Taking in a national run of dates in venues a huge step up from his relatively small performances, this October tour will see Hozier perform at Perth’s Belvoir Amphitheatre on Wednesday 28 October, the Palais Theatre in Melbourne on Friday 30 October, Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday 3 November, before closing at Brisbane’s stunning Riverstage on Friday 6 November.

With so many countless fans missing out on seeing Hozier live on this brief Easter visit, here now is your chance to witness the grandeur and yet deeply intimate nature of this extraordinary artist.

“The smooth blend of folk, blues, gospel and rock on [Hozier]’s self-titled album left me at times questioning how someone in their early 20s could conjure up such poetic and poignant music and lyrics.” VH1

Hozier 2015 Australian Tour
Perth – Wednesday 28 October, Belvoir Amphitheatre
Melbourne – Friday 30 – Saturday 31 October, Palais Theatre
Sydney – Tuesday 3 November, Hordern Pavilion
Brisbane – Friday 6 November, Riverstage
www.hozier.com

The festival will kick off with the award winning box office smash hit, GOD WILLING(SE DIO VUOLE), a laugh out loud comedy starring the gorgeous Alessandro Gassman, Marco Giallini and Laura Morante which tells the story of an atheist surgeon with a God-complex, a charismatic priest, a dysfunctional family and an announcement that takes everyone by surprise!

The 36 day festival will close with a new restoration of the Academy Award nominated THE CONFORMIST (IL CONFORMISTA), which will see the return to the big screen of acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci’s visually intoxicating art deco style adaptation of Alberto Moravia’s novel about an upper-class follower of Mussolini.

Taking out the Best Actor award at the Italian Golden Globes for Luca Zingaretti, the gripping crime thriller PEREZ depicts an urban wasteland, hiding the underbelly of organised crime through the filtered lens of the justice systems. Also delving into the criminal world is BLACK SOULS (ANIME NERE), an elegant, seething and expertly-directed, award-winning thriller by Francesco Munzi which is a timeless and powerful tale about the challenges of breaking cycles of crime and violence.

Winner of multiple Best New Director awards is Francesca Archibugi’s AN ITALIAN NAME (IL NOME DEL FIGLIO). Featuring an all-star cast of Alessandro Gassmann, Valeria Golino, Luigi Lo Cascio, Rocco Papaleo, Micaela Ramazzotti, the film presents an engrossing warning against buried resentment, and a plea not to forget hopes and dreams of the past.

This year will see a string of Italian comedies light up the screen with highlight titles including LATIN LOVER, a charming and amusing new offering from acclaimed writer/director Cristina Comenciniwhich tells the story of the life and secrets of the great Italian star Saverio Crispo, a “Latin Lover” played seductively by Francesco Scianna. Winner of the Best Comedy at the Italian Golden Globes in 2015, THE LEGENDARY GIULIA (NOI E LA GIULIA) by Roman actor/director Edoardo Leo brings a fantastic cast together to tell the story of three down-on-their-luck men who meet by chance and decide to combine forces and risk everything to start a Bed and Breakfast. Warm-hearted, comedic gem DO YOU SEE ME? (SCUSATE SE ESISTO!) stars Paola Cortellesi and Raoul Bova and delivers laugh-out-loud moments to celebrate the importance of individual value and being true to oneself. Finally, MIA MADRE is the lively and brilliantly absurd comic clash from veteran director Nanni Moretti featuring John Turturro and an award winning performance from Margherita Buy as an unhinged filmmaker dealing with a personal crisis.

Other films set to deliver laughs are UNIQUE BROTHERS (FRATELLI UNICI), a delightful comedy about family and second chances starring handsome duo Raoul Bova as a man suffering memory loss, and Luke Argentero as his irresponsible younger brother; A FAIRYTALE WEDDING (UN MATRIMONIO DA FAVOLA), a whirlwind of comedic misunderstandings arise when four high school friends reconnect years later at a lavish wedding; PIZZA AND DATES (PITZA E DATTERI), shot entirely within the canals of Venice this playful comedy focuses on cultural exchanges and integration as a community of Muslims search for a new location for their mosque; SOAP OPERA, in which the kooky tenants of an apartment block experience a sudden and shocking situation when they let their private lives, past secrets and crazy passions intervene; and SO FAR SO GOOD (FINO A QUI TUTTO BENE), a touching comedy that that brings together five fantastic young actors who playuniversity graduates facing important life choices.

