Presented the emerging cinema of Northern Europe

The exhibition “Nordic Film Fest” has proposed new Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic movies

Once again, the most important event in Italy for the presentation of new Nordic movies was attended by a large audience at the Casa del Cinema in Villa Borghese. The purpose of the initiative is to promote in Italy the film culture of Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.During the last years many new authors have emerged, which have increased the prestige of a popular tradition in the world. The event was organized by the Embassies of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, in collaboration with Iceland and with institutions for the promotion of cinema of their respective countries.

Many in Italy unreleased movies, documentaries, and films in original language with subtitles were presented during the event, introduced by directors, actors and producers. Among the guests there was also Mika Kaurismäki (brother of director Aki Kaurismäki, with whom he has directed several movies), which movie “North Road” (that won recently at the Toronto International film Festival) was screened during the festival.

Among the guests known to the Italian public, the opening day was introduced (on April the 5th, one week before the beginning of the event, which was organized from 11 to 14 April) by the Italian-Finnish actress and producer Anna Falchi while the Swedish actress Malin Buska, awarded with the “Rising Star” (Stockholm International Film Festival in 2011) talked about the movie “The King girl” directed by Mika Kaurismäki and dedicated to the life of Queen Christina of Sweden. The role played by Malin Buska was the one of Greta Garbo in the famous film of 1933, “Drottning Kristina” (screened on April the 13th).

Saturday night it was the turn of the Norwegian director Petter Næss with his movie “Into the White”, in which there is the presence of Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in “Harry Potter”). The Norwegian movie tackles the difficult story of the pilots, allied and not, who fell in the Norwegian mountains during the Second World War, faced with a common opponent: the wilderness.

China Ahlander intervened in the debate, as the Swedish manufacturer of “Dying Eating Sleeping,” a film that paints a dramatic and unknown reality, that of immigration. It is not lack of Iceland (a country which is discussed more and more frequently, given the mounting evidence of rapprochement to the EU) represented in the Nordic Film Fest from the autobiographical movie “Mamma Gogo” directed by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, who was also nominated for an Oscar in 1992 for “Children of Nature”.

An important event within the event was the projection, April the 12th, of “Olof Palme”, a movie that takes its name from the Swedish prime minister assassinated in 1986, a politician who did very much for the convergence of socialdemocracy and the European policy for an equitable approach toward the Global South and the problems of different countries, which at the time seemed revolutionary. Even today Sweden is investigating the crime: along with the film’s director Kristina Lindström there was the author of the book “Olof Palme, life and assassination of a European socialist,” Aldo Garzia, with a comment by Walter Veltroni.

Aldo Ciummo

Presentato il cinema emergente nordeuropeo

 

La rassegna “Nordic Film Fest” ha proposto film inediti norvegesi, finlandesi, svedesi, danesi, islandesi

Anche quest’anno l’evento più importante del nuovo cinema nordico in Italia ha visto affollarsi alla Casa del Cinema di Villa Borghese un numeroso pubblico. Il fine della iniziativa è la promozione, nella penisola, della cultura cinematografica di Norvegia, Finlandia, Svezia, Danimarca ed Islanda.

 

Negli ultimi anni sono emersi molti nuovi autori (che hanno accresciuto il prestigio di una tradizione apprezzata nel mondo). La rassegna è stata organizzata dalle Ambasciate di Danimarca, Finlandia, Norvegia, Svezia, in collaborazione con l’Islanda e con gli Istituti per la promozione del cinema dei rispettivi paesi.

 

Sono stati presentati film inediti in Italia, documentari, proiezioni in lingua originale sottotitolati, introdotti dai registi, dagli attori e dai produttori. Tra gli ospiti di maggiore notorietà c’è stato Mika Kaurismäki (fratello del regista Aki Kaurismäki, assieme al quale ha diretto alcuni film) di cui è stato proiettato anche, nel corso della rassegna, il film “Road North” presente recentemente al Toronto International Film Festival.

 

Tra gli ospiti più conosciuti per il pubblico italiano, ha introdotto la giornata inaugurale (il 5 aprile, una settimana prima dell’inizio della rassegna che si è articolata dall’11 al 14 aprile) l’attrice e produttrice cinematografica italo-finlandese Anna Falchi, mentre l’attrice svedese Malin Buska, nominata “Rising Star” (al Festival Internazionale di Stoccolma nel 2011) ha parlato del film “The girl King” diretto da Mika Kaurismäki e dedicato alla vita della regina Cristina di Svezia. Il ruolo assunto da Malin Buska fu di Greta Garbo nella celebre pellicola del 1933, “Drottning Kristina” (riproposta il 13 aprile nel corso della rassegna).

 

Sabato sera è stata la volta del regista norvegese Petter Næss, suo il film “Into the White”, nel quale c’è una curiosità, la presenza di Rupert Grint (il Ron Weasley di “Harry Potter”). Il film norvegese affronta la difficile vicenda dei piloti, alleati e non, che precipitarono sulle montagne norvegesi durante il Secondo Conflitto Mondiale, trovandosi di fronte talvolta un avversario in comune: la natura selvaggia.

 

E’ intervenuta nel dibattito China Ahlander, produttrice svedese dI “Mangiare Morire Dormire”, film che dipinge una drammatica e sconosciuta realtà, quella dell’immigrazione. Non è mancata l’Islanda, (un paese di cui si parla sempre più frequentemente, date le crescenti prove di avvicinamento alla UE) rappresentata nel Nordic Film Fest dal film autobiografico “Mamma GòGò” del regista Fridrik Thor Friðriksson, il quale è stato anche candidato agli Oscar nel 1992 con la pellicola “Children of Nature”.

