The Nordic International Film Festival (NIFF) is back for its eighth year with a range of compelling short films and feature films from all over the world. Running from November 16th through November 20th, the festival will be held at Fotografiska and the Scandinavia House in Manhattan. There is also an exclusive, invite-only screening event on Thursday, November 17th at the Chelsea Hotel. The NIFF 2022 Awards Ceremony will be held on November 20th at Fotografiska.
New York Film Academy (NYFA) is partnering with the festival’s committee for the 4th year in a row, offering a 4-week workshop scholarship for any discipline to the winner of the prestigious Aurora Borealis Prize. The prize is awarded annually to one filmmaker. Previous winners have included Director Lisa Meyer for Birds of Passage (2021) and Director Nicolas Kolovos for Index (2020).
For the first time, the festival will have a Festival Village at Fotografiska. Attendees with a ticket to any of the Scandinavia House screenings may also access the filmmaker lounge on Saturday, November 19th, in Volvo Hall at the Scandinavia House.
Hold Me Down, a short narrative film (Sweden), is available to stream on the NIFF website. The film is based on true events and takes place in the Bronx, NYC. Festival goers can also follow the journeys of NIFF’s ‘Artists in Residence’ at the Ace Hotel online, which include photographers, filmmakers, playwrights, actors, writers, and a VR artist.
About The Nordic International Film Festival (NIFF)
Nordic International Film Festival (NIFF) is the largest Nordic film festival outside of Europe and strives to connect international filmmakers, showcase films shot in Nordic countries, elevate Nordic filmmakers, and promote equality in film. Each year, NIFF donates 50% of its Official Selection ticket sales to the Black Independent Filmmaker app and Brown Art Ink and publishes its diversity statistics. In 2021, NIFF had 130% more female representation in the role of director compared to 2020’s top 250 grossing films.
The festival was founded in 2015 by NYFA alumni Linnea Larsdotter (Mikkelä) and Johan Matton. Linnea Larsdotter, an actor and producer, is an NYFA 2-Year Musical Theatre program alum. She is now President of the film festival. Johan Matton, also an actor and producer, is a 2-Year Acting for Film program alum.
In 2020, the festival successfully navigated the COVID-19 pandemic with a covid-safe drive-in at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in NYC. They also provided an online experience, where 50% of ticket sales went to organizations that support the Black Lives Matter movement.
2022 Feature and Short Films at NIFF
NIFF features film categories including documentary feature and short, international feature and short, as well as Nordic narrative and two Nordic narrative A and B shorts. This year’s films tackle an array of topics, including displacement, family, friendship, identity, politics, mythology, fables, and more.
In previous years, the festival has screened films such as Det Borde Finnas Regler / There Should Be Rules, 2015, Autumn Fall, 2016, Man and a Baby, 2017, and Tiger Milk, 2018. This year, NIFF will showcase films including Beautiful Beings (Iceland), a story about a clairvoyant teen, Historjá – Stitches for Sápmi (Sweden), about an artist fighting climate change, Rainbow (Denmark), where a young girl searches for her biological father, and Maybe (Norway), where two women have an unexpected conversation after closing hours at a library, and many more.
For an entire list of the 2022 films, please visit the Nordic International Film Festival website.
NIFF at Fotografiska
NIFF’s opening night and awards ceremony will be held at Fotografiska. The opening night event, which includes a Red Carpet for the directors and filmmakers, officially launches the festival. The feature Beautiful Beings, by Icelandic Director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, will premiere. The awards ceremony will conclude the festival, as well as an after-party featuring a performance from DJ Virgin Miri.
NIFF at Scandinavia House
Scandinavia House will screen most of its 2022 NIFF films on Friday, November 18th, and Saturday, November 19th.
Friday, November 18, 2022
Rainbow
Historjá – Stitches for Sápmi
Saturday, November 19, 2022
An Eternity of You and Me
The Militiaman
Haulout
The Diamond
The Maw
Unity of Opposites
Maybe
Animals
Shower Boys
Mayfly
Double Cheese
The Marsh
The Dinner
Adieu
For more information about tickets and the film festival schedule, click here. Best of luck to all of the filmmakers at this special event!