Nordic Women in Film – radiant films and fascinating panel discussions

Five weeks of artistic ambition. Five weeks of cultural exchange. Five films. Five panel discussions. The five Nordic Embassies in the U.S., WIFT International and WIFV Washington DC are presenting a digital screening series of radiant Nordic films and fascinating panel discussions!

Save the date cover for the event.

The Nordic countries have a proud history of embracing gender equality. We invite you to join us to hear and celebrate bold, creative and distinctive female voices and artists.

During five weeks between February 2 and March 3, we will screen five films from across the Nordic countries, meet their directors and host five conversations with Nordic and American filmmakers. Themes range from living and creating freely to borderless filmmaking, from women who define their own reality to those making our blood boil. Meet Sundance-winner Ísold Uggadóttir, May el-Toukhy, Academy Award-contender Zaida Bergroth and Samí-director Suvi West; actresses The Bridge-lead Sofia Helin, Queen of Hearts-lead Trine Dyrholm, and many more. 

Every week, you will have the chance to watch a contemporary Nordic film between Tuesday and Wednesday/Thursday and meet the filmmakers online for a Q&A. Furthermore, there will be themed conversations available globally online each Wednesday.

The series will opened by Finland with screening of Tove, a biographical film of author, painter, and illustrator Tove Jansson, who is known as the creator of the Moomins.

Actress Alma Pöysti starring as Tove. 
Photo: Sami Kuokkanen

 

Film Screening and Special Event Schedule:

Week 1: BOUNDLESS ART, BOUNDLESS SUCCESS

February 2-4:Tove (dir. Zaida Bergroth, Finland, 2020) (**Tove will only be available to watch online for 24 hours starting from February 2, 8 pm until February 4, 8 pm, EST, in the United States). The availability of Tove has been extended for 24 hours, so you can enjoy this film on Festival Scope until February 4, 8 pm EST. Please note once you start watching the film, you will have a 30 hours to finish watching it.  

In the midst of her artistic struggles and unconventional personal life, Tove Jansson found worldwide success from an unexpected side project: the creation of the beloved world of the Moomins. TOVE is a captivating drama about the creative energy of an iconic talent and her turbulent search for identity, desire, and freedom.

Screening of Tove is SOLD OUT. Thank you for your interest!

February 3, 3:00-4:30 PM (EST): Q&A with director Zaida Bergroth, actress Alma Pöysti, producer Andrea Reuter and screenwriter Eeva Putro, followed by panel discussion with director Zaida Bergroth (FIN), director Isabella Eklöf (SWE), actress Terry Pheto (ZAF/US), filmmaker Pamela B. Green (US) and director Silja Hauksdóttir (ISL).  

What does it mean to live and create freely? What lies behind artistic ambition and who is to judge the worth of one’s work?

Register here(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) for the Q&A with Tove's crew and panel discussion (available globally).

Rewatch Tove's Q&A and panel discussion(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) (WIFTI's YouTube channel).

Week 2: INCONVENIENT & OUTRAGEOUS WOMEN
February 9-11: Queen of Hearts (dir. May el-Toukhy, Denmark, 2019)

A woman jeopardizes both her career and her family when she seduces her teenage stepson and is forced to make an irreversible decision with fatal consequences.

Registration for the screening is now closed.

February 10, 3:00-4:30 PM (EST): Q&A and panel discussion, speakers including actress Elina Knihtilä (FIN)

How are women portrayed in unexpected ways in films, and what happens when women are “inconvenient” and outrageous? Why is it so important to be seen on screen?

Register here(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) for the Q&A and panel. Available globally.

Week 3: PERSONAL STORIES & BIG BUDGETS
February 16-18: Hope (dir. Maria Sødahl, Norway, 2019)

What happens with love when a woman in the middle of her life gets three months left to live?

The screening is now SOLD OUT.

February 17, 3:00-4:30 PM (EST): Q&A and panel discussion

Movies about personal stories tend to receive less attention and smaller budgets than films about broader topics. Why is that and what makes the personal political?

Register here(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) for the Q&A and panel discussion (available globally).

Week 4: THE GAZE
February 23-25: Lucky One (dir. Mia Engberg, Sweden, 2019).

Ageing gangster Vincent works long nights and dreams of another life. When he is unexpectedly given responsibility for his teenage daughter Grace, his life starts to change.

Registration for the screening is now closed.

February 24, 3:00-4:30 PM (EST): Q&A and panel discussion, speakers including directors Selma Vilhunen (FIN) and Suvi West (Samí/FIN)

What happens with the world when young women define their own reality instead of being defined by others?

Register here (Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)for the Q&A and panel discussion.

Week 5: BORDERS & BOUNDARIES
March 2-4: And Breathe Normally (dir. Ísold Uggadóttir, Iceland, 2018)

Two women's lives will intersect while trapped in circumstances unforeseen. Between a struggling Icelandic mother and an asylum seeker from Guinea-Bissau, a delicate bond will form as both strategize to get their lives back on track.

Registration for the screening is now closed.

March 3, 3:00-4:30 PM (EST): Q&A and panel discussion

How do filmmakers influence physical, geographical, and emotional boundaries?

Register here (Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)for the Q&A and panel discussion.

More information on WIFT International’s website(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window).

All events and screenings are free of charge. The screenings will be available only in the U.S. and Canada, and Tove only in the U.S. The conversations will be open to the whole world.

Nordic Women in Film is presented by the Nordic Embassies in the U.S. (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), Women in Film and Television International, and Women in Film & Video Washington, DC.

 

The rights of women and girls is the cross-cutting theme of Finland’s campaign to be elected to UN Human Rights Council.