Scandinavia House

May Death Sleep/Må döden sova

February 1 & 3
Immediately following the screening on February 3: Behind the Scenes with Millennium Trilogy Producer Sören Stærmose with Moderator Mikael Södersten

Directed by Erik Leijonborg (Sweden, 2011). Two women, seemingly unconnected to each other, die in apparent suicides. But the strange circumstances cause Maria Wern and her colleagues at the Gotland Police Department to dig deeper, and soon the questions multiply. Was someone stalking the women? Is there reason to believe that they were suffering from some kind of psychosis? And is there a common denominator after all...?

The investigation takes an unexpected turn when the police discover even more dead bodies — and soon Maria’s colleagues Ek and Erika are forced far further into the center of events than they had counted on.

Black Butterfly/Svart fjäril

February 8 & 10

Directed by Charlotte Berlin & Leif Lindblom (Sweden, 2011). The charred body of a medium is found in the gutted remains of her office after a fire. And it soon turns out that she was murdered —suffocated with a plastic bag and doused in kerosene, the woman was left to die in the flames. When another two murders take place in the same manner, it becomes clear to the Gotland police that they have a serial killer on their hands - but without having the slightest idea what the victims had in common, or who the next one might be.

Maria Wern is forced to lead an investigation where neither the motive nor the victims seem to be connected — at the same time that her colleague Arvidsson’s loyalty is forcibly put to the test.

Boy Missing/Pojke försvunnen

February 15 & 17

Directed by Charlotte Berlin & Leif Lindblom (Sweden, 2011). A ten-year-old boy disappears from a dinner in a little fishing village, while another vanishes from a refugee camp on the island. These are but the first in series of frightening events to take place on the island of Gotland, where a string of brutal murders are committed in quick succession.

And what starts out as the search for a missing child, leads Maria Wern and her colleagues ever deeper into a nest of hidden agendas, personal betrayals — and links to international crime.

For hidden beneath this little fishing paradise, lie secrets that prove more dangerous than anyone could have imagined.

Not Even the Past/Inte ens det förflutna

February 22 & 24

Directed by Erik Leijonborg (Sweden, 2011). When Maria Wern of the Gotland Police Department receives anonymous death threats, she and her colleagues begin a frantic search to track down the source.

Following a violent assassination attempt, however, she is ordered off the island for her own protection. Together with a group of old girlfriends from school, she secretly heads off to the pristine nature reserve of Stora Karlsö Island.

But while Maria’s colleagues on Gotland do their best to find the culprit, it becomes increasingly clear that the murderer may have followed her out on her wilderness getaway. And instead of being safely hidden away, the seven women are hovering in mortal danger.

GREENLAND

 Inuk/Le Voyage d’Inuk

February 29 & March 2

Directed by Mike Magidson (Greenland, 2010). Mike Magidson’s feature narrative debut is a stunning coming of age adventure featuring dynamic performances by amateur Inuit actors akin to or surpassing any professional. Inuk is the story of a 16 year-old boy who is taken from his broken family life in the capital city of Greenland and placed in a home for troubled youth in the remote north of the country. What follows is a dramatic, arctic journey as Inuk (Gaaba Petersen) and the other teens at the center are led by Inuit hunter Ikuma (Ole Jørgen Hammeken) on a cross-ice voyage where they will be forced to grow into adulthood and face their troubled pasts.
85 min.
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This film screens in conjunction with a week of special Greenlandic programs. See also LECTURES & LITERARY PROGRAMS section and KIDS & FAMILY PROGRAMS section.

NORWAY

King of Devil’s Island/Kongen av Bastøy

March 7 & March 9

Directed by Marius Holst (Norway, 2010). This true story of the infamous Bastøy Boys Home correctional facility in Norway begins with the arrival of 17 year-old Erling (Benjamin Helstad), a rumored murderer. He immediately clashes with the island facility's governor (Stellan Skarsgård), who believes manual labor, rigid discipline, and harsh punishment are the only methods that can turn the boys into honorable members of society. Refusing to accept the constant abuse, Erling slowly rouses the rest of the boys out of their resigned existence, and encourages them to fight to lift up their spirits. When tragedy finally falls at the hand of the sadistic dorm master, Erling leads his comrades in a courageous and vicious rebellion that will bring them head to head with no less than the Norwegian Army.
120 min.
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A Somewhat Gentle Man/En ganske snill mann

March 14 & March 16

Directed by Hans Petter Moland (Norway, 2010). Ulrik (Stellan Skarsgård) is a somewhat gentle man. He has killed some people and crippled a few. But this sort of stuff is part of the job when working in the criminal world. Just like doing time in prison. Now Ulrik is out again. And Jensen (Bjørn Floberg) is waiting on the outside. He's a thug with professional pride. He takes care of his people and is concerned with keeping things in order. It is important for the boss that Ulrik settles his account by shooting the guy (Henrik Mestad) who ratted him out. Ulrik is a somewhat gentle man. He has no special wishes and makes no demands. He does not give too much thought to what he does either. He just does it. If he's given some food and a place to sleep, then he will give people what they want from him in return, whether this is a little affection or a killing. Then he looks up his son (Jan Gunnar Roise) who has now become a grown man – a good man with an education, a girlfriend (Julia Bache-Wiig), and a future. But the son has a father who's a murderer. His girlfriend doesn't like it. Her family is not into stuff like that, they're more into nurseries and plants. They have principles. Ulrik is a somewhat gentle man - but how gentle can he be?
105 min.
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FINLAND

Princess/Prinsessa

March 21 & March 23

Directed by Arto Halonen (Finland, 2010). A film about a woman (Katja Kukkola), judged to be sick by society, who heals and brings joy to others around her with her presence and personality. As she heals her surroundings more effectively than the prevailing healthcare system, the society attempts to suppress this individual’s inner light.

