The Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival is a national film festival presented by Palace Cinemas in Australia, showcasing the best in contemporary cinema from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland.
With the intention of showcasing the breadth of style, humour, action and mystery that Scandinavian cinema has to offer, festival founder Elysia Zeccola curated a line-up of 21 Australian premieres in its inaugural year from local blockbusters to acclaimed dramas, and opened with Swedish blockbuster comedy The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.
The mission of the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival is to ensure that more films from the region are presented where they deserve to be seen, on the big screen. The region of Scandinavia (culturally comprised of the above 5 countries) has produced some of the most iconic films ever made – from the masterpieces of Ingmar Bergman to the radical guerrilla-style filmmaking of the Dogme revolution, to the transnational diversity of Nordic cinema.
Founded in 2014, the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival is now one of the fastest growing cultural film festivals in Australia. In 2017, 20 films exploring the culture, history and contemporary life of the Scandinavian and Nordic regions were screened to over 37,000 attendees nationally.
Notable premieres have included films such as Department Q blockbuster The Keeper of Lost Causes, enormously popular comedy Here is Harold, Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard winner Rams, Academy-Award nominated Land of Mine, San Sebastian Film Festival Golden Shell winner Sparrows, Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope, anticipated biopic Tom of Finland and the Venice Film Festival Best Debut award-winner Sami Blood.
This year’s festival includes a strong line-up of 21 films showcasing new talent and including award-winners recognised both at home and abroad.