Panorama Nordic | Female* Voices

We find ourselves in an extravagant garden in Ouagadougou. The French Ambassador’s wife dreamt about becoming a famous opera singer. Instead, she is now using the singing as a ventilator to survive her seemingly privileged life surrounded by workers. This film raises questions about power structures, class, intersectionality, post colonialism and feminism in a poetic, subtle and seductive way.

Biofilmography
Theresa Traore Dahlberg is a filmmaker and visual artist born in 1983. She grew up on the Swedish island of Öland and in Burkina Faso, and is now based in Stockholm. After a few years in New York assisting directors, photographers, and production managers she studied film production – first at The New School in New York and then at the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her graduation film, Taxi Sister, received international praise and has been screened at festivals worldwide. In the spring of 2017, she took her master’s degree in Fine Arts at The Royal Institute of Art, in Sweden. That same year she has had several exhibitions and her feature length debut, Ouaga Girls, had premiere. The film became a success both in Sweden and internationally.

Tweener follows 13-year old wrestler Jaana and her best friend Bettan. Jaana’s goal is to advance to the more experienced group, and they are well on their way. But suddenly their relationship changes, as Bettan starts focusing more on life outside the wrestling club. Jaana has to choose between following her best friend or following her own goals. Tweener is a film for anyone who has ever felt as if they’d burst from feeling too much. The wrestling mat is a space where the feelings can be let out.

Biofilmography
Julia Thelin, born 1991, is a script writer and director. Julia Thelin attended film studies at Fridhem 2011-2013 and the script programme at Broby Grafiska 2014-2015. She has directed dance films, music videos and short films. She wrote and directed short film Push It with Grand Slam Film in 2017.

Lísa is fifteen years old and quite different from other girls her age. She has isolated herself and has a big secret about herself. When her childhood friend Bryndís starts reaching out to her, the two reunite, leading Lísa to discover more secrets about her body and medical history.

Biofilmography
Anna Karín is a twenty five years old filmmaker based in Reykjavík, Iceland. She graduated from the Icelandic Film School from directing and producing department earlier this year. Her graduation film Milli tungls og jar.ar (English title; Between Earth and the Moon), won the best picture from the semester. She has directed four short films and produced about eight. She is quite new to the film industry but her decision to go to film school two years ago was very spontaneous. Now she works at RÚV, the national television broadcasting station were she is filming, editing, producing and directing material for the younger generation.

Svanur is a young trans person living in the Icelandic countryside. Searching for the freedom to be themself, Svanur travels to the city for a doctor‘s appointment to begin gender reassignment process. When the interview does not turn out the way Svanur had hoped for, a friend convinces them to take matters into their own hands. Although hesitant at first, Svanur decides it is time to return home, and stop hiding their true self. At the homecoming, Svanur’s grandmother is momentarily confused, but welcomes their identity with open arms.

Biofilmography
Vala Ómarsdóttir is a film director and writer from Iceland. Vala studied film directing and screenwriting at The Icelandic Film School, and holds two master’s degrees in performance directing from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Goldsmiths in London. Alongside founding GERVI Productions with Hallfridur Tryggvadóttir. While living in London for eight years, Vala worked as a director and a performance maker at 11:18 Theatre Company as well as being associate artist at Tangled Feet and Bottlefed, award-winning companies in the U.K. After moving back to Iceland Vala has written and directed the short films ÉG (2018), Daetur (2018), Mamma aetlar ad sofna (2017), Hamur (2016), and Rof (2014). Vala is a drama teacher and the Head of Movement at the Acting Department at the Iceland University of the Arts. 

Hallfríður Tryggvadóttir is a New York-based director and producer of film and theatre. Hailing from Iceland, Hallfríður has an extensive experience of leading productions both in Iceland and the U.S., as well as collaborating closely with festivals and artists from the the U.K., Denmark, Germany, Romania, France, Poland and Lithuania. Hallfríður is eager to open people’s eyes to pressing issues, and her work deals with gender norms, identity, science and memory. Before moving to New York, Hallfríður was the director of events at Reykjavík International Film Festival, where she produced wide-ranging interdisciplinary cinematic events in caves, theatres and swimming pools, developed projects with international filmmakers and managed a film education program. Hallfríður founded GERVI Productions with Vala Ómarsdóttir to produce important stories about women, trans and non-binary people. Hallfríður is proud that ÉG, her directorial debut, is created by an all-female crew. Hallfríður is currently finishing her MFA degree in Theatre Management and Producing at Columbia University, and works at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Winter in Soviet Lithuanian School. School authorities introduce regular quartz lamp sessions – so that children could receive a missing vitamin D amount. But for the sixth-grader Pijus, vitamin D is not important, he cares about a cool classmate, sadly this is a one-sided feeling. During the first quartz lamp session, the boy bravely violates the rules in order to impress his crush.

Biofilmography
Odeta Riškutė is young cinematographer, born in 1993 in Kuršėnai. In 2012 graduated from Westminster college in London. In 2018 graduated from Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In 9th edition of Lithuanian cinematography awards won a nomination for best young lithuanian cinematographer of the year. 

Klaudija Matvejevaitė is a young director, born in Vilnius, 1995. 2002-2014 went to the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts (Fine Arts department, Graphic Arts class). In 2018  graduated  Film Directing course in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.