Princess is a feature film based on a true story about the most famous patient of Kellokoski Mental Hospital, Anna Lappalainen. Diagnosed as a manic depressive with symptoms of schizophrenia, Lappalainen claims to be a princess when brought into the hospital and does not want to be addressed by her own name.

This kickstarts a long battle between Lappalainen and the hospital staff over her identity and the right to her own personality. Eventually the Kellokoski hospital becomes the princess’ castle, where she holds court while gaining the respect of her fellow patients, the hospital staff and the surrounding village community.
104 min.
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Run Sister Run!/Sisko tahtoisin jäädä

March 28 & March 30

Directed by Marja Pyykkö (Finland, 2010). 15 year-old Emilia (Ada Kukkonen) has always been the responsible one in her family. Emilia´s parents are divorced and the children live with their dad. In the absence of their mother, Emilia looks after her little sister, and her dad says Emilia “will always do fine.” On the last day of summer break, Emilia meets Siiri (Sara Melleri), who seems to be everything Emilia wishes she was: brave, free, and independent. It is friendship at first sight and Emilia´s life soon revolves around Siiri. But can freedom be found in a symbiotic relationship with Siiri? Emilia has to find the courage to break free from Siiri in order to become whole and find her own path. Run Sister Run! tells the story of the turbulent relationship between the two girls as they test new boundaries and take new paths. It is a film about the bittersweet beauty of being young.
112 min.
View trailer (no subtitles)

SWEDEN

Balls/Farsan

April 11 & April 13

Directed by Josef Fares (Sweden, 2010). Lebanese-Swedish director Josef Fares gives his real-life father a star-making turn in this charming tale with light comedic overtones about family life among Middle Eastern immigrants living in Scandinavia. The gregarious Aziz (Jan Fares) is a widower looking for love with the help of his co-workers at a rinky-dink bike shop, while his son and daughter-in-law promise to make him a grandfather. He doesn't realize that they can't conceive naturally, however, so they're faking the pregnancy and planning to adopt. When Aziz goes looking for a warm and suitable grandmother, nothing really goes according to plan. Balls is a comedy about love, friendship, and the art of being a man.
98 min.
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Glowing Stars/I taket lyser stjärnorna

April 18 & April 20

Directed by Lisa Siwe (Sweden, 2009). Jenna (Josefine Mattsson) is a girl currently in the seventh grade. Like a normal teenage girl, she worries about her breasts not growing, why she is not as popular as Ullis (Mika Berndtsdotter Ahlén), and how she can get Sakke (Samuel Haus) to fall in love with her or at least notice that she exists. When Jenna's mother Liv (Annika Hallin) is diagnosed with cancer, they are forced to move to Jenna's grandmother (Anki Lidén), who Jenna finds annoying. Jenna's grandmother lives next door to Ullis, who is living with her alcoholic mother. A friendship begins to grow between Jenna and Ullis after they realize that they both have struggling mothers. Based on the 2003 youth novel by Johanna Thydell, Glowing Stars deals with the difficulty of losing a loved one. But it is also a film about friendship, identity, and survival.
90 min.
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DENMARK

Submarino

April 25 & April 27

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark, 2010). The story of two estranged brothers who lose track of each other after an unstable childhood until they meet up again in prison is the focus of former Dogma director Thomas Vinterberg film based on a book by Jonas T. Bengtsson, a Danish novelist celebrated for his unflinching realism. The film’s title refers to a horrific method of torture known as “submarino” (waterboarding) in which the target’s head is held under water to just before the point of drowning.

Nick (Jakob Cedergren) and his younger brother have grown up in terrible circumstances: their childhood was marked by poverty, abuse and an alcoholic mother until the family was torn apart by tragedy. Nick is now thirty-three and has just been released from prison. He’s a man who knows what he wants: to train hard and drink hard in order to stand up against a hard world. A bodybuilder, he lives in a dilapidated hostel on the outskirts of Copenhagen. His brother (Peter Plaugborg) is a junkie and a single father for whom only two things count in life: his daily fix and a better life for his six-year-old son, Martin (Gustav Fischer Kjærulff). Reason enough for him to deal in heroin.

The brothers may live separate lives in grim Copenhagen, yet they are somehow searching for each other. What binds them is their mutual struggle for a life worth living. Occasionally their paths cross, making confrontation inevitable, but is redemption possible?
110 min.
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A Family/En familie

May 2 & May 4

Directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen (Denmark, 2011). Ditte (Lene Maria Christensen) is part of a renowned family of bakers, the Rheinwalds. She is also a successful gallery owner and constantly on the move. Having been offered her dream job in New York she decides, along with her boyfriend Peter (Pilo Asbæk), to accept the offer and move to the Big Apple. The future is bright and life is fun and simple.

The couple is on their way when Ditte’s beloved, but dominating father Rikard Rheinwald (Jesper Christensen), master baker and purveyor to the royal court, falls seriously ill. Ditte calls off the move to New York in order to be with him and before long her own way of life hangs in the balance.

Rikard demands that, in view of his illness, she takes her place in the Rheinwald family business and assume ownership of the bakery, while Peter pulls in the opposite direction, feeling that Ditte’s loyalty to her family is forcing her to abandon their common dreams. Ditte is faced with the grueling decision: to pursue her own dreams, or to continue the legacy of her family.

A Family is a moving and modern story about complicated family ties, the new wife, and the new kids - and about following your dreams to find your own place in history.
102 min.
View trailer (no subtitles)