The Programme for the 66th Nordic Film Days Lübeck is now online

Lübeck, October 8, 2024. At today’s press conference for the 66th Nordic Film Days Lübeck at the Haus der Kaufmannschaft, festival directors Susanne Kasimir (festival management) and Thomas Hailer (artistic director) joined the city-state’s senator of culture and education Monika Frank and the curators of the individual sections on the podium to present the full programme for the festival that turns Lübeck into the European hub for Nordic and Baltic films From November 6 to 10.

The programme is now available at www.nordische-filmtage.de.

The NFL will screen 169 films in 212 public screenings at Lübeck venues during the festival. About 60 percent of that line-up will be available for streaming by audiences all over Germany.

Twelve jury prizes, with a total endowment of 65,000 euros will be awarded, in addition to the Honorary Award, which this year goes to Finnish actor Kati Outinen. Outinen achieved international renown not least of all for her years of collaboration with Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki. The Honorary Award will be presented at the opening night ceremony on November 6, while the rest of the awards will be presented on November 9 during the gala Prize Night at Theater Lübeck.

“From Danish, Norwegian, and Latvian Oscar candidates to live acts in the Infinity Dome, the programme encompasses the entire spectrum”, said Thomas Hailer, artistic director of the Nordic Film Days, “in both style and content, the range of Nordic and Baltic filmmaking leaves nothing to be desired”.

Festival manager Susanne Kasimir stressed that the festival programme continues to expand to new target groups, saying “even more films with German subtitles than last year is our way of inviting anyone who is interested in enjoying all that the festival has to offer. That is particularly true of our programme for school classes, which has already proven its popularity for this year”.

The film programme is divided into nine sections, comprising features and short films, episodic television, and immersive works from northern and northeastern Europe. The Narrative Film Competition includes 14 films, and the Documentary section 12. In the Nordic Shorts section, five programme blocs will show 25 new short films, including 12 documentaries. The Filmforum will screen 38 productions from Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, 14 features and 24 shorts. For audiences as young as four, the Young Audience section has 30 films for viewing both in regular programmes and in additional school class screenings.

The Series section, curated starting this year by Jenni Zylka, showcases selections from seven new productions that demonstrate the fascinating storytelling possibilities of the episodic format. And the curator herself will provide a “what happened in between” recap between the individual episodes. The Immersion 360° section, meanwhile, presents innovative works that go beyond classic cinema in the Infinity Dome at Klingenberg square, a mobile dome with an exterior diameter of almost 20 metres. Audiences can enjoy 22 engrossing projection projects, live performances, immersive art installations, and more. 

Inspired by Thomas Mann’s historic novel “The Magic Mountain”, this year’s Retrospective, titled “Snow – of Flakes and Flurries” is showing 14 films full of “snow, great, colossal masses of snow … “. The section will open with André Schäfer’s documentary “Confessions of Thomas Mann, Confidence Man”.

The recipient of the honorary award, Kati Outinen, herself curated the Homage section, selecting five of her most important films, all directed by Aki Kaurismäki, “Shadows in Paradise”, “The Match Factory Girl”, “Drifting Clouds”, the silent film “Juha”, and “The Man Without a Past”.

And the Lübeck Meetings will once again provide a nexus for national and international industry professionals, with some events also open to the public.

The 66th Nordic Film Days Lübeck will open on Wednesday, November 6, at 7 pm with a screening of the animated adventure “Flow” directed by Latvia’s Gints Zilbalodis. After its noteworthy world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, it will celebrate its German premiere in Lübeck.

Advance ticket sales begin on October 26, 2024 at 3:00 pm at the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle, and online at the festival website and at www.cinestar.de. 
Selected films will be available to stream from November 6, 7 pm, through November 17.

Press material:
Film stills for the festival films will be available by writing to presse@nordische-filmtage.de, and successively in the download area of the website. Details of the films and the complete screening schedule is available on the festival homepage NFL website. Additional information and news can be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Presscontact:
Hanseatic City of Luebeck - Nordic Film Days Luebeck
Julia Kainz, PR Agency filmcontact
presse@nordische-filmtage.de
+49 (0) 30 27908700