Films that will add further excitement into the mix delving into experimental, fantasy and documentary cinema include ITALY IN A DAY (UN GIORNO DA ITALIANI), Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores experiment portrays Italy though the eyes of Italians exposing the hopes and fears through a collage of 632 videos sent from all over Italy in a touching mosaic of life in Italy; director Matteo Garrone’s English language debut TALES OF TALES (IL RACCOTO DEI RACCONTI), featuring an all star cast of Salma Hayek, Toby Jones, Vincent Cassel, John C.Riley, Shirley Henderson and Hayley Carmichael. Not for the faint hearted, the film delves into the depths of the human psyches in a delicious dream-like visual feast brimming with imagination and mischief; and Italy’s industrial miracles of the twentieth century are explored in Davide Ferrario’sinsightful documentary THE DEVIL’S SOUP (LA ZUPPA DEL DEMONIO), through an impressive range of 100 years of archival footage.

Romantic tales are sure to delight at this year’s festival, with a selection including WONDROUS BOCCACCIO (MARAVIGLIOSO BOCCACCIO) where love triumphs over death in veteran filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s reinterpretation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s classic The Decameron; WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SURPRISE (MA CHE BELLASORPRESA), a classic romantic comedy of errors from the master Alessandro Genovese, about a jilted hopeless romantic who is surprised when he is given a second chance for love; and A WOMAN AS A FRIEND (UNA DONNA PER AMICA), an hilarious romcom from Giovanni Veronesi, the director of box office sensation MANUAL OF LOVE, starring French model/actress Laetitia Casta and Fabio De Luigi.

Coming-of-age is explored in CHLORINE (CLORO) the assured debut feature from director Lamberto Sanfelice; SHORT SKIN, a surprising pleasure and profound drama that perfectly interweavesfamily drama and cheeky comedy; and ITALO, a charming tale for all ages that depicts the life-altering friendship between an extraordinarydog and a lonely child.

Other titles that form part of this year’s festival line up include the powerful GREENERY WILL BLOOM AGAIN (TORNERANNO I PRATI), made with devastating simplicity and painful realism, auteur Ermanno Olmi demonstrates he is among Italy’s most masterful and humanistic directors as he evokes the terrors of war in a short but stunningly effective hypnotising film capturing a single snowy night on World War I’s Italian front; PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SUNNY SPELLS (TEMPO INSTABILE CON PROBABILI SCHIARITE), a warm-hearted comedy with a conscience about generation clashes, new horizons and an oil discovery in a small town starring Luca Zungaretti, John Turturro and Pasquale Petrolo; and MAFIA & RED TOMATOES (LA NOSTRA TERRA), based on the real-life work of the Libera association, this recent box-office hit tackles the issue of mafia power over communities with redemptive joy and a smile; and the already announced Australian Premiere of the Venice multi award winning THE DINNER (I NOSTRI RAGAZZI), which follows the moral struggle facing two wealthy brothers and their wives in this gripping adaptation on the Dutch best-seller by Herman Koch.

You can also delve into a couple of fascinating biopics this year – ORIANA (L’ORIANA) from Italian Golden Globe-winning director Marco Turco, about the life of Italian journalist and writer OrianaFallaci who gave up everything in pursuit of her career; and LEOPARDI (IL GIOVANE FAVOLOSO), an applauded and engrossing historical drama about the talent and struggle of Italy’s greatest 19th-century poet Giacomo Leopardi, a radical thinker and philosopher who produced inspiring works and intelligent prose that have influenced countless others, played by Elio Germano (Best Actor, Cannes Film Festival 2010).

