Don’t let all this snow
put a chill in your spirit: I see Bright Nights ahead in the forecast. Local film buffs should take note of a cinematic destination as they
lace up their skates for Winterlude this week and look for some indoor events to mix with the outdoor fun. The Canadian Film Institute’s
Bright Nights: Baltic Nordic Film Festival moves to the River Building at
Carleton University in its fifth year, which makes the annual winter film
festival a great extension along one’s skate down to Dow’s Lake on the Rideau
Canal.
The darkly funny current
within this year’s festival makes the edgier and riskier slate of films in the
impressive line-up more easily accessible to serious and casual filmgoers
alike. The festival opens with Latvia’s acclaimed film The Lesson from director Andris Gauja, which comes to Ottawa after
premiering at Montreal’s World Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter calls the film “an impressively mature character study with
commendably global ambitions,” while praising Gauja’s background in documentary
for injecting his dramatic directorial debut with naturalism and emotional
authenticity. Other notable entries include Norway’s I am Yours, which the country selected as its Official Selection in
the Best Foreign Language Film race for last year’s Academy Awards, as it
brings “Game of Thrones” star Amrita Acharia into a story of an aspiring
actress at a cultural crossroads when a chance encounter with a Swedish
filmmaker alters her fate, while Finland’s multi-award-winning The Good Son also brings a darkly
satirical look at the film industry.
Sweden’s greatest
filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman, offers the subject for Sweden’s Bright Nights entry Trespassing Bergman, a documentary
chronicling the prolific filmmaker’s influence on the cinema featuring
interviews with directors such as Woody Allen, Michael Haneke, and Birdman’s Alejandro González Iñarritu. Denmark’s
The Hour of the Lynx brings some
familiar faces for fans of Scandinavian film, for it stars Sofia Gråbøl of the
original “The Killing” and Frederik Christian Johansen from the Oscar-nominee A Royal Affair. Estonian film, on the
other hand, is in the spotlight this year with the country’s Oscar nomination
for Tangerines and anyone interested
in discovering one of the most interesting national cinema’s should undoubtedly
check out Cherry Tobacco. Finally,
the contemporary seeps into the festival with the addition of the Icelandic doc
Ash about the 2010 volcanic eruption
that made headlines around the world, while history itself appears within the
ambitious Lithuanian drama The
Excursionist. All films at Bright Nights are Ottawa theatrical premieres,
and the festival offers passes for moviegoers hoping to enjoy all eight films
along with their Beavertails during Winterlude.
This year’s line-up is
as follows:
The Lesson (Izlaiduma gads)
Dir. Andris Gauja | Lativia/Russia | 108 min.
Friday, Feb. 6 at 7:00pm
Synopsis: The Lesson tells the story of Zane, a devoted teacher mentoring the senior class in a Latvian high school. She tries to live her life in the most meaningful way possible. Even so, as for many younger teachers, it's hard for Zane to keep her distance from her class -- the students soon become a sort of family for her. When one of the students falls in love with her, she faces a stark choice between her personal happiness and the pressures of society.
I am Yours (Jeg er din)
Dir. Iram Haq | Norway | 100 min.Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:00pm
Synopsis: Mina is a young single mother living in Oslo with her 6 year old son Felix. She is a Norwegian Pakistani with a troublesome relationship with her family. Mina is constantly looking for love and has relations with different men, however, none of the relationships bearing any hope of lasting very long. So when Mina meets Jesper, a Swedish film director, she falls head over heels in love.
Trespassing Bergman
Dir. Hynek Pallas, Jane Magnusson | Sweden | 107
min.
Saturday, Feb. 7 at 9:00pm
Synopsis: A
group of filmmakers visit Ingmar Bergman's house on the remote Swedish island
of Faro to discuss his legacy.
The Excursionist (Ekskursante)
Dir. Audrius Jezenas | Lithuania | 110 min.
Sunday, Feb. 8 at 4:00pm
Synopsis: The
story of a ten year old girl who escapes from a deportee train and goes on a
6000 km long journey back to her homeland.
The Good Son (Hyvä poika)
Dir. Zaida Bergroth | Finland | 88 min.
Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:00pm
Synopsis: Begroth’s
second feature film is a black comedy with sinister undertones revolving around
a psychologically troubling relationship between a profoundly diva-ish film
star mother and her teenage son.
The Hour of the Lynx (I lossens time)
Dir. Søren Kragh-Jacobsen | Denmark/Sweden | 100
min.
Friday, Feb. 13 at 9:00pm
Synopsis: Helen,
who is a priest, is approached by scientist Lisbeth with a desperate plea for
help. A young man, who has been sent to a high security psychiatric ward after
having killed an old couple, has attempted suicide while rambling about God. In
a race against time the two women begin a shocking journey deeper and deeper
into the sick mind of a young man's soul.
Ash (Aska)
Dir. Herbert Sveinbjörnsson | Iceland | 107 min.
Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4:00pm
Synopsis: The
story of the families that live and work under Eyjafjallajokull volcano that
erupted in 2010 grounding Europe leaving thousands of travelers camping out at
airports.
Cherry Tobacco (Kirsitubakas)
Dir. Andres
Maimik, Katrin Maimik | Estonia | 93 min.
Synopsis: Laura
is a young girl living a boring life in a small provincial town. When her best
friend asks her to come on a hiking trip, Laura readily agrees to shake off
some of the ennui she feels.
The Bright
Nights: Baltic Nordic Film Festival runs Feb. 6-14, 2015.
All screenings
are at the River Building Theatre, Carleton University.
Please
visit www.cfi-icf.ca for more information
on films, tickets (including online orders!), passes, and memberships.
See you at
the festival!