Filmfest Sundsvall 2023
Our film programme consists of different sections. Each section has several viewings, where a number of films are shown. There are four competitive sections (Next Europe, International Shorts, Children’s Film, Swedish Shorts), where a separate jury chooses a winning film in each. There will also be in-depth seminars and director talks, plus entertaining musical events.
- Programme
- Schedule
Premium Screenings
Seminars
Handpicked
Music Mania
Next Europe Competition
Finland: Aino Suni & Teemu Nikki
Swedish Short Film Competition
International Short Film Competition
Special Screenings
Children's Film Festival
Music
Music Mania
Cesária Évora
An intimate documentary about the world-renowned Grammy Award-winning singer Cesária Évora. With unique material that has not been shown before, we get to follow The Barefoot Diva through hardships and successes.
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Children's Film Festival
Children's film from the world: Better together
Alone is strong, right? Seven reminders that we feel better and can do more if we help each other. We can brave dangers, save each other, and have fun together!
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Children's Film Festival
Children's Film from the World: Color and fantasy
Red fruits, green leaves, an orange ball, and a rainbow drop. Eight colorful adventures take us across the entire palette. What are your favorite colors?
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Children's Film Festival
Children's film from the world: Safe places
A large garden, behind the closed door of the home or together with friends and family. Oh, what different security can look like, just look at these seven films!
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Children's Film Festival
Coraline
Take the chance to see this amazing stop motion animation in large format. Age recommendation 11+.
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Handpicked
Dos Estaciones
Hard-boiled businesswoman Maria Garcia runs the family business Dos Estaciones and fights for its tequila factory to survive. Set among the beautiful hills of the Jalisco highlands in Mexico.
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Music Mania
Echoes of the Universe – Kaija Saariaho’s Music
A journey and story about how a shy girl from Helsinki becomes one of the world's most appreciated contemporary composers. Kaija Saariaho sadly passed away earlier this year.
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Next Europe Competition
Euridice, Euridice
Between love in the virtual world in Loading Love and love in a movie role in Euridice, we dive into intimate feelings and relationships.
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Premium Screenings
Festival finale
This year's festival ends in the best way with food, mingling, film and director's talk. In the festival's final film Four Little Adults by Selma Vilhunen, four adults test the limits of love in a thrilling, touching and funny relationship drama. After the film, we meet Oscar-nominated director Selma Vilhunen for a conversation. Before the film screening, there will be mingling with snacks.
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Seminars
Film & talk: Meet the guest of honor Elle Furudahl
We direct the spotlight on Elle Furudahl from Härnösand, 2023's film guest of honor, well-established scenographer and production designer who works with both film and television. Hear her talk about her professional life and above all about the drama-horror Knocking, which earned Elle a Guldbagge nomination. The video is shown immediately after the talk.
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Seminars
Filmfond Västernorrland: How does it work?
Last spring all municipalities and Region Västernorrland entered into long-term financing - and Film Västernorrland is now responsible for a film fund with an annual budget of approximately SEK 5 million. Marie Nilsson, director of film at Film Västernorrland, gives the latest news.
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Seminars
Finland heart Sweden
We take a closer look at some creative collaborations between the countries. In 2020, Sawandi Groskind won a jury prize at Filmfest with his short film How to approach a large hole, which led to a collaboration with director Kim Ekberg. Together, they are in. the process of completing the feature film XXL and are ready to start with Sawandi's film Skarpsnabba.
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Finland: Aino Suni & Teemu Nikki
Finland: Aino Suni - Retrospective
With Heartbeast, Aino Suni had a breakthrough as a feature film director and the film won two Finnish Jussi. On the CV there is a colorful collection of short films, documentaries, and music videos, i.a. the festival hit Wolf Carver and the epic dance drama Shake! Often resilient female portraits at the center, sometimes coming-of-age, preferably music and dance, and the occasional genre excursion.
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Finland: Aino Suni & Teemu Nikki
Finland: Teemu Nikki - Retrospective
Self-taught, video nerd, hyper-productive, creative filmmaker who likes to go the whole hog and let the theme play out in drastic, humorous, sometimes violent, often twisted scenes. Always with solid resonance in the drama - preferably the outsider's story. Over 30 films in various formats in 15 years. Impressive!
