The incredible influence of moving images is undeniable – the screen introduces us, shapes us, dresses us, fires our imaginations, changes our language, speaks volumes without language, projects the unspoken language of the heart – of love, of hate as it tells our stories. Films are a marker of both individual and national identity and at the same time a reminder of our common humanity.

Nordic films and “Top films from the top of Europe” are an important component in European and world cinema, and have given us an incredible legacy of film making. The oldest continuously operating film studio in the world is in Scandinavia! The films of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden comprise about 10% of all of European film. The films of Baltic countries were often inspired by their Nordic neighbors. The result is a creative output of wonderful films that deserve to be shared and celebrated in Hollywood – the film capital of the world!

Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. was founded for the purpose “cinema cultural exchange” and the sharing of an important, significant body of work with the Los Angeles film audience – industry professionals, film lovers, those who love subtitles and the flavor of language, those reading subtitles for the first time, and those who don’t have to read the subtitles at all. In creating an annual residency for Nordic film in Southern California we offer an opportunity for all to see the representative “best” of Nordic film making in any given year. The Northern “lights, camera, action” of our program includes films submitted for “Oscar” competition. For those in that race we offer further “buzz” – further publicity, further exposure. The program also includes additional current feature films, shorts, and an occasional documentary. Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. brings people together for the shared experience of the film, and leads to networking, discussion, inspiration, business, and pleasure.

Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. was launched in February 2000 at the Writers’ Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. With the support of the American Scandinavian foundation of Los Angeles, private donors, organizations, the local Scandinavian Consulates, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the Nordic film institutes – Danish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Norwegian Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, and Icelandic Film Centre – the festival quickly became known as “the place where Nordic film 'winters' in Southern California.”

Parent organization of SFFLA is the American Scandinavian Foundation of Los Angeles.