This spring Scandinavia House brings some of the most influential Nordic films to New York audiences. The series begins this season with films from Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark; films from the Faroe Islands and Norway will be announced at a later date.
Wednesdays @ 7 pm and Fridays @ 6:30 pm through May 15, 2015
(No films the weeks of February 25, March 30 & April 13)
$10 ($7 ASF Members)
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SWEDEN: March 25 & 27
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared ("Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret oct försvann") 112 min. | In Swedish with English subtitles
Based on the award-winning and international best-selling novel by Swedish author Jonas Jonasson (Piratförlaget, 2009; Hyperion Books, 2012), the film is the unlikely story of a 100-year-old man who decides that it’s not too late to start over. Directed by Felix Herngren (Sweden, 2013).
Hapless protagonist Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) is about to celebrate his 100th birthday and a celebration for him is in the works at his retirement home. Despite his age, Karlsson is alert and uninterested in enjoying the party in his honor. Instead, he climbs out a window and disappears.
Embarking on an unexpected journey involving several murders and a suitcase full of cash, Karlsson soon turns the entire nation on its head, dining with future President Harry S. Truman, hitchhiking with Winston Churchill, traveling on a riverboat with the wife of Mao Zedong, and walking the Himalayas on foot.
About the director
Felix Herngren (b. 1967) is a renowned Swedish director, writer, producer, and actor. He is also the founder, creative director, and co-owner of FLX, Sweden’s leading comedy production company. In 2001 The Gunn Report ranked him the 5th Best Commercial Director in the world.
Herngren’s breakthrough came in the 1990s with the hit-television series S*M*A*S*H and his on-screen, cult icon characters Papi Raul, Dan Bäckman, and Tim Hibbins. In 1999 he made his feature film debut with the comedy Adult Behavior/Vuxna Människor, a film he both directed and acted in alongside Fredrik Lindström. In 2006 his second comedy Every Other Week/Varannan Vecka was released, which he co-wrote, directed, and acted in with Hannes Holm, Hans Ingemansson, and Måns Herngren.
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is his most recent project that premiered in Sweden on Christmas Day 2013.
April 8 & 10
The Reunion ("Återträffen")
89 min. | In Swedish with English subtitles.
Directed by Anna Odell (Sweden, 2013). Bullied as a child, controversial Swedish conceptual artist and director Anna Odell ruthlessly places herself in the midst of a situation of her own staging, based on real events: when she doesn’t receive an invitation to her class’ 20th reunion, Odell makes a film about what could have happened if she attended the reunion and confronted her former bullies, investigating how far “too far” really is.
After the fictional reunion, Odell visits her real, former classmates to show them the made-up film and documents their reaction. From there on, the film escalates into an extreme revenge fantasy that blurs the line between documentary and fiction filmmaking with Odell’s reflections on bullying, guilt, and responsibility.
About the director
Anna Odell (b. 1973) is a Swedish artist and film director. She initiated an intense cultural debate about psychiatric care with her art graduation project, Unknown Woman/Okänd, kvinna 2009-349701, at the University College of Art, Craft, and Design in Stockholm in 2009, which was later shown that same year at the Kalmars Konstmuseum. The provocative film was made to reconstruct Odell’s own psychological breakdown in 1995, not as therapy, but to prove the power structures within Sweden’s healthcare system and Swedish society’s view of psychological illnesses.
Controversy erupted with the film’s release; in January 2009 Odell staged her own suicide attempt and psychological breakdown and psychosis. After being admitted to Saint Göran Hospital by police she then revealed to the hospital staff that she had faked her mental illness for her art film. She was later accused of violent resistance to police arrest and making a false alarm. The court found her guilty and imposed a fine on her with a reduced sentence given that she had no criminal intent behind her actions.
In 2013 Odell made her directorial debut with the film The Reunion, which explores societal power structures and unhealthy hierarchies within schools. The film made its premiere at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, after having made its Swedish premiere in November 2013. The Reunion won two Guldbagge Awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay in 2014.
Special thanks to The Danish Film Institute, Estonian Film Institute, The Finnish Film Foundation, Making Movies Oy. Media Luna, The Nordic House in the Faroe Islands, The Norwegian Film Institute, and The Swedish Film Institute.
For the full New Nordic Cinema series lineup, visit scandinaviahouse.org
