This year, the Nordic & Baltic Oscar Contenders series returns to Scandinavia House in a hybrid format! In coordination with Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. with BalticFilmExpo@SFFLA, Scandinavia House is pleased to offer virtual screenings of films chosen by the Nordic & Baltic countries to compete for the Oscar nomination for the Best International Feature Film, available to viewers across the U.S. on the weekends of January 6, 13, as well as 20. The virtual series will include a minimum of eight films in total, screened over weekends in January; check back here for more details on upcoming virtual screenings. Passholders will receive priority reservation for limited screenings taking place later this month.
During the weekend of January 20-23, the program comprises screenings of the Swedish documentary The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (dir. Kristian Petri & Kristina Lindstrom, Sweden, 2021); President (dir. Camilla Nielsson; Denmark/Norway/USA, 2021), shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature for the 94th Academy Awards; and Compartment No. 6 (dir. Juho Kuosmanen, Finland/Estonia/Germany/Russia, 2021).
Festival films will be available to ticket holders all over the U.S. Each session is limited to 300 tickets in an effort to preserve the intimate and communal experience. The sessions will take place over four days (Thursday — Sunday), and all films from the session will be available for viewing on a virtual cinema screening platform throughout this period.
To download viewing instructions and an FAQ, please click here.
To see upcoming in-house screenings in the series, please click here.
FILMS
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (dir. Kristian Petri & Kristina Lindstrom, Sweden, 2021)
In 1971 at the world premiere of Death in Venice in London, Italian director Luchino Visconti proclaimed Björn Andrésen, the teen star of his latest film, “the most beautiful boy in the world.” Just 16 at the time when the film came out, Andrésen was unprepared for instantly becoming an international celebrity. Fifty years later, Björn looks back on his life, in a story of a boy who was thrust to international stardom for his iconic looks and lived a life of glamour as well as heartbreak. (94 min. In Swedish, English, French, Italian, and Japanese with English subtitles)
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President (dir. Camilla Nielsson; Denmark/Norway/USA, 2021)
Danish director Camilla Nielsson – who previously chronicled the contentious reform of Zimbabwe’s constitution in the acclaimed Democrats – gains astonishing access to that nation’s 2018 presidential election as Obama-esque reformer Nelson Chamisa faces overwhelming odds against Emmerson Mnangagwa, disciple of longtime dictator Robert Mugabe, and nicknamed “the crocodile.” Disputes over voter rolls and a compromised election commission, plus voter intimidation and outright violence mount as election day nears, as President illustrates the global scale of these issues. (115 minutes. In English and Shona with English Subtitles)
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Compartment No. 6 (dir. Juho Kuosmanen, Finland/Estonia/Germany/Russia, 2021)
A Finnish student studying in Moscow, Laura sets off alone on a train trip to the Arctic port of Murmansk, after a trip planned with her lover falls through. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a larger-than-life Russian miner, Ljoha, she tries in vain to find distance. But as their connection grows stronger while the train nears its destination, their unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment No. 6 to face major truths about human connection. Based on the novel by Rosa Liksom, Compartment No. 6 has been hailed as “fresh, resonant and honest” (Los Angeles Times) and “a trip well worth taking”—Globe and Mail. (107 min. In Finnish and Russian with English subtitles)
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