By Preethika Makineni, University of Washington News Lab
As Ballard-based National Nordic Museum’s chief curator Leslie Ann Anderson and Kyle Reinhart from Scandinavia House in New York began working together to bring the idea of the West Nordic Film Festival to life, they started with collaboration.
With a previous partnership between the two establishments on the Sámi Film Festival, Anderson said she saw an opportunity to represent Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands through film.
One name came up over and over: Icelandic curator and film connoisseur Birgir Thor Møller.
“Everyone from the Faroe Islands and Greenland has said, ‘You need to meet with Birgir, you need to talk to Birgir,’” said Reinhart. “He seems to know all the films, all the producers, so he just seemed like the obvious choice.”
The result is the West Nordic Film Festival, which starts March 14 at Majestic Bay Theatres (2044 NW Market St). The collaboration was borne of Reinhart and Anderson’s idea to continue their collaboration after successfully hosting the annual Sámi Film Festival, which focuses on Indigenous people in Finland, Sweden, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia.
The West Nordic Film Festival opens March 14 and plays through March 15, and it wouldn’t be possible without Møller.
On the other side of the Atlantic, years ago, Møller first sparked an interest in film in his childhood, going to the cinema with his grandmother, he said. As he grew into adolescence, he watched as the Icelandic film industry transformed.
“Birgir has great familiarity with film from this particular region… so really, his regional expertise is being brought to bear here, and it’s also that he has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening in Nordic film,” said Anderson.
Having grown up in a time where the West Nordic film scene was still finding its footing, Møller witnessed the growth of the industry firsthand. From the establishment of the Icelandic Film Fund in 1979 to the country’s first Oscar-nominated film, Children of Nature, in 1992, his experience proves that showcasing unique perspectives from smaller regions can make waves on a global scale.
Before these historic moments, foreigners were the ones making films about Iceland, he said.
“When foreign people came to make [films], the local audiences didn’t feel as they were represented in the film,” said Møller. “In every society, every country, you have to have your own voice, your own audiovisual culture.”
Møller’s approach to curation for the West Nordic Film Festival reflects this philosophy, as his process sought to blend established names in West Nordic film with younger perspectives and experiences.
“I also wanted to screen some films that are of local interest [to people] in Seattle or New York, [so they] can come to the cinema and see the kind of films that they find entertaining,” said Møller.
This creative vision worked hand in hand with the logistical organization that Anderson and Reinhart had to take on behind the scenes, Anderson said.
“We are ensuring that we are adhering to deadlines, ensuring that we’re getting the lineup, releasing it, selling tickets, creating promotional materials, and doing everything that we can to increase awareness of this brand new film festival,” said Anderson.
The festival provides a rare opportunity to view films from a lesser-known regional perspective, as curators and organizers alike have made the effort to show a nuanced understanding of the region, Anderson said.
“I do think [the filmmakers] have some very unique stories,” said Møller. “They have a very unique cinematic language, which I hope that people will experience.”
Photo: Still shot from Entropy by Inuk Jørgensen
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