The Fourth Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns in 2021 as a hybrid festival with both in-person and virtual screenings on November 3-14! From November 3 through 7, in-person screenings and events will take place at Scandinavia House in New York, presented in accordance with new COVID-19 safety guidance and protocols. Following the success of last year’s festival, the online version will once again be available to viewers all across the U.S. via the Elevent streaming platform November 3-14.
On November 5, see In The Mirror (Spogulī, dir. Laila Pakalniņa, Latvia/Lithuania, 2020, Narrative). Snow White’s mother dies when she is just a baby, and her father quickly remarries a woman obsessed with CrossFit and her own reflection. As the stepmother watches Snow White grow up and sees her burpee count inching closer to her own personal record, she realizes that there isn’t enough room at the gym for both of them. What ensues is a highly stylized and dream-like journey of self-discovery accompanied by the dwarves reimagined as a group of seven acrobatic bodybuilders.
Laila Pakalniņa has created a clever satire of a classic folk tale to examine selfie-culture, with high energy from actors and camerawork breathing new life into the story and keeping viewers glued to the screen until the final selfie.
“A lively, witty fairy-tale remix” –Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter
“In the Mirror morphs from a re-imagination of a notorious fairy tale into a whimsical formalistic oddity. And a cinematic one” –Martin Kudlac, Screen Anarchy
Tickets to this event must be purchased in advance online at the link above; 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.
Virtual screenings of this film will take place from November 5-14. To read more and purchase virtual passes, please click here.
About the Director
Laila Pakalniņa graduated from the Department of Film Direction at the Moscow Film Institute (VGIK) in 1991. As director and scriptwriter she has made 31 documentaries, five shorts and six features; altogether she has 42 films, two children, one husband, two dogs, and two bicycles, and many ideas for new films.
Her films have screened in the official programs of festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Rome, Tallinn and others, where they have won numerous awards. Pakalniņas film SPOON played at the New York Baltic Film Festival in 2019.
About NYBFF
Established in 2018, the New York Baltic Film Festival is presented and organized by Scandinavia House in collaboration with the Consulate General of Estonia, Consulate General of Lithuania, and Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations in New York.
Financial support for the festival comes from the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Center of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Center, with additional sponsorship by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, American Latvian Association, LV-100, Printful, PBLA Culture Fund and the Lithuanian Foundation and the Embassy of Latvia in Washington DC.
Organizers & Sponsors
