New York, NY—The Nordic & Baltic Oscar Contenders returns this fall/winter at Scandinavia House! The series kicks off on Monday, November 11 with a screening and film talk of The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, a contender for Best Feature Documentary at the 97th Academy Awards, with a film talk by director Benjamin Ree. The story of Norwegian gamer Mats Steen, who died at the age of 25 from degenerative muscular disease but was later revealed to have had a secret, vibrant, digital life in World of Warcraft, the film has been hailed as “a heartfelt digital eulogy”; and will screen with the short film Maykayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World, which follows the transformative journey of a young girl with nonverbal autism and her family.
The series continues on Tuesday, November 19 with the Icelandic Contender for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards, Baltasar Kormákur’s Touch. A thrilling story spanning decades and continents, Touch follows a widower’s journey to find his first love before time runs out; based on the bestselling novel of Ólafur J. Ólafsson, it has been hailed as “pure and simple and unashamedly emotional” (The Guardian), and will be presented with a virtual film talk with the director. On Thursday, November 21, the Finnish Oscar Contender for Best International Feature, Family Time, will be accompanied by a film talk and Q&A with director Tia Kouvo. A family comes together for the holidays — and immediately starts falling apart — in this bitingly humorous, poignant drama about changing old patterns.
The series will continues in December with the Danish Oscar Contender The Girl with the Needle, screening on December 4with a film talk by director Magnus von Horn. Inspired by one of Denmark’s most infamous serial killer cases, Dagmar Overbye, the film follows a young seamstress striving to climb out of poverty in post-WWI Copenhagen, where a solution to her problems may come at a terrible cost… Chilling and timely, and “invested with a supremely eerie folkloric edge” (The Telegraph). On Thursday, December 5, the Norwegian Oscar Contender Armand explores a tense situation that develops at an elementary school after boundaries have been crossed between two six-year-olds; starring The Worst Person in the World actress Renate Reinsve, it has been acclaimed as “resonant and haunting,” and screens with a film talk with Director Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel.
And on Saturday, December 7, see Sweden’s Oscar Contender — and its highest-grossing documentary so far — The Last Journey. In an attempt to help his retired father regain his zest for life, filmmaker Filip Hammar and close friend Fredrik Wikingsson take him on a surprise road trip to France, retracing steps they made in the summer during Flip’s childhood. Over the course of their travels, a different metamorphosis takes place — one that brings Filip to terms with the inevitability of aging, in a film described as “life affirming…humorous and heartbreaking” (Variety). Filip Hammar will be present for a film talk and Q&A, followed by a reception in Björk Cafe & Bistro.
The series also includes two Oscar Contenders screening in the NY Baltic Film Festival. The Estonian Oscar Contender 8 Views of Lake Biwa screens on November 8 with a film talk by producer Ivo Felt and costume designer Reet Aus. Described as “a bona-fide masterpiece” by Cineuropa, the film is a deeply visceral tale exploring an isolated Estonian fishing village. The NY Baltic Film Festival features both in-person and virtual screenings through November 17.
Also coming up on Friday, November 22, join us for a screening and film talk on A Letter From Helga, with director Ása Hjörleifsdóttir (an ASF Fellow), which explores two neighboring families in 1940s Iceland whose lives are torn apart by a forbidden love affair.