 

Un evento importante, all’interno della manifestazione, è stato la proiezione, il 12 aprile, di “Olof Palme”, film che prende il nome dal primo ministro svedese assassinato nel 1986, un politico che fece molto per l’avvicinamento delle socialdemocrazie e della politica europea al Sud del Mondo e per un approccio paritario ai problemi dei diversi paesi, il che all’epoca appariva rivoluzionario. Ancora oggi in Svezia si indaga su quel delitto: assieme alla regista del film Kristina Lindström è intervenuto l’autore del libro “Olof Palme, vita e assassinio di un socialista europeo”, Aldo Garzìa, con un commento di Walter Veltroni.

 

Aldo Ciummo

Sweden, main character at the Festival of Literature in Bologna

Many authors represented by publishers and the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Arts Council and the Swedish Institute for Children’s Book will be present at the event on the agenda at the end of March

The Festival of Literature in Bologna approaches in the debate on children’s literature, in the middle of an interesting season for the Swedish culture,  with Daniel Gustafsson Pech (The Swedish Institute), Susanne Bergstrom Larsson (The Swedish Arts Council) Asa Warnquist (Swedish Institute for Children’s Book) and the major publishing houses interested in the field represented by Annakaisa Danielsson (Alfabeta publishers/Agency), Lena Stjernström (Grand Agency), Kerstin Öberg (Rabén & Sjogren/Agency), Katharina Lantz (Natur & Kultur/Agency), Jeanna Eklund (Bonnier Carlsen / Agency), Marie Tomicic (Olika Publishers) which have already taken part in Rome to some appointments. After the presentation, which was held in Rome at the end of 2012, there will be in Bologna on the 25th March a huge presence of the Swedish publishing houses, with a large number of Swedish authors and initiatives organised by the Nordic country.

Sweden is in fact the guest of honor. On the occasion of the initiatives that were previously held in Rome, Eva Ottosson, project manager, presented the strengths of the Swedish literature in this area, while Susanne Bergström larrsson, the Swedish Arts Council and Pech Daniel Gustafsson (Swedish Institute) presented supports to the publication of Swedish literature in Italy. In the implementation of this project for the event 2013 in Bologna cooperate among the other the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, Hamelin, Sala Borsa, START, Teater Testoni with projections and workshops.

Among the authors, Stefan Casta, Petrus Dahlin and Lars Johansson, Olof and Lena Landstrom, Pija Lindenbaum, Sara Lundberg and Ulf Stark, Frida Nilsson, Henrik Tamm, Anna-Clara Tidholm. They will also discuss the award “Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award” (Alma) in its tenth anniversary. The director of the award, Helen Sigeland, will present the international prize of literature for young people. For the year 2013 there will be two hundred and seven candidates coming from sixty-seven countries and the winner will be announced on the 26th March in Vimmerby, the birthplace of Astrid Lindgren. Asa Warnquist reported that “the number and the titles of the books are: Rabén & Sjogren, Egmont, Bonnier Carlsen, B/Wahlstroms.

In recent years, a significant phenomenon in the field has been and is the one of young female authors who write stories about fantasy worlds; then there is a literature for young people that explores the urban environment as an unknown universe. Other editorial experiments encourage readers accustomed to new technologies and investigate on alternative lifestyles. A clear trend is that of strong female characters, transformed into characters from the world of magic. Jeanna Eklund of the Bonnier Group recalled titles like “The Lasse Maja & Detective Agency,” written by Martin Widmark and illustrated by Helena Wills. The Swedish Arts Council (Kulturradet) is the government authority that supports, among other initiatives, the Swedish culture in the world, translating into any language works written in Sweden. The Swedish Institute cooperates with other institutions that represent Sweden abroad and universities.

Aldo Ciummo

Anne Jensen (Denmark): EU has to promote economic recovery

The European Parliament, with its guidelines for the budget in 2014, intends to ask to all the European institutions a budget capable of fighting the crisis and stimulate the employment in the EU

During the plenary session of last week (voting session of Wednesday, March 13, 2013) the European Parliament approved in the guidelines for the 2014 budget the proposals of Anne Jensen (“Venstre”, Liberal Party of Denmark). Year 2014 opens the Multiannual Financial Framework, the result of which will be closely linked to the negotiations between the European Parliament and the EU Council for the period 2014-2020.

The definition of the budget for 2014 will depend very much on the correct execution of the budget for 2013: in this regard Anne Jensen expressed concern for the insufficient level of payments in the current year (as well as the delays of payment regarding 2012). The intervention of the Danish MEP is part of the orientation of the political group to which she belongs, the “Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe” (“Alde”).

Anne Jensen said that, although it is unusual to speak about the budget in 2014 while it is still unknown what will happen to the budget of 2013, nor what the outcome of the difficult negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of the European Union on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will be, it is important to set iis guidelines, as also required by the budgetary procedure.

Policies with respect to the 2014 budget, said Jensen, fall into three categories: consolidating the legal basis of common policies to ensure financing the payment appropriations (underfunded because of the budget deficit in 2014 to be launched) in any scenario; ensure that savings are an end in themselves and ensure that growth and employment are promoted.

Anne Jensen stressed that European citizens require European institutions which are active in supporting the efforts to overcome the economic crisis, suggesting therefore that the budget will be aimed primarily at increasing the efficiency of infrastructure, transportation and research, and ensures the presence of a social orientation of European policies, reducing youth unemployment and strengthening education and training.

Aldo Ciummo