Nordic Gold

A scene from You, the Living, the Swedish submission to the 2007 foreign-language Oscar race (Photo: Scandinavia House)

By S.T. VanAirsdale

Your Romanian abortion movies and Mexican Mennonite sagas are just fine and everything, but in a record-breaking year for foreign-language Oscar submissions (63 countries represented), some stuff is bound to slip through the spacious Academy cracks. Consider the entirety of Scandinavia's output, including the acclaimed Jar City (Iceland), Gone With the Woman (Norway), You, The Living (Sweden), A Man's Job (Finland) and The Art of Crying (Denmark) -- all of which are included in Scandinavia House's one-week series Nordic Oscar Contenders.

Some of these have screened previously in New York (Art of Crying was a New Directors/New Films selection in 2007), and at least Jar City will reach local theaters after pacting with IFC Films at last year's Toronto Film Festival. As a whole, however, the program is likely a one-time only deal showcasing the respective countries' best (or at least their conceptions of what Oscar voters will think is "best") contributions to contemporary world cinema. And with the international festival acclaim attending each, consider snapping up tickets soon. Check out the program description and schedule here.

Posted at January 7, 2008 11:37 AM