Festival 2023
January 14th
11 a.m.
IMAGES OF A NORDIC DRAMA (Nils Gaup, Norway – 1 hr 11 minutes)
A persistent art collector (Haakon Mehren) faces unexpected resistance while championing the work of an unknown Norwegian artist after finding a cache of paintings in a barn. Despite success abroad, the undiscovered work of Aksel Waldemar Johannessen, an admired contemporary of Edvard Munch, takes nearly three decades to launch.
12:30 p.m.
JANUARY (Viesturs Kairiss, Latvia – 1 hr 32 minutes)
It is 1991 in Latvia and nineteen-year-old aspiring cinematographer Jazis's whole world is thrown into chaos as he is dragged into the people’s peaceful protests against the Soviet Army’s attempted takeover of power in his country. "January" is an autobiographical take on the political upheaval in the early 1990s that changed the lives of the people of the former Soviet Union.
3 p.m.
HOLY SPIDER (Ali Abbasi, Denmark – 1 hr 55 minutes)
A Persian-language crime thriller based on the true story of Iranian serial killer Saeed Hanaei, known as the "Spider Killer", who murdered 16 prostitutes in Iran between 2000-2001. It follows a fictional female journalist's decent into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings. The killer believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.
5:30 p.m.
OPENING GALA
7:30 p.m.
WAR SAILOR (Gunnar Vikene, Norway – 2 hr 30 minutes)
When German Submarines attack their merchant ship at the outbreak of WWII, two Norwegian Sailors try to survive. Alfred Garnes is a working-class sailor, who has recently become the father of a third child. He and his childhood friend Sigbjørn Kvalen (Wally) are working on a merchant ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out.
January 15th
12 p.m.
NIGHT RIDE (Erik Tveiten, Norway – 15 minutes)
A cold night in December. Ebba waits for the tram to go home after a party, but the ride takes an unexpected turn.When the tram arrives, the driver tells her that he’s taking a break and that the tram doesn’t leave in half an hour. She asks to get inside since it’s freezing cold. The man refuses, saying she couldn’t be inside without his presence. Once the driver is out of sight, however, Ebba manually pries the door open.
12:30 p.m.
BEAUTIFUL BEINGS (Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson, Iceland – 2 hr 3 minutes)
Addi, a boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys explore aggression and violence but also learn about loyalty and love. As the group’s behavior escalates towards life-threatening situations, Addi begins to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Can his newfound intuition guide him and his friends back to a safer path, or will they dive irrevocably into further violence?
3 p.m.
KALEV (Ove Musting, Estonia – 1 hr 31 minutes)
Inspired by a true story. It’s the summer of 1990. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse and the small Baltic nations struggle to regain their independence. Society is divided, there is fear and turmoil on the streets, just as the Soviet Union’s basketball championship is about to begin.The Estonian team Kalev faces a momentous decision. With independence seemingly within arm’s reach, a rising tide of public opinion opposes the Estonian team’s participation in the USSR championship.
5 p.m.
GIRL PICTURE (Alli Haapasalo, Finland – 1 hr 40 minutes)
Three young women try to defy the persistent winter darkness in Finland. In the process, they move between dreams, reality, friendship and relationships, and try to make sense of the whole mess. Best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö work after school at a food court smoothie kiosk, frankly swapping stories of their frustrations and expectations regarding love and sex.
7 p.m.
PRESENTATION OF SWEA L.A. FILM STIPEND TO RECIPIENT HANS STJERNSWÄRD
7 p.m.
CAIRO CONSPIRACY (Tarik Saleh, Sweden 2 hr 6 minutes)
Adam (Tawfeek Barhom) is a fisherman’s son in the northern town of Manzala who is overjoyed to receive news from his local imam that he is getting a lavish state sponsorship to study Islamic thought at Cairo’s internationally prestigious Al-Azhar University. This is a dizzying honor. Once at the university, he is overawed by the discipline, the rigor and the atmosphere of piety but disconcerted when a fellow student offers him a cigarette and invites him out for a secular night on the town.
January 21st
11 a.m.
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (Ruben Östlund, Sweden – 2 hr 20 minutes)
Celebrity model couple, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival.
