GRIPPING DRAMAS AND POWERFUL TRUE STORIES
Winter is coming, and so too is the 2025 Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival, presenting the best new cinema from the Nordic region this July until August at Palace, Palace Nova and Luna Palace Cinemas. Festival goers are invited to plunge into a unGRIPPING DRAMAS AND POWERFUL TRUE STORIES –
Unique cultural journey through Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland with this year’s brilliant and diverse line up featuring award-winners, box office hits and thought provoking debuts from a new generation of filmmakers in tandem with the latest new films from the region’s most loved actors and directors.
Palace is delighted to announce five of the first highlights ahead of the full programme being unveiled in late June.
This year’s Special Presentation is QUISLING: THE FINAL DAYS (Quislings siste dager). Set in 1945 Norway, this bold and fascinating drama from acclaimed director Erik Poppe (The King’s Choice, ScandiFF 2017) follows the post-liberation trial of the country’s infamous and controversial head of state Vidkun Quisling, in a stirring meditation on complicity, faith and the capacity for self-deception.
The powerful and visually stunning drama THE MOUNTAIN (Fjallið) is the first officially vetted sustainable production in Iceland and has been awarded the prestigious Green Film Sustainability certification. Starring Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney (daughter of singer Björk), it explores how the cosmos and a road trip to the Icelandic highlands offers comfort to a family whose life is upended by a twist of fate.
Starring Festival favourite Trine Dyrholm is SECOND VICTIMS (Det andet offer), a Danish-set medical drama. Featuring stellar performances from Dyrholm and Özlem Saglanmak (Borgen), this timely reflection on the challenges faced by healthcare professionals today follows a neurologist on a shift that will change her life forever, exploring the weight of guilt and the power of compassion.
Debut director Paula Korva’s Finnish comedy/drama SUDDEN OUTBURSTS OF EMOTIONS (Kenraaliharjoitus) is the story of an ordinary couple who decide to open their relationship to new sexual encounters to reignite their passion. Although everything seems fine to start, emotional chaos is soon unleashed in this witty and heartfelt story.
From Sweden is LIVE A LITTLE (Leva Lite), a bold and intimate story about two best friends on a couch surfing adventure across Europe, navigating uncertainty and intimacy as they strive to find themselves.
The 2025 Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival will take place from July to August (dates vary by location).
The full programme will be announced later in June when tickets go on sale.
Listing details:
Melbourne: 11 July – 3 August, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Penny Lane, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema and The Astor Theatre
Ballarat: 11 July – 3 August, Palace Regent Cinema
Canberra: 16 July – 10 August, Palace Electric
Sydney: 17 July – 10 August, Palace Norton St, Palace Moore Park, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema
Adelaide: 23 July – 13 August, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Brisbane: 23 July – 14 August, Palace James St, Palace Barracks
Perth: 24 July – 13 August, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and Palace Raine Square
Byron Bay and Ballina: 24 July – 13 August, Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas
For more information, visit scandinavianfilmfestival.com and follow us on Instagram[MS1] /Facebook @ScandiFilmFest
