually wins him over, but when he arrives to pick her up for a movie, Annika receives a malicious, anonymous phone call revealing that there may be more to Lasse’s mysterious past than he let on. Despite these warnings, Annika falls passionately in love with him, prompting outcries of protest and concern from family and friends. As in previous films by Christensen, the protagonist in this tense drama is a deeply compelling but emotionally disoriented woman whose whole life begins to collapse as the result of her choice of an “unsuitable” partner.

Go With Peace Jamil (Gå med fred Jamil)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, April 25, 2009, 3 pm

Starring Dar Salim. In Danish with English subtitles. 90 min.

Directed by Omar Shargawi (2008). A hard-hitting and intense study of masculinity, revenge and violence among Copenhagen's Muslim community, Shargawi’s is a bold, fresh and authentic take on the immigrant experience. Investigating the insular nature of immigrants, and more specifically Muslims, this thriller tells the story of a marked man, Jamil, who revenged the murder of his mother, only to desperately seek to escape the ramifications of his crime. As pressure mounts, Jamil's father tries to reason with him to end the circle of violence, but it seems nearly impossible to set aside a hatred fostered by generations of tit-for-tat killings. Themes of ancient religious hatred, love, punishment, guilt and redemption are woven skillfully throughout this gritty work impressively portraying an immigrant group rarely represented on screen.

ICELAND

Astrópía

Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, May 9, 2009, 3 pm

With Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Snorri Engilbertsson, Jörundur Ragnarsson, Halla Vilhjálmsdóttir, and Davíð Þór Jónsson. In Icelandic with English subtitles. 92 min.

Directed by Gunnar B. Gudmundsson (2007). When Hildur, a beautiful high society girl and mainstay in the national celebrity press, finds out that she can no longer live off of her recently imprisoned boyfriend, she becomes determined to find financial independence and start a new life. Possessing no skills or practical experience, her job search is fruitless until she lands a job selling role playing books and accessories at the local fantasy game shop, Astrópía. From that moment her life transforms. At Astrópía, Hildur is introduced to a group of endearing geeks who give her a new outlook on life and gradually become unlikely yet loyal friends. When her old boyfriend Jolli, breaks free from prison and kidnaps her in an effort to regain his old lifestyle, her ragtag group of friends rally together to save her, but in the end Hildur must draw on her newfound self-confidence to break free from Jolli's shackles once and for all.

Country Wedding (Sveitabrúðkaup)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, May 16, 2009, 3 pm

Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, Árni Pétur Guðjónsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Erlendur Eiríksson, Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Hanna María Karlsdóttir, Herdís Þorvaldsdóttir, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Karl J. Guðmundsson, Kristbjörg Kjeld, Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Rúnar Freyr Gíslason, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theódór Júlíusson, Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, Víkingur Kristjánsson, Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson. In Icelandic with English subtitles. 95 min.

Directed by Valdís Óskarsdóttir (Iceland, 2008). Óskarsdóttir's Country Wedding is a light-hearted comedy about a dysfunctional family en route to a rustic, intimate wedding in the beautiful countryside of Iceland. Things start to unravel from the beginning when the small wedding party becomes lost as country churches with red roofs are apparently very common. Adding to the complications, the bride's parents are divorced, mom's new boyfriend seems to be a shady businessman, and the maid of honor brings an unexpected date and a senile grandmother without consulting the horrified bride. Enter a long lost uncle who's lived abroad for 25 years, disgruntled relatives, heavy imbibing, scuffles, and you've got yourself a wedding: Iceland style. Óskarsdóttir manages to skillfully walk the fine line between hilarity and despair in this realistic portrait of nuptials where more often than not, they provide fertile ground for the airing of tired grievances and secrets better left hidden.

Back Soon (Skrapp út)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, May 23, 2009, 3 pm

With Didda Jónsdóttir, Joy Doyle, Ingvar E. Sigurðsson, Julien Cotterau, and Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir og Jörundur Ragnarsson. In Icelandic with English subtitles. 90 min.

