The Scandinavian Film Festival starts this week at the Palace Cinema in Byron Bay and runs from July 17-23, showcasing the best comedies, dramas and thrillers of the year. Verandah Magazine has three double passes to a Festival session to giveaway – just leave a comment in the box below or on our FB page to be in the draw.
Closing this year’s Scandinavian Film Festival on Thursday July 23 is Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words. One of Hollywood’s most radiant and beloved European imports, Ingrid Bergman becomes more of an icon with every passing year. In this fascinating festival highlight, Swedish writer, director and film critic Stig Bjorkman has created an intimate portrait that spans the significant periods of Bergman’s career: the Swedish period, the Hollywood period, and the Italian period. A combination of never-before-seen private footage, notes, letters, diaries and interviews with Bergman’s children Pia Lindström, Isabella, Ingrid and Renato Rossellini, as well as fellow actors Liv Ullman and Sigourney Weaver, results in a film that is both celebratory and revelatory. This is a captivating look behind-the-scenes of the remarkable life of a young Swedish girl who became one of the most beloved and celebrated actresses of American and European cinema.
No Thank You – Anu Sinsalo has won several Best Actress Awards for her portrayal of Heli.
Also screening at the festival is No Thank You, a Finnish comedy about 42 year old Heli, still very much in love with and attracted to her husband – however he prefers spending time with his computer to enjoying sex with her. The relationship hits serious trouble when the couple’s teenage daughter leaves for a month long holiday. Heli’s subtle hints and sexy clothes have no effect on her husband and driven to desperation, she begins an affair with a spunky young student. But not everything goes according to plan… Star Anu Sinsalo won Best Actress award at the Finland Jussi Awards and the Swedish Peace & Love Film Festival. No Thank You screens on Monday July 20.
Hey Hey we’re the Beatles…(the Norwegian version)
Another comedy, this time from Norway, is Beatles, screening on July 22. Four teenage boys come of age in Oslo at the time when Beatlemania hit Norway. Kim, Gunnar, Ola and Seb each take on one of the Fab Four’s names and plan to start their own band during a time of great political upheaval. At the same time, they struggle through their formative years: battling with archaic textbooks and ancient teachers, and, of course, they discover girls. Based on Lars Saabye Christensen’s beloved bestseller of the same title, Beatles hits all the right notes with a gorgeous soundtrack generating nostalgic recollections of lost innocence and the importance of friendship.
The prize-winning Underdog is a tender human drama.
The shifting power balance between Sweden and Norway is explored in Underdog, a tender human drama that touches on themes of class and immigration. Bianca Kronlöf is outstanding as 23-year-old Dino, one of thousands of young Swedish émigrés scrabbling for work in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. Her new life is a destructive loop of temporary jobs, financial troubles and hard partying until she lands a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy ex-sportsman. During a few sultry summer weeks she ends up in the centre of an odd and intense love triangle. Underdog was awarded Best New Director at the Chicago Internationall Film Festival and the Critics’ Award for Best Film Debut at the Zurich Film Festival and screens on July 21.
All Inclusive: Jealousy, love, lies – and disco.
In the Danish comedy All Inclusive screening on July 18, Lise, whose husband has recently left her, reluctantly travels to celebrate her 60th birthday in Malta with her daughters. Things get off to a rocky start as the sexy and chaotic Ditte and her sensible older sister Sigrid don’t see eye to eye on how to cheer up their dejected mother, stubbornly fighting over Lise’s love and attention. When a dexterous bartender named Antonio is thrown into the mix, everything becomes a little more complicated in what turns out to be a hilarious whirlwind summer holiday full of laughs, jealousy, love, lies, and disco!
Verandah Magazine has three double-passes to a session to give away…just put a comment in the FB box below, or on our FB page.
For info on all the festival films and screening dates, go to ScandinavianFilmFestival or pick up a program at Palace Byron Bay Cinema.
The opening night film will be followed by a party with live music, drinks and Nordic treats.
