New York Baltic Film Festival Announced At Scandinavia House, November 3-14

The Fourth Annual New York Baltic Film Festival presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns in 2021 as a hybrid festival with both in-person and virtual screenings on November 3-14.

This year, the festival will feature eleven feature films and one TV series with three International premieres, four North American premieres and one U.S. premiere, two New York premieres, and one East Coast premiere. Filmmakers will be present at a number of the premieres to participate in Q&As after the screenings.

The festival will kick off on Wednesday, November 3 at Scandinavia House (58 Park Ave., NYC) with the East Coast premiere of Goodbye Soviet Union (Estonia, Finland), a playful, nostalgic, and thought-provoking comedy that follows the life and misadventures of Johannes and his eccentric Ingrian-Finnish family in the waning days of the Estonian Soviet Republic. Lauri Randla's debut feature won the Audience Award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival last year.

The film perfectly embodies this year's festival theme: Adaptation and Resistance. Jūle Rozīte, the festival's Head of Programs, states: "These past two years have thrown us all off course and forced us to rethink our daily routines, expectations, and future plans. But this is not the first time in recent history that the Baltic States have had their daily lives turned upside down. And by delving deeper into these stories maybe we can learn a thing or two."

The theme of Adaptation and Resistance recurs throughout this year's program, including narrative features such as the North American premiere of Runner (Lithuania, Czechia), a punchy and dynamic drama about love on the run; U.S. premieres of In The Mirror, Latvian auteur Laila Pakalniņa's modern reimagining of the Snow White fairytale, and the wacky genre gem Kratt, a gleefully chaotic and absurd dark take on an Estonian myth; the International premiere of the first Latvian western Wild East; and New York premieres of historical spy thriller Dawn of War (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania) and the visually dazzling murder mystery Isaac (Lithuania), both of which grapple with personal culpability in the atrocities of WWII. The festival will also present the International premiere of the first two episodes of TV miniseries Emīlija - Queen of the Press (Latvia), a '20s period drama about Emīlija Benjamiņš, Latvia's most powerful press and fashion magnate of the interwar years.

The festival lineup also includes feature documentaries, such as the North American premiere of A Year Full of Drama (Estonia) about a woman who has never been to the theater tasked with seeing every play produced in the country; the International premiere of Tree Opera (Latvia) about staging an unconventional opera in a wild forest in Finland, and the North American premiere of Gentle Warriors (Lithuania, Estonia), tracking the physical and emotional transformation of women military service volunteers when conscription for men was reintroduced in Lithuania; and The Jump (Lithuania), a stranger-than-fiction story of a Lithuanian sailor attempting to defect from the USSR by jumping on board an American ship off Martha's Vineyard at the height of the Cold War.

The Opening Night celebration at Scandinavia House on Nov. 3 will start with the Goodbye Soviet Union screening at 7 PM, followed by a filmmaker Q&A and the Opening Reception, open to VIP passholders and special guests. Goodbye Soviet Union will have an encore in-person screening on Saturday, Nov. 6, 12 PM and will be available via streaming to Virtual passholders from Sunday, Nov. 7th.

From Nov. 3-7, festival in-person screenings and events will take place at Scandinavia House in New York, presented in accordance with new Covid-19 safety guidelines and protocols. Following the success of last year's festival, the online version will once again be available to viewers all across the U.S. via a streaming platform from Nov. 5-14.

SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 3
Opening Night Celebration
7 PM: Goodbye Soviet Union (Hüvasti, NSVL, dir. Lauri Randla, Estonia/Finland, 2020, Narrative) *Open to VIP Passholders only.*

Thursday, November 4
6 PM: In The Mirror (Spogulī, dir. Laila Pakalniņa, Latvia/Lithuania, 2020, Narrative)
8 PM: Runner (B?-gik?-, dir. Andrius Blaževičius, Lithuania/Czechia, 2021, Narrative)
Both films available virtually from Friday, November 5

Friday, November 5
6 PM: Gentle Warriors (Švelnūs kariai, dir. Marija Stonyt?-, Lithuania/Estonia, 2019, Documentary)
8 PM: Dawn of War (O2, Dir. Margus Paju, Estonia/Finland/Latvia/Lithuania, 2020, Narrative)
Both films available virtually from Saturday, November 6

Saturday, November 6
12 PM: Goodbye Soviet Union (Hüvasti, NSVL, dir. Lauri Randla, Estonia/Finland, 2020, Narrative)
2 PM: Tree Opera (Koku Opera, dir. Mārtiņš Grauds, Latvia, 2020, Documentary)
3:30 PM: Isaac (Izaokas, dir. Jurgis Matulevičius, Lithuania, 2019, Narrative)
6 PM: Kratt (dir. Rasmus Merivoo, Estonia, 2020, Narrative)
8:30 PM: Wild East (Kur vedīs ceļš, dir. Matīss Kaža, Latvia, 2021, Narrative)
All films available virtually from Sunday, November 7

Sunday, November 7
1 PM: A Year Full of Drama (Aasta täis draamat, dir. Marta Pulk, Estonia, 2019, Documentary)
3:30 PM: Emīlija - The Queen of the Press (Emīlija. Latvijas preses karaliene, dir. Andis Mizišs & Kristīne Želve, Latvia, 2021)
6 PM: The Jump (dir. Giedre Zickyte, Lithuania, 2021, Documentary)
All films available virtually from Monday, November 8

In-Person Pass (Early Bird: $100/$70 ASF Members; regular $120/$90 ASF Members) grants access to all in-person screenings at Scandinavia House except the Opening Night. The Virtual Pass (Early Bird: $100/$70 ASF Members; regular $120/$90 ASF Members) grants access to all virtual screenings of the festival films streaming on the Elevent platform. The VIP Pass ($325) grants access to all in-person and virtual screenings, two Opening Night tickets, six additional in-person screening tickets for a guest, a NYBFF mug and a personal acknowledgment on the NYBFF website. The 5-Film Package ($40/$30 ASF Members) grants access to five in-person or virtual screenings, or a combination of both. Individual in-person and virtual screening tickets ($14 regular; $9 ASF Members) will also be available for purchase.

All attendees are required to present proof of vaccination upon arrival in compliance with New York State government; read more here. Attendees are required to follow all Scandinavia House safety protocols, including wearing masks during the program and observing social distancing rules in signage.