Dramatic features include MONTEDORO: after the death of her adoptive parents, an American women journeys to Montedoro, a remote Italian town in southern Italy, hoping to discover her true origins in this haunting and poetic film; ANOTHER SOUTH (UNA STORIA SBAGLIATA): in this brave drama starring Isabella Ragonese (La Nostra Vita) director Gianluca Maria Tavarellitransports us to the Iraqi combat zone following a young Sicilian women through a complex tapestry of flashbacks as she searches for answers; and LAND OF SAINTS (LA TERRA DEI SANTI) offerspowerful insight into the often unacknowledged females participating in the male-dominated tug-of-war between mafia rings and the law.

And if you’re seeking the ultimate Italian espresso, whilst indulging in some ‘cinema Italiano’, look no further than Lavazza, whom the Festival is once again honoured to have as the naming rights partner. Lavazza is proudly served at all Palace Cinemas so attendees year-round can enjoy the premium taste of Barista coffee.

Lavazza Italian Film Festival 2015
Brisbane: Thur 1 October – Sun 18 October Palace Barracks & Palace Centro
Sydney: Tue 15 September – Sun 11 Oct Palace Verona, Palace Norton Street & Chauvel Cinema
Melbourne: Wed 16 September – Sun 11 October Palace Cinema Como, The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Kino Cinemas
Adelaide: Thu 17 September – Wed 07 October Palace Nova Eastend
Canberra: Tue 22 September – Sun 11 October Palace Electric
Perth: Thu 24 September – Wed 14 October Cinema Paradiso& Luna on SX
Byron Bay: Fri 18 September – Sun 26 September Palace Byron Bay
Hobart: Thu 15 September – Thu 21 October State Cinema
www.italianfilmfestival.com.au

It will be a final celebration of his multi-platinum, chart-topping album Built on Glass. Chet completely sold out his entire 13-date tour earlier this year including a remarkable two Hordern Pavilions and five Palais Theatres. The ‘Built on Live’ Tour, the last time Chet will be on home soil in quite a while, is set to be just as popular.

Chet says:
“I’ve played over 200 shows since the album came out, and during that time the songs and the show itself has evolved so much further beyond the recordings.  This tour is a last chance to put everything I’ve learned over the last few years into practice and see the songs played in their full capacity before I put the album to rest.”

To round out the Built on Glass campaign, Chet today premiered a previously unreleased track ‘Bend’ on triple j.  Written during the Built on Glass recording period, Chet explains the track’s history:

“’Bend’ was on Built on Glass until the last minute. I recorded it in 2013 and kinda wanted to put it out since. It’s always felt like a part of Built on Glass and since this tour is the sort of live “director’s cut” of the album it made sense to release this before it lost context.”

Chet Faker took out five wins from nine nominations at the 2014 ARIA Awards including ‘Best Male Artist’, ‘Best Independent Release’, ‘Producer of the Year’, ‘Engineer of the Year’ (Eric J Dubowsky) and ‘Best Artwork’ (Tin&Ed) for his debut LP Built on Glass (Future Classic).  He also picked up the J Award for ‘Australian Album of the Year’, topped the station’s Hottest 100 with ’Talk Is Cheap’ and scored  the #1 spot on the listener-voted triple j Best of 2014 Top Ten Album poll, amongst an array of achievements.

Chet’s hard work internationally is paying off too. He made well-publicised performances on Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen and has sold out all his headline shows this year, including three Terminal 5s (NYC), two Club Nokias (LA), three Trianons (Paris) and is set to play Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, and FYF Fest (amongst others) over the northern hemisphere summer.  Check out the shining press reviews below.

‘Chet Faker Just Wants a Genuine Emotional Connection’ (Profile) – Rolling Stone

‘Chet Faker: ‘What I like about Americans is if it’s good music, that’s all that matters’’ (Profile) – The Guardian (US)

‘On the Cusp of a Breakthrough, Chet Faker Soars Through Sold-Out NYC Run’ (Live Review) – Village Voice

‘20 Best Things We Saw at Coachella 2015’s Weekend Two – ‘Best Modern Soul’’ – Rolling Stone

Chet Faker 2015 East Coast Tour
Friday 30 October – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Saturday 31 October – Riverstage, Brisbane
Friday 6 November – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney
www.chetfaker.com

Kicking off on November 28 in Brisbane and playing Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland throughout December, the tour will see Sheeran playing his biggest venues to date; becoming the first ever musician to perform an Australian and New Zealand stadium tour entirely solo. Every single sound on stage will be produced by his voice, guitar and a series of loop pedals, filling the stadiums with hypnotising layers of sound.

