Scandinavian Film Festival

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Wed 17 Jul 2024 - Wed 14 Aug 2024

The Scandinavian Film Festival is celebrating a decade on Australian cinema screens and continues to showcase the best contemporary Nordic cinema selected from major international film festivals and markets. Expect to see sweeping dramas, crime thrillers, black comedy, and spectacular cinematography and landscapes. Screening dates are as follows - ADE 17 July – 7 Aug; BRI 18 Jul – 7 Aug; MEL 19 Jul – 7 Aug; SYD 24 Jul – 14 Aug; CAN 25 Jul – 14 Aug; PER 25 Jul – 14 Aug; BYR 26 Jul – 14 Aug; BALL 26 Jul – 14 Aug, and you'll find the pdf program here , or see the list of films on the website .

This year's Festival opens with the epic historical drama The Riot, and depicts the escalation of tensions leading to the Sulis uprising of mining workers in 1907 where workers struggled under inhumane conditions in dangerous, dark copper mines. This important episode in Norwegian history has never been told on screen before and portrays the origin story of the powerful Norwegian labour movement. For your Closing Night film you have Songs of Earth - filmmaker Margreth Olin, Guided by her 84-year-old vigorous trekker father Jørgen, who has been exploring Norway’s wilderness all his life, invites you to explore stunning vistas of glaciers, waterfalls, and fjords of the Oldedalen valley in western Norway. Here, their family has always lived side by side with nature. Even when the earth’s primordial forces have shown their most merciless side.


The Festival comes with all its usual special events on Opening and Closing Nights, so make sure you don't miss out on those tickets which are always the first to go. Think Opening Night sipping on some Scandi flavours like a Nordic Mule cocktail, Carlsberg beer, wine or mocktail, plus a cinema treat courtesy of Lexus at a pre-film reception. The Centrepiece Event also attracts a delicious Elderflower cocktail or mocktail before the screening of the stunning historical drama, Stormskerry Maja . Based on the book series by Anni Blomqvist, it's an epic 19th Century historical drama set over the course of the breathtaking Finnish seasons on the windswept and remote Aland archipelago. A woman falls in love with the man she barely knows, her husband, and her new unwelcoming environment will test her metal, and her journey becomes one of resilience.

Festival Guest this year is Christof Wehmeier, a longtime collaborator and supporter of the Saxo Scandinavian Film Festival. He is the Head of the International and Festival Promotion at the Icelandic Film Centre which is part of the new regional organisation called The Five Nordics. He will be in attendance on Opening Night in Melbourne and Sydney, plus providing an introduction to Icelandic film When The Light Breaks in Melbourne.


This year's Retrospective pays homage to the iconic collaboration between Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman, with four celebrated films - a selection of their most significant and award-winning works. There's Autumn Sonata - when world-famous pianist Charlotte visits her daughter Eva in her home after having neglected her children for many years; the tension builds slowly until it bursts to the surface. Cries and Whispers - In turn-of-the-century Sweden, a dying woman Agnes is visited in her isolated rural mansion by her sisters Karin and Maria and long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface. Persona - young nurse Alma is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk in this avant-garde psychological drama. And last but not least, Scenes From a Marriage - which is going to require a long sit in at 283 (4hrs and 72 mins) minutes long. Following two characters, Marianne and Johan, the film, in typical Bergman style, examines ontological questions of love, loneliness, being and what it means to be 'fulfilled'.

Be sure to scour the list of films on the website as there's much to look forward to with Touch - a romantic drama spanning several decades and continents; two chilling thrillers in Cold - moody and twisted, and Natatorium - when an 18-year-old's life will be threatened when she gets caught up in her family's dark past. The Danish box office hit Boundless is also a gripping thriller, and Denmark rises to the occasion by including Sons, a film with powerhouse performances and a must-see for fans of Nordic noir. Birthday Girl - if you want more nightmares or Before It Ends if you're after a film based on a true story that explores confronting choices people must face in the wake of war. For feel-good Danish films, seek out Better Times - which follows three brothers and their father on a quest to save their family bakery against all odds; Mr Freeman - a down-to-earth coming-of-age drama about a lonely teenager who starts an online relationship with a Ghanaian and When in Rome - an irresistible homage to art, love and the Eternal City.

There's so much more for you to discover, so get onto the program and make up your itinerary of films you'd most love to see. Stay in touch via Facebook for updates and interesting content, or subscribe on the website .


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