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Music Mania
Hassisen Kone 40 Years After
Film about the iconic Finnish rock band Hassisen Kone, who performed a reunion concert at the Ratina Stadium in Tampere in 2022 - 40 years after the breakup. Documentary film by seasoned director Mika Kaurismäki.
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Special Screenings
Heartbeast
Elina, a 17-year-old aspiring rapper, is forced to leave her native Finland and move to the south of France when her mother finds a French boyfriend.
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Music Mania
I Got Words
The artist Runar Gudnason, best known from the group Side Brok, takes an existential journey back in time to find out why he became a rapper.
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International Short Film Competition
International Shorts 1
Join us on the streets of four different parts of the world, and take part in the pulse and everyday life, in Tripoli, Helsinki and Cape Town, among others.
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International Short Film Competition
International Shorts 2
Seven films about turning the page and adapting to a harsh reality, for example, artistic anti-tank barrier production in Ukraine and Chadari procurement in Afghanistan.
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International Short Film Competition
International Shorts 3
Through human identity, relationships, and desires, the meaning of life is explored in six different countries. A wonderful mix of feature film, documentary, and animation.
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Special Screenings
Knocking (Knackningar)
Molly starts hearing knocking from the floor above. She soon becomes convinced that someone in the house is being held against their will.
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Children's Film Festival
Lecture: Animate with Lego
With stop motion technique, you can animate films with pretty much anything that doesn't move by itself. Vidar Olsson, winner of Lego Masters Sweden, shares tips and inspiration for how to create a Lego movie.
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Next Europe Competition
Les chenilles
The screening of the French Lebanese Les Chenilles begins with the Spanish film Contadores, followed by La vos Roza from the Netherlands.
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Special Screenings
Live Flesh
After leaving prison, Víctor is still in love with Elena, but she is married to the former policeman, now the basketball player, who was paralyzed by a shot from Víctor's gun...
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Handpicked
Lynx Man
A bearded Finnish hermit who alternates between sweating out his demons in the sauna, and creeping around the forest at night to document the endangered lynx.
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Special Screenings
Made in Västernorrland
Keep an eye on the region's exciting filmmakers. A film harvest of hair-raising horror, exciting conflicts, animated, true-to-life Sci-Fi, and subtle humor.
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Seminars
Masterclass: Antxón Gómez
A dream guest! Antxón Gómez is Pedro Almodóvar's partner since Lust of the Flesh (1997). Whose production designer, if not Almodóvar's, do you want to hear talk about his work? The colors, the details, the rooms... The work on Steven Soderbergh's epic Che (2008) earned him the Spanish film prize Goya, for which he was nominated five more times. Moderator: Josefin Åsberg. In Spanish with translation into Swedish.
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Music
Maustetytöt
With soldout concerts, gold records, and music in our opening film Höstlöv som faller, the sisters Anna och Kaisa Karjalainen in Maustetytöt are one of the most popular bands in Finland right now. This cool indie duo is playing irresistible upbeat pop in Finnish and the music is both sad, catchy, and with infectious melodies. In ten years time, people will ask "Were you at Maustetytöt at q.bar 2023?" You will say, yes. Free admission
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Seminars
Meet the Finns & the Jury
Jukka-Pekka Laakso (Tampere FF), Otto Suuronen (Finnish Film Foundation) and Piia Nokelainen (YLE) give a crash course in the role they play in a Finnish and Nordic context. Ask questions! Followed by a presentation of some of this year's jury members, including Lara Casirati (Varicoloured) and Valeria Wagner (Zurich FF).
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Next Europe Competition
Men of Deeds
Policeman Ilie enjoys his simple life in a Romanian village. All he wants is an orchard and some peace. But the road there is lined with murder, bad decisions, and questionable handshakes.
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Premium Screenings
Middle Eastern night
A Friday evening with food, music, and film from the Middle East. The evening begins with a taste experience and music from the Middle East. Then we will show the acclaimed Nezouh, a film about 14-year-old Zeina and her family, who are torn between staying in Damascus and fleeing, while the bombs fall, and the neighbors leave.
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Next Europe Competition
Natura
The screening of Natura begins with the North Swedish short film Arne Möter Döden, a road movie with a farmer and the reaper, together in a Volvo 240.