This will be Sheeran’s second tour of 2015 and fifth visit in four years. His sold-out March/April tour saw him perform in front of close to 190,000 fans across Australia and New Zealand to rave reviews:

‘It takes a special kind of courage to walk onto an arena stage with nothing but a guitar, a loop pedal and your voice, but at the age of 24, not only did Ed Sheeran take Rod Laver Arena with the confidence of a veteran songwriter, he single-handedly blew the roof off… surely Sheeran’s most ambitious tour to date, but evidently his best.’ – The Age

‘…seems to get better and better at commanding attention and filling the biggest of rooms, all on his own.’ – Sydney Morning Herald

‘Seeing Sheeran construct each song right before your ears felt like watching someone weaving a musical tapestry.’ – The New Zealand Herald

‘I doubt that that there’s ever been louder screams in the arena or more passionate singing than there was on Friday night.’ – Stuff.co.nz

His November/December tour will follow over a year of relentless touring across the globe in celebration of his best-selling sophomore album x (out now through Warner Music).  The Grammy-nominated Brit’s tour schedule includes more than 170 shows, appearances at Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park and Southside Festival and selling out both London’s Wembley Stadium and New York’s Madison Square Gardens three times over.

x, featuring hits including lead single ‘Sing’, fan favourites ‘Don’t’ and ‘ Thinking Out Loud’ and current single ‘Bloodstream’ (ft. Rudimental), was Australia’s highest-selling album of 2014 and spent six weeks at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart last year.

Adding to the impressive list of achievements and accolades that the 24-year-old performer has received in his four years and two albums, Spotify have named Sheeran the most-streamed artist in the world. In 2014 alone, his tracks garnered over 860 million streams. In the same year he was also named the biggest-selling artist on iTunes in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.

Sheeran’s ability to sell out shows across the globe with just an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal to create pitch-perfect harmonies and driving percussion is testament to his prodigious musical talent.

Whether this will be the first or tenth time that you will witness his live show, Sheeran guarantees to have you on your feet and singing along from the first song to the encore. It’s no surprise that the love for Ed Sheeran in Australia and New Zealand is strong and tickets are renowned for selling out almost instantly – be quick to secure yours!

Ed Sheeran 2015 Return Australian Tour
Saturday 28 November – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Wednesday 2 December – nib Stadium, Perth
Saturday 5 December – AAMI Park, Melbourne
Sunday 6 December – AAMI Park, Melbourne
Wednesday 9 December – Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Saturday 12 December – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
www.edsheeran.com

Out on Friday August 7, the new full-length from The Jungle Giants and the follow up to 2013’s ‘Learn To Exist’, is titled ‘Speakerzoid’.

“What’s a Speakerzoid?” I hear you ask.

It’s the result of misheard song lyrics courtesy of a friend of the band while they were enjoying the opening strains of Sonic Youth’s ‘Teenage Riot’. The band loved the made up word; it summed up the listening experience of the album so much it became the album title.

Recorded towards the close of 2014 inside a temporary studio set up near the NSW/QLD border with friend and producer Magoo, ‘Speakerzoid’ is an inventive, accomplished and ebullient record. No longer a band of talented Brisbane teenagers, The Jungle Giants have grown into a group of experienced, formidable and creative musicians filled with the sense of irrepressible vitality that has served them so well to date.

The Jungle Giants will take to the road this September and October to celebrate the album’s release. The ‘Speakerzoid’ album tour will see The Jungle Giants take their indomitable live show on the road, performing in front of audiences across the country. Providing support on all shows will be Art of Sleeping, who will be touting a new album of their own, and surf-pop-party outfit Hockey Dad.