Director Bio: Ruben Östlund was born on April 13, 1974 in Styrsö, Västra Götalands län, Sweden. He is a director and editor, known for The Square (2017) and Force Majeure (2014). He was previously married to Andrea Östlund. The film dominated the European Film Awards and won a Palme d’Or in Cannes.
2 p.m.
SISTER, WHAT GROWS WHERE LAND IS SICK? (Franciska Eliassen, Norway – 1 hr 20 minutes)
In a small town in northern Norway, Eira tries to follow in the shadow of her brilliant and rebellious older sister Vera. Lately however, something is happening to Vera. In a bid to understand, Eira starts reading her diary. She discovers a mysterious world composed of dazzling light but also corners of deep darkness, an agitated and terribly authentic world which couldn’t care less about conventions.
3:30 p.m.
THUG ROSE (Marius A Markevicius – 1 hr 31 minutes)
“Thug Rose” is a new documentary which follows the inspiring journey of Lithuanian-American professional fighter & two-time UFC world champion Rose Namajunas. The film documents her circuitous path to success and spotlights Namajunas' rare combination of ferocity, artistry, and vulnerability.
5:30 p.m.
MY SAILOR, MY LOVE (Klaus Härö, Finland – 1 hr 42 minutes)
A retired sea captain and his daughter must reassess their strained relationship after he begins a new romance with a widowed housekeeper. This is the first English language film of Finnish filmmaker Klaus Härö which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this Fall. He has directed Oscar entries from both Finland and Sweden. His films Elina, Mother of Mine, , The New Man, Letters to Father Jacob, The Fencer, One Last Deal, and Life After Death have been favorites of SFFLA audiences.
7:30 p.m.
LONG FLAT BALLS: BROKEN PROMISES (Harald Zwart, Norway – 1hr 43 minutes)
This is the third in Norwegian Director Harald Zwart’s series of the zany misadventures of a team of six mechanics who are fervent soccer fans. The first two have previously screened at SFFLA. The third of the franchise continues to win awards and score bigtime! You say Nordic films are somber and serious—guess again! This warm-hearted scored numerous “Best Comedy” awards and been a smash hit!
January 22nd
11:30 a.m.
THE GREAT SWAMP (Remek Meel, Estonia – 52 minutes)
Vello followed an ancient call and settled on a swamp island, his neighbors became beavers, eagles and countless other species who have found a safe habitat in this cradle of nature. Vello moved to the farthest swamp island of Emajõe-Suursoo 30 years ago. He left his previous labor life and the city to live in harmony with the mother nature.
1 p.m.
PILGRIMS (Laurynas Bareisa, Lithuania – 1 hr 32 minutes)
Indre and Paulius haven’t kept in touch lately; but as his foot is in a cast, she agrees to drive him out to a small town near the airport, where his brother and her boyfriend died. That evening they survey the air terminal where Matas arrived on a late flight.
3 p.m.
NELLY & NADINE (Magnus Gertten, Sweden – 1 hr 33 minutes)
For most of Sylvie Bianchi’s life, the records of her grandmother’s time as a prisoner in the Ravensbrück concentration camp seemed too painful to examine. Sylvie kept her grandmother’s letters, diaries, photographs and home movies in the attic of her family’s French farmhouse for decades. Nelly & Nadine captures the story as Sylvie finally opens dusty boxes, unearthing a surprising tale of love and resilience. Sylvie learns that her grandmother, Nelly Mousset-Vos, was an opera singer turned spy with the French Resistance.
5 p.m.
THE WAIT (Aku Louhimies, Finland – 1 hr 41 minutes)
Adapted from Juhani Aho’s novel The Pastor’s Wife, the film explores gender roles through the story of a torrid love triangle with a pastor, his wife, and an old friend who visits the couple at their remote island home in the Finnish archipelago starting and ending with a very languid and meditative pace with more emphasis on silence and moans than actual words. The film is scored by renowned Conductor/Composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1992-2009.
7:30 p.m.
EVERYBODY HATES JOHAN (Hallvar Witzø, Norway – 1 hr 33 minutes)
A comedy about Johan Grande's adventurous life as a small-town loner with a flair for horses and explosives who finds himself in constant conflict with the community. He struggles to find his place in society while coping with unrequited love and his long-lasting battle to win over the love of his life, his neighbor Solvor, who he accidentally blew up a bit in his teens.
We reserve the right to change, substitute, or cancel a screening if circumstances beyond our control make it necessary.