The Fifteenth Anniversary Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. comes to the Writers Guild Theater, Beverly Hills over two weekends: January 18-19, 25-26, 2014. The yearly showcase of Nordic films and filmmakers, launched in 2000, screens the year’s Scandinavian films submitted to the Academy as nominees for Best Foreign-Language Film as well as other current feature, documentary, and short films.
In 2014 the new BALTIC FILM EXPO @SFFLA brings cinematic offerings from the three Baltic nations – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Festival Program for the first weekend (January 18-19)
Saturday January 18
XL
10:30 am
Ex-family man, avid womanizer, heavy-drinking, parliamentarian, Leifur, is forced to go into rehab by his political rival, following a well publicized art exhibition brawl. Full of denial, Leifur throws a party before checking in, but when it´s time to leave – very few do, turning the night into an adventure exclusively for those old enough to vote.
THE WALL
12:15 pm
A boy is fighting for survival in the deserted ruins of a city. Suddenly, from behind a massive wall, something tries to communicate with the boy. His reaction might mean the difference between life or death.
BEFORE SNOWFALL
12:30 pm
An untraditional roadmovie about family, love, dignity and honor. Siyar is the eldest man in the family. When his sister escapes from her own wedding, he’s given the task to track her down and restore the family’s reputation. The hunt after his sister becomes a dangerous journey from east to west, where the collision of tradition-bound cultures and modern Western living challenges
IT’S UP TO YOU
2:45 pm
An animated documentary about growing up with a father in jail.
I AM YOURS
3:00 pm
Mina is a young single mother living in Oslo with her 6 year old son Felix. A Norwegian Pakistani with a troublesome relationship with her family; Mina is constantly looking for love and has relations with different men. However, none of the relationships have any hope of lasting very long. So when Mina meets Jesper, a Swedish film director, she falls head over heals in love.
ANTBOY
7:45 pm
12-year-old Pelle is bitten by an ant and develops superpowers. Aided by comic book nerd Wilhelm, Pelle creates a secret identity as superhero Antboy. When a super villain The Flea enters the scene, Antboy must step up to the challenge.
Sunday.January.19
PAAVO, A LIFE IN FIVE COURSES
10:30 am
Finnish farm boy Paavo Turtiainen is hired into the Parisian household of Swedish theatre producer Lars Schmidt and his wife, actress Ingrid Bergman. The couple adopt and train Paavo to navigate among the rich and famous. Encouraged by Schmidt, Paavo moves to New York and becomes an acclaimed chef and event planner for high society. Along the way, Paavo learns to stand on his own feet.
8-BALLBased on the crime novel Elävien kirjoihin by Marko Kivi, 8-BALL tells the story of a single mother who, having just been released from prison, is trying to start her life anew. When her former boyfriend returns from abroad, it opens a window into a past that she wants to put behind her.
ABOVE DARK WATERS
2:00 pm
Told through the eyes of a sensitive young boy, this tragicomedy tells a touching story about growing up in southwestern Lapland in the 1970s.
EAT, SLEEP, DIE
4:15 pm
20-year-old Rasa lives with her father in a small village in the southernmost Swedish province of Skåne. Rasa works in a factory, but redundancies result in the loss of her job. She struggles to stay in her village despite the lack of jobs and demands from the government that jobseekers should look for work throughout the entire country.
THE HUNT
6:20 pm
Following a tough divorce, 40-year-old Lucas has a new girlfriend, a new job and is in the process of reestablishing his relationship with his teenage son, Marcus. But things go awry. And as the snow falls and the Christmas lights are lit, the lie spreads like a virus. The shock and mistrust gets out of hand, and the small community finds itself in a collective state of hysteria, while Lucas fights a lonely fight for his life and dignity.
MARIA KROYER
8:15 pm
As Marie Krøyer’s husband the great Danish painter P.S. Krøyer’s mental illness increases in severity, she takes a vacation,meets and falls in love with Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén
