Festival 2024
January 13th
11:30 a.m.
TITINA (Kajsa Næss, Norway – 1hr 31min)
Titina is a 2022 Norwegian-Belgian animated feature directed by Kajsa Næss. The film was produced by Mikrofilm producers Tonje Skar Reiersen and Lise Fearnley, in co-production with Viviane Vanfleteren from Vivi Film. Titina was written by Per Schreiner and director Kajsa Næss.
1:30 p.m.
SONGS OF EARTH (Margreth Olin, Norway, Oscar entry – 1hr 30min)
Songs of Earth is a 2023 Norwegian documentary film written and directed by Margreth Olin. In the film, Olin follows her 85-year-old father through a year in the natural surroundings of Oldedalen in Vestland, where he grew up.
3:30 p.m.
SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD (Anna Hints, Estonia 1hr 29min)
In the darkness of a sacred smoke sauna, women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences, washing off the shame trapped in their bodies and regaining their strength through a sense of communion.
5 p.m.
OPENING GALA
7 p.m.
FALLEN LEAVES (Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, Oscar entry – 1hr 20min)
Ansa, a single woman, lives and works in a supermarket in Helsinki. One night she meets Holappa, an equally lonely and alcohol-dependent worker. Despite adversity and misunderstandings, they try to build a relationship.
January 14th
12 p.m.
A LOOK BACK – special screening of a SFFLA audience favorite
2 p.m.
GODLAND (Hlynur Pálmason, Iceland, Oscar entry – 2hr 23min)
At the end of the 19th century, a young Danish priest is sent to a remote part of Iceland. The deeper he travels into the unforgiving landscape, the more he loses touch with his own reality, his mission and his sense of duty.
4:30 p.m.
OPPONENT (Milad Alami, Sweden, Oscar entry – 1hr 59 min)
Iman and his family flee Iran and end up in a hotel turned into a refugee center in Northern Sweden. Iman maintains his role as family patriarch but he breaks promise to his wife and joins local wrestling club. Rumors spread, Iman's fear and desperation begin to take a hold.
6:30 p.m.
KNIGHT OF FORTUNE (Lasse Lyskjaer, Denmark – 25min)
The loss of a loved one, the grief, the risk of yellow skin, and a coffin, that is too much for Karl to face. Then it's much easier to fix a broken lamp. Karl meets Torben - a destined brother. An absurd, humorous, and melodic meeting between two old men captured by grief.
7 p.m.
THE PROMISED LAND (Nikolaj Arcel, Denmark, Oscar entry – 2hr 7 min)
In 1755, the poor soldier Ludvig Kahlen arrived on the barren Jutland moors with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and gain wealth and honor for himself. However, the ruthless landowner, Frederik De Schinkel, believes the moor belongs to him.
January 20th
12 p.m.
MY FREEDOM (Ilze Kunga–Melgaile, Latvia – 1hr 38 minutes)
Historical drama about Alicija, based on the real-life story of Ita Kozakevica, a Polish-born journalist and politician who was one of the most prominent voices of the late 1980s Latvian independence movement and national revival.
2 p.m.
DRIVING MUM (Hilmar Oddsson, Iceland, 1hr 52min)
The death of Jon's mother forces him to take on a journey with her corpse in the backseat to fulfill her last wish. Bresnef the dog comes along and this trip will be the gamechanger Jon never dreamt of.
4 p.m.
SLOW (Marija Kavtaradze, Lithuania, Oscar entry 1hr 48 min)
Dancer Elena and sign language interpreter Dovydas meet and form a beautiful bond. As they dive into a new relationship, they must navigate how to build their own kind of intimacy.
6:30 p.m.
SWEA SHORT FILM
7 p.m.
TOGETHER 99 (Lukas Moodysson, Sweden – 1hr 55min)
In 1975, the Together collective was an extended family. Twenty-four years later, in 1999, it has been transformed into the world's smallest. When Klasse secretly invites everyone to Göran's birthday party, everyone is reunited for an evening.
January 21st
12 p.m.
EXODUS (Abbe Hassan, Sweden – 1hr 42min)
A warm-hearted story of survival and friendship, Exodus is inspired by Abbe Hassan's experience as a refugee who left war-torn Beirut for Sweden as a child. In the feature film, we meet the young Amal fleeing Syria. In a Turkish harbour, she meets the refugee smuggler Sam.
Arabic language.
2:30 p.m.
MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH MARRIAGE (Signe Baumane, Latvia – 1hr 42min)
From an early age, fairy tales and songs convince Zelma that love will solve all of her problems. However, the older she gets, the more this concept of love doesn't seem right.
Animated feature.
4:30 p.m.
SPECIAL SCREENING
TO BE ANNOUNCED
6 p.m.
KNIGHT OF FORTUNE (Lasse Lyskjaer, Denmark – 25min)
The loss of a loved one, the grief, the risk of yellow skin, and a coffin, that is too much for Karl to face. Then it's much easier to fix a broken lamp. Karl meets Torben - a destined brother. An absurd, humorous, and melodic meeting between two old men captured by grief.
6:30 p.m.
KAGEFABRIKKEN / THE CAKE DYNASTY (Christian Lolike, Denmark – 1hr 40min)
Middle-aged cake manufacturer Niels Agger is on the verge of collapse because his factory is on the brink of bankruptcy. To save the factory, the family proposes a major modernisation, which Niels cannot afford.
We reserve the right to change, substitute, or cancel a screening if circumstances beyond our control make it necessary.