With a long history of sell-out tours behind them, tickets to The Jungle Giants’ album launch shows are sure to sell out quickly.

The Jungle Giants 2015 Australian Tour
04 September 2015, Metropolis – Fremantle
05 September 2015, Prince Of Wales – Bunbury
06 September 2015, HQ – Leederville
10 September 2015 Karova Lounge – Ballarat
12 September 2015, Corner Hotel – Melbourne
18 September 2015, The Enmore Theatre – Sydney
19 September 2015, The Gov – Adelaide
25 September 2015, ANU Bar – Canberra
01 October 2015, The Great Northern – Byron Bay
03 October 2015, The Triffid – Brisbane
09 October 2015, Republic Bar – Hobart, Australia   Tickets RSVP
10 October 2015, Club 54 – Launceston
www.thejunglegiants.com

50+ sessions featuring interstellar guests Les Murray, Quan (Regurgitator), Mayda Del Valle (US), Angela Meyer, MacGillivray (Scotland), Michael Farrell, Ivy Alvarez (NZ), Omar Musa, C.R. Avery (Canada), David Brooks, Krissy Kneen, Ryan Van Winkle (Scotland), Hope One (NZ), Justin Stephenson (Canada), Damian Cowell (TISM), and the 2015 Arts Queensland Poet in Residence Kate Durbin (pictured).

Plus special in-flight features the 2015 Poetry Awards, Australian Poetry Slam – QLD Final, SlammED! school slam final, HELLO SELFIE live project, black&write! session, and #wanderingcloud transmitting cycles of rain to the stage.

Queensland Poetry Festival 2015
Friday 28 to Sunday 30 August 2015
Performance Space and Shopfront, JWCOCA
www.judithwrightcentre.com

Advance tickets are being snapped up quickly with two artist announcements revealing a long and jampacked program of over 30 national and international performers set to get the joint jiving over three days and nights.

Presented by Robot Productions, over 15,000 rock’n’roll fans are destined to flock to the event, which will take place over two consecutive weekends, bringing with it all things rockabilly, vintage and retro. For its 16th year, Brisbane’s Rocklea Showground will come alive from Friday July 31 to Sunday August 2, with thousands of rockabilly and hot rod fans rolling up for their annual dose of “ultra-kool kustom kulture”.

Following the very successful inaugural launch of GreazeFest in Melbourne last year, GreazeFest returns to Sandown Racecourse from Friday August 7 to Sunday August 9, promising to be even bigger and better for its second year.

Headlining the highly anticipated musical program are The Go Getters from Sweden who, in the frozen badlands of Västerås, formed a trio in 1988 that still crackles like a Texas oil fire 25 years on. They describe their custom blend as ‘ass-kickin’, blues-marinated, high-octane, mega-watt rockabilly boogie’.
From Las Vegas, Nevada will be the savage sounds of Will & The Hi-Rollers who had a baptism of fire in 2005 and were snapped up by Californian-based Wild Records, specialising in the world’s hottest rockabilly acts. Their latest record La Diabla is a hybrid of Spanish and English songs offering a fresh take on their signature, rockabilly sound.

Joining them at the top of the bill is the low down rockin’ and-a-reelin’ sounds of New Zealand’s Labretta Suede & The Motel 6, who promise a reckless show with a 50s rock’n’roll influence that is not to be missed. Hailed as the ultimate weekend event of cool cars, rockabilly bands and DJs, fashion parades, pinups, vintage bikes, low-rider cycles, art shows, workshops, pinstripers, tattooists, markets and so much more, organisers said this year is stacking up to be the best yet.

Event organiser Lori Lee Cash said that this year was already proving to be the most anticipated yet with tickets being snatched up as soon as they went live.

“GreazeFest 2015 is promising to be better than ever this year with an amazing line-up of bands, musicians, and artists from all around the country and the world,” Mz Cash said.

“It is so exciting for us to be once again packing up the entire Brisbane festival and then taking the event on the road to Melbourne, complete with the international headliners.