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Handpicked
Nezouh
14-year-old Zeina and her family are torn between staying in Damascus and fleeing, as the bombs fall, and the neighbors leave. Winner of, among other things, the audience award at the Venice Film Festival. The film is also shown at the premium screening: Middle Eastern Night.
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Next Europe Competition
Notes on a Summer
Marta, a young student, leaves routine, everyday life and her boyfriend in Madrid for a carefree summer in her hometown Gijón, on the Atlantic coast.
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Premium Screenings
Opening Ceremony
A whole evening with film, music, art exhibition, food and mingling. The opening film Fallen Leaves by Finnish master director Aki Kaurismäki is a wonderful love story with tragicomic obstacles. The film's main actors Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen are on site and introduce. Multiple Grammy winner and our musical guest of honor, Hurula, then performs a unique acoustic concert and exhibits his art. A mingling buffet is also included. Finally, DJ Hypna invites you to more partying.
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Next Europe Competition
Paradiset Brinner
Three sisters between the ages of 7 and 16 live alone after their mother disappears. When social services demand a family meeting, eldest sister Laura plans to find a place for her mother. Could be Sweden's Oscar contribution in 2023.
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Seminars
Retrospective and Q&A with Aino Suni
With Heartbeast (2022), Aino Suni made a breakthrough as a feature film director and the film won two Finnish Jussi. On the CV there is a colorful collection of short films, documentaries and music videos, i.a. the festival hit Wolf Carver and the epic dance drama Shake! Often resilient female portraits at the center, sometimes coming-of-age, preferably music and dance and the occasional genre excursion. Short film retro followed by Q&A.
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Children's Film Festival
Ronja Rövardotter
TV and theater current Ronja Rövardotter comes to Filmfest in the form of this film classic from 1984 and an exhibition in the foyer. Age recommendation 7+.
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Seminars
Ronja Rövardotter revisited: Ulrika von Vegesack
Viaplay's major venture Ronja Rövardotter directed by Lisa James Larsson will be released at the end of the year. Production designer Ulrika von Vegesack talks about the work on the series.
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Seminars
Roundtable: Production design and scenography
Listen to some of the leading in production design and scenography in Sweden as they discuss current issues. From artistic tendencies to conditions for a good work process and thoughts about AI, and more! With, among others, Josefin Åsberg, Elle Furudahl, Ulrika von Vegesack and Emelie Ekenborn.
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Music Mania
Ruthless Times - Songs of Care
Documentary-musical depicting the privatization of elderly care in Finland. The experiences of the care staff are transformed into serious but playful songs composed by Anna-Mari Kähärä.
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Handpicked
Something You Said Last Night
A close depiction of a family holiday that vibrates with warmth, humor, and life. Multiple festival winner and a crowd favorite.
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Swedish Short Film Competition
Swedish Shorts 1
Eight Swedish short films. Feature films, animations and experiments. From the house opposite to the star-studded cast.
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Swedish Short Film Competition
Swedish Shorts 2
Eight Swedish short films. Feature films, animations and experiments. From dangerous bag delivery to imaginative bird jam.
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Swedish Short Film Competition
Swedish Shorts 3: Norrland
Nine film stories from North Sweden. Feature films, animations and documentaries. From coming-of-age to trance in Afghanistan.
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Swedish Short Film Competition
Swedish Shorts 4: Norrland
Eight film stories from North Sweden. Feature films, animations and documentaries. From an inherited hair salon to journalism about nuts.
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Music Mania
The Computer Accent
How does music composed with artificial intelligence sound? The American post-pop group YACHT embarks on a radical creative experiment: inviting a computer into the recording studio.
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Special Screenings
The Knocking (Knackandet)
Three siblings go and investigate their deceased parents' house in the middle of the forest.
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Next Europe Competition
Tobacco Barns
Three generations spend the summer among mysterious tobacco barns and try to uncover its secrets. Inspired by the director's childhood. Director's visit.
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Seminars
Triangle of Sadness: Produktionsdesign vs SFX
Celebrated production designer Josefin Åsberg and experienced SFX supervisor Johan Harnesk talk about the advanced collaboration around production design and SFX for Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness (2022). How do you create, for example, a working crack rig...?
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Next Europe Competition
Victim
The screening of Victim begins with the short film Das andere Ende der Straße about bullying and moral dilemmas.
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Screenings
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