Join us on March 14 & 15 for the festival West Nordic Film Days, a celebration of cinema from Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands! Presented in partnership with Nordic National Museum in Seattle, in-person screenings will take place at Scandinavia House in New York and Majestic Bay Theatres in Seattle on Friday and Saturday. Curated by Birgir Thor Møller, the selection of films at West Nordic Film Days reflect the current development and tendencies in West Nordic cinema as well as the diversity, combining films by prolific, prizewinning directors and upcoming filmmakers, who all live in and tell their stories from very different parts of the region.
The 2 PM afternoon session on Saturday, March 15 will include My Father’s Daughter (Biru Unjárga, dir. Egil Pedersen, 2024) followed by the Faroese shorts Lið við lið (The Last straw, dir. Andrias Høgenn, 2023) and Einmin (dir. Rammatik [aka Rannvá Káradóttir & Marianna Mørkøre], 2024). It will be followed by Saturday afternoon sessions at 4:15 PM and at 6:30 PM. See the full festival lineup here.
SATURDAY @ 2 PM
My Father’s Daughter /Biru Unjárga
Dir. Egil Pedersen, Norway/Finland/Sweden, 2024 | 78 min.
In Sámi/Danish/English/Norwegian with English subtitles
Self-confident teenager Elvira (Sarah Olaussen Eir) is convinced that her mother conceived her at a Danish fertility clinic — and when she daydreams about her father, she imagines him as the charismatic movie star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (who plays himself). But her world is turned upside down when her real biological father unexpectedly enters her life. Egil Pedersen’s addresses the often delicate identity issues of teenage life with empathy and warm irony in a coming-of-age film that, with its sharp dialogue and narrative style, is entertaining, heartwarming and thought-provoking.
Lið við lið / The Last straw
Dir. Andrias Høgenn, Faroe Islands, 2023 | 15 min.
In Faroese with English subtitles
Ivar is stranded on a mountainous country road on the Faroe Islands, and the only person whom he can ask for help is his estranged brother. In merely 15 minutes, The Last straw delivers a recognizable and tightknit drama, framed in simple and beautiful shots and served with an understated and low-key ironic humor by Faroese director Andrias Høgenni.
Einmin
Dir. Rammatik (aka Rannvá Káradóttir & Marianna Mørkøre), Faroe Islands, 2024 | 7 min.
In English & Kalaallisut with English subtitles
Set in the aftermath of a party, the experimental dance film Einmin evolves around the solitary dancer, dressed in vibrant reds, as she navigates a deserted space. The camera traces her fluid, dynamic movements which are imbued with a subtle joy, while the atmospheric soundscape heightens the sense of the dancer’s presence. Filmed in one continuous take, Einmin is given a raw immediate quality, allowing the audience to fully engage with the dancer’s physical and emotional experience.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The West Nordic countries have attracted foreign filmmakers since the dawn of cinema. In the late 1970s, however, Iceland began to develop a national film industry, gaining domestic and international attention and recognition. The history of Greenlandic, Faroese and Sami film production is of a bit later date, yet in recent years an increasing number of their films have attracted attention, both at home and abroad. Curated by Birgir Thor Møller, the selection of films at West Nordic Film Days will not only reflect the current development and tendencies in West Nordic cinema, but also the diversity, combining films by prolific, prizewinning directors and upcoming filmmakers, who all live in and tell their stories from very different parts of the region.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Birgir Thor Møller was born (1970) in Iceland, but lives in Copenhagen. He is the head of the annual film festival North Atlantic Film Days (Nordatlantiske Filmdage) at The North Atlantic House (Nordatlantens Brygge) in Copenhagen, where he also holds the position as program editor. Apart from organizing film, literature and other cultural events and festivals since 2005, Møller has published essays and articles related to Nordic and especially North Atlantic cinema and film history in a variety of publications, including the books Transnational Cinema in a Global North: Nordic Cinema in Transition and Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema. He has also been a jury member at the film festival Nordic Panorama in Sweden (New Nordic Voices 2023) and at the Faroes short film awards Geytin 2025, and he holds an M.A. in film studies from the Institute of Film and Media Studies, University of Copenhagen.
SUPPORT
West Nordic Film Days is presented a partnership with The National Nordic Museum in Seattle.