Directed by Sólveig Anspach (2008). In this quirky, heartfelt film, Anna Hallgrímsdóttir is a poet, dish washer and marijuana dealer in her late thirties who lives in Reykjavík with her two sons, Krummi and Úlfur. Tired of her daily life and the coldness of Iceland, she decides it is time to show her sons more of the world, and prepares to begin a new chapter in their lives. Before changing her lifestyle, however, first she must sell her “business,” which consists of her mobile phone, containing her extensive and valuable client list. A potential buyer low on cash promises to pay her asking price within 48 hours. Set to a score of lively Icelandic reggae, the next two days propel Anna through numerous family adventures, culminating with a crowd of customers, friends and relatives who have gathered in her kitchen for a farewell soiree.

The Word Music (Orðið tónlist)/The Corner Shop (Kjötborg)
The Word Music Part 1 (Focusing on Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson)/The Corner Shop

Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 6:30 pm

The Word Music Part 2 (Focusing on Jórunn Viđar)/The Corner Shop

Saturday, May 30, 2009, 3 pm

Directed by Ari Alexander and Ergis Magnusson (2008). The Word Music is a two part documentary focusing on Icelandic composers Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson (1995-2005) and Jórunn Viđar (1918). Tracing the history of modern music and the creative avant-garde in Reykjavík, this film supplies an utterly unique soundtrack set against breathtaking Icelandic visuals. Each installment is 52 min.

Directed by Helga Rakel Rafnsdóttir and Hulda Rós Guðnadóttir (2008). In a world of globalization, fast food, and sprawling supermarket chains, The Corner Shop is a documentary about one of the last remaining privately-owned grocery stores in Iceland. Run by two eccentric brothers, the shop is the glue that keeps the community together and armed with nothing more than good humor and intentions, the brothers fight a constant battle against more corporate and efficient models of consumption. 44 min.

FINLAND

Black Ice (Musta jää)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, June 6, 2009, 3 pm

With Outi Mäenpää, Ria Kataja, Martti Suosalo, Ville Virtanen, Sara Paavolainen, Netta Heikkilä, Väinö Heiskanen, Philipp Danne, and Matti Laine. In Finnish with English subtitles. 117 min.

Directed by Petri Kotwica (2007). Black Ice is a suspenseful drama about an unlikely relationship between two women. Saara, a happily married woman with a successful career as a surgeon, discovers on her birthday that her husband Leo, an architecture professor, is cheating on her. Leo refuses to admit to the affair, so Saara moves out and takes matters into her own hands. Through the computer, she discovers the identity of the “other woman,” Tuuli, who it turns out is one of her husband’s architecture students. Saara assumes a fake identity in cyber space to get closer to the woman and also joins Tuuli’s karate class and eventually they become good friends. The drama escalates into a thriller as Saara plots her revenge.

The Border (Raja 1918)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, June 13, 2009, 3 pm

With Martin Bahne, Minna Haapkylä, and Leonid Mozgovoy. In Finnish, Swedish, Russian, and German with English subtitles. 115 min.

Directed by Lauri Törhönen (2007). Set in the aftermath of Finland’s civil war, the deeply loyal Captain von Munck is sent to the Karelian Isthmus to establish and maintain a national border for the fledgling nation state of Finland. With St. Petersburg only 40 km away, his job entails the difficult and delicate task of contending with fugitive Reds, smugglers, artists, Jews, English spies and refugees trying to cross into Finland. His orders are simple. Finns and nationals of other countries may pass, but Reds and Russians may not, and are to be shot without hesitation. Complications arise when von Munck loses his heart to a beautiful and passionate Russian woman and also discovers that his clerk, a local school teacher, is harboring a wounded communist warlord, risking the Captain’s allegiance and his life. Törhönen explores the moral dilemma that arises from the conflict of humanity and strict political loyalty while painstakingly recreating a historical narrative unlike any other war film.

Thomas

Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 6:30 pm & Saturday, June 20, 2009, 3 pm

With Lasse Pöysti, Pentti Siimes, Eila Halonen, Marja-Leena Kouki, Aarre Karén, and Tuomo Mutru. In Finnish with English subtitles. 70 min.

