‘Heavy Trip’ to get the festival started
In Prague, Lucerna Cinema is hosting the festival and the opening film will be the first of the premiere screenings. On the 14th of February at 6PM, the audience will watch ‘Heavy Trip’, an outrageous story of a group of long-haired blokes from a small Finnish town that live for nothing but heavy metal and their unnamed band. For twelve years they rehearse in the basement of a reindeer slaughterhouse and never have a concert. Still, they do not give up their dream of glory...
Comedy
‘Heavy Trip’ is not the only comedy on this year’s festival programme. Among other feel-good, heart-warming movies is ‘Long Story Short’, which follows the highs and lows of love among a group of friends. In eight chapters, we witness their struggle for the perfect relationship that even involves wife swapping, resulting in more and more children coming into the world.
‘Staying Alive’ is another film bursting with Nordic humour. This comedy was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the International Festival in Trondheim. The movie brings you into the life of the charming, thirty-eight-year-old Marianne, whose life collapses when she finds out, that her boyfriend is cheating on her with her colleague. But with the help of her best friend, she starts to enjoy her life again.
Thriller
There is also a great deal of suspense awaiting spectators in Lucerna Cinema. In the psychological thriller ‘Robin’ a young woman wakes up one day completely naked and confused in a mysterious forest. Although she has no evidence, she believes she has witnessed a murder. Because she is afraid that she might be the next victim, and the police find nothing to support her claim, she starts her own investigation.
The thriller ‘Mihkel’ draws us in the world of drugs. The film is named after its main character, and it is based on the reconstruction of a criminal case from 2004. Mihkel dreams of a better life. However, the way he goes about it, when he decides to accept his childhood friend’s proposal to smuggle heroin from Estonia to Iceland, is not fortunate.
Drama
The festival also brings a number of dramas. ‘Peledu Kalnas’ (‘Owl Mountain’) is a war drama dealing with political and social issues in Lithuania in the period from 1947 to 1952. Another war drama is ‘Across the Waters’, which tells the story of Danish Jews trying to escape the Nazis and flee to Sweden, not being sure of whom they can trust.
‘Stockholm Stories’ narrates the story of five people, who are all unhappy and have their own secrets, whose paths cross, changing their lives for good. The film deals with themes of light and dark inside and outside its characters, and one of the key moments is a major blackout in the city.
Documentaries
The festival Nordic Film Winter 2019 will also show two documentaries. The first is called ‘Big Time’, and provides an intimate insight into the life of the founder of BIG studio. He is a truly exceptional person and one of the leading architects not only in Denmark, but all over the world. The documentary presents Ingels not only as an exceptional professional, but also as an ordinary person experiencing ups and downs, love, and fears of illness.
The documentary ‘Nice People’ follows the story of the first Somali bandy team. The city of Borlänge in Sweden has become home to many Somalis over the last few years. A group of young Somalis created a bandy team to try to integrate into Swedish society. The young players have never been ice-skating in their lives, participating in the upcoming World Championship seems like a crazy idea, but their team coaches see it differently. The film documents their preparation and participation in the Championship.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
14th to 19th of February 2019
Venue: Kino Lucerna
Vodičkova 36, Praha 1
Admission fee: CZK 129 per film