By Travis Johnson
Kicking off in Sydney from July 11, the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival is dedicated to bringing the best movies from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland to Australian audiences – and not just that groovy and gory Nordic Noir stuff, either. No, you’ll find a full range of genres and topics if you swing by your local Palace cinema to sample some of the filmic treats on offer.
The first salvo of titles from this year’s fest include:
The King’s Choice, Norway’s official 2017 Academy Award selection, which tracks events following the German invasion of Norway in World War II.
Rosemari, from acclaimed Norwegian director, author and screenwriter, Sara Johnsen, sees a doubtful bride (Tuva Novotny – Nobel, A War, Eat Pray Love, The King’s Choice) find a newborn baby girl abandoned in a hotel restroom during her wedding. 16 years later, she helps the girl solve the riddle of her birth.
Handle With Care by prolific commercial director Arild Andresen is a delicate father and son journey that sees a man Kristoffer Joner (The Wave) take his adopted son back to his birthplace, Colombia, to search for his biological mother.
The documentary Magnus follows 26 year old chess virtuoso Magnus Carlsen as he becomes the World Chess Champion.
The latest installment of Denmark’s smash-hit Nordic noir series A Conspiracy of Faith was described by the Los Angeles Times as “the darkest and most gripping screen adaptation of the Jussi Adler-Olsen novels to date”. Directed by Hans Petter Moland, the film follows the further exploits of Department Q, a dead-end police division dedicated to long-unsolved cases.
Screenwriter Rasmus Heisterberg (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Royal Affair) turns to directing with In the Blood, a nostalgic coming of age film that follows a group of young men through a warm, sunny summer at a defining moment in their lives.
This year’s winner of the Public Prize at the Robert Awards, Danish film One-Two-Three-Go! stars Nikolaj Groth and newcomer Clara Rosager in an intimate coming-of-age story.
Director and writer Charlotte Sieling returns to features with The Man, starring Jakob Oftebro as a world-famous artist forced to confront his past when the son he never knew, a renowned graffiti artist, shows up at his studio.
Jakob Oftebro also stars in Tom of Finland, which sees Pekka Strang as Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, the renowned Finnish homoerotic artist.
Multiple award winner Heartstone is a beautifully crafted film that follows the lives of a group of youths as they explore sexuality and maturity over a summer in a small Icelandic village.
Finnish drama Little Wing centres on a resourceful girl as she struggles between fitting in with her friends and her family. Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Selma Vilhunen based part of the story on her own longing for a relationship with her father, who passed away from mental illness.
The full program will be announced later this month. The Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival runs in Sydney from July 11 – August 2, Melbourne from July 13 to August 2, Canberra from Jul 18 – August 2, Adelaide from July 19 – 30, Brisbane from July 20 – August 6, Perth from July 20 – August 2, and Hobart from July 20 – 26. For more info, head to the official site.