Directed by Miika Soini (2008). Thomas, in the autumn of his life, lives a simple and isolated existence in his below-street-level apartment. The flat is sparsely furnished and bereft of sentimental objects, except for a photo of his wife. His days revolve around listening to classical music on his radio and a perhaps symbolic, never-ending game of chess, in which the only opponent is himself. He does not venture outside very often but when he does, the outside world cuttingly reminds him of his old age, his loneliness, and times he cares not to remember. There are hints of an unresolved conflict deep inside him that perpetuates his situation, until a chance meeting with another elderly gentleman on a park bench proves instrumental in unlocking his solitude. Compassion, forgiveness and atonement are sensitively conveyed through an elegant, minimalist style and ascetic composition.

Shadow of the Holy Book (Pyhän kirjan varjo)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 6:30pm & Saturday, June 27, 2009, 3 pm

With Arto Halonen, Kevin Frazier, Markku Visapää, Kaius Niemi, Ali Karagöz, Avdy Kuliev, Murad Aliev, David Garcia, Farid Tuhbatullin, Boris Shikmuradov Jr., and Erika Dailey. In Finnish with English Subtitles. 90 min.

Directed by Arto Halonen (2008). This documentary examines the Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov, aka “Turkmenbashi.” The founder of one of the world's most insular, dictatorial regimes, Niyazov wrote the “Ruhnama,” the so-called “holy book” referred to in the title, that combines legend, myth and Niyazovian poetry with a self-exalting interpretation of history. Turkmenbashi is responsible for innumerable human rights violations including torture, murder, and unjust imprisonment. Yet, these egregious offenses don’t dissuade major corporations from commissioning over 40 translations of this text into their native language to win Turmenbashi’s favor and gain access to oil and lucrative construction contracts. Daringly executed, this buzzed-about documentary exposes how the immorality of major international companies helps Turkmenistan hide its rampant human rights abuses.

Nordic Noir: Crime Series – Varg Veum

July 8 through August 13, 2009
$9, $6 ASF Members

Scandinavia House continues with the ever-popular crime series, Varg Veum, featuring film adaptations of Norwegian writer Gunnar Staalesen’s crime novels. The contemporary thriller series about hard-boiled private investigator Varg Veum is distinguished by dark humor, sharp characterization and unremitting tension.

During the last two decades Gunnar Staalesen has published 13 Varg Veum novels and 2 collections of short stories, and has become a household name with the Norwegian crime audience. Publishers have recognized the fine talent for hard-boiled noir of the Norwegian writer, and his Varg Veum novels are now being published in 13 countries, among others Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France, England and Italy. Staalesen has written more than 35 books and has received a number of prestigious Scandinavian awards. In 2004 Varg Veum was honored as the Norwegian crime hero of all time. Staalesen is known for his talent to create complex and exciting crime plots, and at the same time displaying a consciousness of the social injustices through his lone-wolf hero.

There are six films in the series and they will be screened on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm and again on Thursdays at 2:30 pm. The series starts on July 8 and runs through August 13.

House of Fools/De gales hus

Wednesday, October 14, 6 pm & Wednesday, October 21, 8:30 pm

Directed by Eva Isaksen (2008). Aina wants to escape from it all, but the house of fools is not a peaceful place to be. After throwing herself through a shop window, Aina is taken in for treatment. She is forced to join therapy groups, riding lessons and cleansing conversations with those who wish to help her. Especially with Stetson, named after his own hat, who considers it honorable to bring a broken soul back to life. In the house of fools, Aina learns that sheer madness usually makes a lot of sense! 103 min.
Watch trailer

Cold Lunch/Lønsj

Wednesday, October 14, 8:30 pm & Thursday, October 22, 6:30 pm

Directed by Eva Sørhaug (2008). There is hope, but not for many of us. A multi-plot drama about five people who all live in the same neighborhood at Majorstua in Oslo. While Christer is down in the basement laundry room, he suddenly remembers he's got his rent money in the shirt pocket. In an attempt to save the money, he disconnects the main fuse in order to stop the washing machine. As the caretaker puts in a new fuse, an old man is fumbling with the fuses in a fuse-box upstairs and dies instantly. His daughter, Leni is now alone for the first time in her life. As the fresh mother Heidi is in the washroom to get her laundry, she discovers that the machines have stopped. She is in a hurry, and has to bring with her the wet clothes. Without being aware of it, Christer has set unavoidable processes in motion. 90 min.
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The Art of Norwegian Animation

