On March 4, see the World Premiere of Calendar Girl, a new documentary about Fashion Calendar founder Ruth Finley from Danish director Christian D. Bruun, at Scandinavia House! Following the screening, the director will present a film Q&A.

In this quintessential New York story, Christian Bruun looks at the 70-year history of the influential Fashion Calendar, with its iconic pink pages laid out every fashion event in NYC including New York Fashion Week. Behind it was founder Ruth Finley, until in 2014 she retired at age 95 and sold the Fashion Calendar to the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The documentary examines this momentous transition, and reflects on the life, work, and legacy of this trailblazer and the industry Ruth helped create. This is the story of a woman who in the 1940s carved out a place for herself in a man’s world and developed a reputation characterized by tenacity, perseverance, fairness, humanity, diplomacy, and decency. She influenced the inner workings of New York fashion, she celebrated and was celebrated by both the industry’s powerhouses and rising stars, and she survived its many incarnations. (USA, 2022; 91 min. In English.)

Tickets to this event must be reserved in advance online at the link above; limited seating only. Film screenings will take place in Victor Borge Hall.

All attendees are required to present proof of vaccination upon arrival in compliance with New York State government; read more here. Attendees are required to follow all Scandinavia House safety protocols, including wearing masks during the program and observing social distancing rules in signage. Please read our full safety protocols here.

“All of us designers have an emotional connection with Ruth Finley because we all remember when we listed ourselves for the first time in the Fashion Calendar”—Diane von Furstenberg
“Ruth is the woman who has held the fashion flock together, and by association, brought the industry together”—Donna Karan

About the Director

Christian D. Bruun is a director, producer, and cinematographer of documentary and narrative film and television. His films have had international theatrical and television distribution and been in official selection at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlin, Locarno, IDFA, and Hot Docs festivals. In addition to directing Calendar Girl, Christian recently produced civil rights drama Son of the South (to be released November 2020, produced by Spike Lee, directed by Barry Alexander Brown, starring Brian Dennehy). Christian is developing a narrative film Candy about transgender Andy Warhol muse Candy Darling and directing documentary film about contemporary art gallerist Marian Goodman.

He recently completed The Burning Child and award-winning documentaries Please Hold the Line, Secondo Me, and The Road Movie, winner of British National Film & TV Awards. Christian produced The Man Who Saved the World, winner of the Danish Film Academy Awards and the Danish Film Critics Awards for best documentary film. He directed, produced, wrote, and shot Blue Gold: American Jeans, acquired by Netflix.