Author: James Koenig

ames Koenig is someone whose voice is heard in various arts arenas. He graduated from Northwestern University with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in voice continuing studies in Italy, Germany, and California. As a classical singer he has sung in opera and concert venues around the United States and in Europe. He also enjoys teaching, directing, and writing. He is the founder/director of the eighteen-year-old Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. He says “My life seems to be filled with translations, sub-titles, super-titles, and sub-texts!” As a writer he has written theatrical pieces, articles for Odyssey Classical Music Publications in the U.K., journalistic pieces for a variety of publications, and a novel, as well as choral and liturgical works. He has been a contributor to a number of film publications including Cinema Without Borders. He was decorated by the Finnish government as a Knight of the Order of the Finnish Lion for his musical and cultural contributions.

It’s fascinating to look back to “year one” of SFFLA. One wanted to think “build it and they will come.” But it was hard to know for sure—“Would they?” It was a new venture—a big commitment—and an exciting challenge. There were excellent films, big heavy boxes of film—yes, film—arriving with movies from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden from all over the world—some from Scandinavia, but other from a film festival in Egypt, Korea, Spain, Germany, and France. There were a few tense moments at LAX in customs. Print traffic was hardly an illustration of “Cinema without Borders.” We were…

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We’ve just finished eighteen years of showcasing Nordic films—and now Baltic films as well—bringing our audience “top films from the top of Europe” with the outstanding work of filmmakers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Baltic neighbors—Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.  The festival ran for two week-ends in January at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Our closing film of the 2017 festival was the poignant story from Norwegian World War II history told in Erik Poppe’s film “The King’s Choice.”  (The film screens this month at the Berlin Film Festival.) In the course of eighteen years of SFFLA, …

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On Monday November 18 at 8:30 PM FILM AT REDCAT PRESENTS the world premiere of The Hidden Cost of Violence made by Rakhshsn Banietemad from Jack H. Skirball Series. Iran’s most celebrated female filmmaker, Rakhshan Banietemad, screens two passionate and fascinating explorations of the impact of the recent electoral processes in Iran. We Are Half of Iran’s Population (Ma Nimi Az Jameiate Iranim, 2009, video, 42 min) shows a diverse coalition of women’s rights activists engaged in the political debate. In the world premiere of See You Tomorrow Elina! (Farda Mibinamet Elina, 2013, DVD, 52 min), Banietemad returns to the…

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James Koenig, a dear friend of Cinema Without Borders and director/founder of Scandinavian Film Festival, Los Angeles, not only knows how to run a great festival, but also has a wonderful sense of humor. Here is how he looks back at 2011 Scandinavian Film Festival, Los Angeles. (CWB) The wrung-out reel wrangler sits with eyes wide open like two reels of film without the slag taken up, sleep-deprived pupils reflecting nothing but a portrait-grabbing flash and a digital mugshot moment for an old western “Wanted” poster. “Wanted– dead or alive!” Today I’m dead! There’s a camera rolling! Is it a…

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We’ve just wrapped up the 11th Annual Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. I kept telling the audience– we’ve started a second decade of Nordic film’s annual residency in Southern California! I was really pleased with the festival– we had more films than ever, more audience than ever, and a wonderfully diverse mix of people which I found better than ever. The film industry is really a global industry. It’s only human to be territorial or nationalistic–but I’m more interested in bridges than borders. I always hear questions like “Which Scandinavian country are you from?” or “Are you Scandinavian?” Some, I’m sure,…

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