Thursday, October 15, 6 pm

Curated by Kajsa Næss. A showcase of Norway’s newest and most acclaimed films that have emerged from the country’s vibrant animation industry. For the past decade, Norwegian animation has been undergoing an intense transformation. Moving beyond small-scale productions, it has become a leader in international design, motion-graphics and cinema. This is a rare chance to view a collection of contemporary animation-based work from Norway’s top artists and studios.

Ice Kiss/Iskyss

Thursday, October 15, 8:30 pm & Friday, October 23, 6:30 pm

Directed by Knut Erik Jensen (2008). A strong and poetic love story based on the 30 years Gunvor Galtung Haavik spent living a double life. During the Cold War, she was employed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and assigned to the Norwegian Embassy in Moscow. With the information she had access to in her position as interpreter and secretary, she frequently fed the KGB secret information, in her role as a Russian agent. Director Knut Erik Jensen made the film relying on documentation and inspiration from Alf R. Jacobsen’s book Iskyss, and Haavik’s own letters to her secret Russian lover Vladimir Kozlov. 83 min.
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Max Manus

Friday, October 16, 6 pm

Directed by Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg (2008). Max Manus is a true story about one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II and his battle to overcome his inner demons. In spite of being one of the most wanted men by the Gestapo in Norway, Manus participated in some of the most daring sabotage attacks during the Second World War. After having fought as a volunteer in the Finnish-Russian Winter War, Manus returns home to a Norway occupied by the Germans, in the spring of 1940. Before long, he and his buddies Gregers Gram and Gunnar Sønsteby start making trouble for the Germans. They build up a resistance network, collect weapons and explosives, and undergo training in England. From their safe apartment in Oslo, they carry out sabotage attacks against important Nazi targets, and they become increasingly more devious. But the Gestapo investigator Siegfried Fehmer works determinedly and patiently to stop Manus, and soon he starts to unravel the network around him. In a meeting with Fehmer he realizes that everybody is a victim of the meaninglessness of war. 118 min.
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Troubled Water/De usynlige

Friday, October 16, 8:30 pm & Wednesday, October 21, 6 pm

Directed by Erik Poppe (2008). How do you find light, joy and purpose in life after a blow of fate? Jan Thomas is a young man fresh from an eight-year prison sentence. The catalyst for his incarceration may have been an accident and may have been a premeditated murder, but regardless, the event still hangs over Jan like a dark shroud, tempering his memories and his actions. Upon release, Jan - a talented organist - lands a job in the local church as an organ player, and begins to develop feelings for Anna, a female priest who also happens to be a single mother. To avoid complications and protect the sanctity of the new relationship, Jan silently vows to withhold information about his troubled past from Anna, but the past catches up with him in the form of Agnes, a schoolteacher who visits the church and recognizes Jan - as the man responsible for her young son's death. Troubled Water skillfully combines two strong stories about people who try to come to terms with the past - and with their own fate. They try to accept who they have become, and to find a new way to relate to love. Troubled Water is the third film in Erik Poppe’s trilogy which started with Schpaaa and Hawaii, Oslo. 121 min.
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Kurt Turns Evil/Kurt blir grusom

Saturday, October 17, 3 pm & Saturday, October 24, 3 pm

Directed by Rasmus A. Sivertsen (2008). One day Kurt discovers that society basically does not respect forklift operators very much. His wife is an ambitious architect. His neighbor is a medical doctor. Not even Kurt's own kids seem to be very happy about their father's occupation. Even if Kurt is popular among his colleagues and likes to drive a forklift, he quits his job, and starts climbing the social ladder. He wants to become a doctor, he wants to get rich, and he wants to be somebody. In the end, he even wants to become Prime Minister. But he does not have much success in any of his projects, and as time goes by, Kurt turns…evil. 74 min.
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