“We pride ourselves on delivering the highest standard of entertainment, and this year we also have an amazing selection of local bands from both Brisbane and Melbourne that are being added to the bill and are sure to bring their own flavour to the already strong line-up,” she said.
More than 150 market stalls will also be on display across the weekends including rockabilly hairdressers, barbers, tattooists, vintage sellers, clothing specialists, automotive traders, vinyl records sellers and era photographers.

California’s own ‘Master of the Fine Line’, Von Hot Rod, returns for his third GreazeFest as a special guest to lay stripes and kustom lines. Considered in the top of international professionals of pinstriping, Von Hot Rod will be conducting special pinstriping workshops for dedicated students, and will be striping throughout the two weekends.

Another highlight of GreazeFest is the two day Hot Rod Show with more than 700 hot rods driving from across the nation and the Kustom Art Show displaying Australian paintings, tiki carvings, metal sculptures, photography and pinstriped works.  The pinups and glamour icons of the 1940s and 1950s had a distinct influence on the culture and style of the era, and vintage fashions will be front row at the GreazeFest Fashion Parades and Pinup Parades.  Attracting a broad kaleidoscope of people who share a love for all things rockabilly, everyone is encouraged to join in on the fun with plenty on offer for all ages.

GreazeFest Kustom Kulture Festival 2015
Brisbane – Friday 31 July – Sunday 2 August, Rocklea Showground, 1430 Ipswich Road (Service Road) corner of Goburra Street, Rocklea
Melbourne – Friday 7 August – Sunday 9 August, Sandown Racecourse, 591 – 659 Princes Highway, Springvale
www.greazefest.com

To mark the release of The Gospel Album, Gurrumul will embark on a six-date national tour, The Gospel Songs, a rare opportunity to see this mesmerising performer live in concert.  Accompanied by an orchestra and local choirs, he will commence the tour at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on 29 July, taking in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, and concluding in Perth on 12 August.  Tickets for The Gospel Songs live event go on sale next Friday 12 June (with Adelaide & Melbourne on sale now).

Gurrumul’s The Gospel Album is a dedication to his mother and aunts, who brought him up with songs and lullabies from the church at Elcho Island. As a small boy Gurrumul was not only influenced by the traditional music of his clan but by the gospel music he heard every Sunday at the local Methodist church. The Gospel Album is a re-imagining of the spiritual songs that came to north-east Arnhem Land via Christian missionaries.

The Gospel Album was produced by Gurrumul’s long-time collaborator, Michael Hohnen from Skinnyfish Music.

Gurrumul 2015 National Tour
Sydney – Wednesday 29 July, Enmore Theatre
Brisbane – Sunday 2 August, QPAC Concert Hall
Adelaide – Wednesday 5 August, Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Melbourne – Saturday 8 August, Supersense
Canberra – Monday 10 August, Canberra Theatre Centre
Perth – Wednesday 12 August, Perth Concert Hall
www.www.facebook.com/gurrumul

With the confirmation of top billing at Splendour In The Grass announced in April, Florence & The Machine’s Australian fan base have been patiently awaiting word of the illuminating live act to grace the stage in capital cities for headline shows.

Laneway Presents can now confirm that the dates are set, and Florence & The Machine will perform at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Wednesday 22 July and the State Theatre in Sydney on Thursday 23 July.  This will be the indie ensemble’s long awaited return to Australia since their national tour in May 2012, selling out tens of thousands of tickets in arenas across the country, as well as appearing at the Sydney Opera House’s Vivid Festival.

With these shows set to be the only headline appearances on this trip to our shores, in two of the most idyllic and intimate venues in the country for an act of this calibre – demand will be high.  As such, a ballot system for tickets has been established to enable all fans potential access to tickets.

Florence & The Machine 2015 Splendour Sideshows
Melbourne – Wednesday 22 July, Palais Theatre
Sydney – Thursday 23 July, State Theatre
www.florenceandthemachine.net

The second Scandinavian Film Festival will open with the uproarious HERE IS HAROLD (Her er Harold), a Norwegian road movie, about a man who sets out to kidnap the founder of Ikea. For over 40 years, Harold has been running a successful business, “Lunde Furniture”. But this comes to an end when IKEA decides to open a new superstore right next door to his small furniture shop. In mounting anger and desperation, Harold wants revenge. He arms himself with a pistol and sets off for Älmhult, Sweden, in order to kidnap his Nemesis – the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad. But unfortunately, Kamprad is quite happy to be kidnapped.

Having picked up Best Film, Actor, Actress, Director and seven more awards at the Edda (Icelandic Academy) Awards, unsparing Icelandic drama LIFE IN A FISH BOWL (Vonarstræti) tells three congruent tales of three people who have a lasting effect on one another. This naturalistic portrait of everyday life in Reykjavik on the eve of the country’s 2008 economic meltdown touched a nerve on home turf, becoming one of the countries biggest-ever domestic hits.

Based on a series of Finnish radio plays, THE GRUMP (Mielensäpahoittaja) is a broad satire from director Dome Karukoski (Heart of a Lion Scandinavian FF 2014) who returns to the comedy-of-bad behavior mode of his 2010 box office hit LAPLAND ODYSSEY. The film tells the story of a set-in-his-ways, 80-year-old farmer from rural Finland, who raises hell when he is forced to move in with his city-dwelling son.

A modern take on class conflict plays out in the critically acclaimed debut film UNDERDOG (Svenskjävel) by Swedish director Ronnie Sandahl. The drama tells the story of 23-year-old Dino (magnetic comedian Bianca Kronlöf) who dreams of a different life. Like an abundance of Swedes her age, she has fled the mass unemployment of her home country in search of a more worthwhile existence in a nouveau-riche Oslo. But her new life is caught in destructive loop of temporary jobs, financial trouble and hard partying, until she lands a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy ex-sportsman. During a few sultry summer weeks she ends up in the centre of an odd love triangle, an unpredictable struggle for affection as well as dominance. UNDERDOG is a tender and raw story of privilege and longing, yet at the same time a humorous and unmerciful observation of the shifted power balance between Sweden and Norway.

Named by Variety as one of the “TOP 10 EUROPEANS TO WATCH”, Norwegian Writer/Actor/Director Ole Giæver brings us OUT OF NATURE (Mot nature) a commentary on middle-class life and the Norwegian penchant for idealizing nature. With a wry Scandinavian sense of humor, OUT OF NATURE is a sharp and compelling film about a put-upon salary man who seeks spiritual and sexual renewal in the great outdoors.

Danish thrillers once again take center stage with this taught sequel to smash hit THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES. In THE ABSENT ONE (Fasandræberne), a troubling affair involving a double murder of twin siblings is reopened by the Copenhagen cold-case division after the kids’ father commits suicide. The Nordic noir-style mystery that toggles between the past and the present as it uncovers what really happened in the 1990s at one of the country’s poshest boarding schools is the second adaptation of a Jussi Adler-Olsen novel in the Department Q series. This film brings the entire behind-the-scenes team back together with director Mikkel Norgaard and lead actors Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Fares Fares.

From Sweden, YOUNG SOPHIE BELL (Unga Sophie Bell) is Amanda Adolfsson’s longed for debut feature, and the second film to come out of Stockholm Film Festival’s scholarship for female directors. In the drama, two university friends move to Berlin after graduating, but their dreams are shattered when one suddenly and mysteriously disappears.

Scandinavian Film Festival 2015
QLD THU 16 JULY – SUN 26 JULY: PALACE CENTRO
NSW WED 8 JULY – SUN 26 JULY: PALACE NORTON STREET, PALACE VERONA
VIC THU 9 JULY – SUN 26 JULY: PALACE CINEMA COMO, PALACE BRIGHTON BAY
ACT TUE 14 JULY – SUN 26 JULY: PALACE ELECTRIC
BYRON FRI 17 JULY – THU 23 JULY: PALACE BYRON BAY
SA WED 22 JULY – WED 29 JULY: PALACE NOVA EASTEND CINEMA
WA THU 23 JULY – WED 29 JULY: CINEMA PARADISO
HOBART THU 23 JULY – WED 29 JULY: STATE CINEMA
www.scandinavianfilmfestival.com