West Nordic Film Days Returns to Scandinavia House, Showcasing Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands

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Festival will screen Iceland's Oscar contender and Nordic Council Prize winner alongside documentaries and shorts.

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Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America has announced the return of West Nordic Film Days , a celebration of cinema from Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, running October 9-11. The annual festival this year features selections curated by Birgir Thor Møller, including acclaimed recent narrative films, documentaries and shorts. All screenings take place in person with English subtitles.

The West Nordic countries have attracted foreign filmmakers since the dawn of cinema. In the late 1970s, however, Iceland began to develop a national film industry, gaining domestic and international attention and recognition. The history of Greenlandic, Faroese and Sámi film production is of a bit later date, yet in recent years an increasing number of their films have attracted attention both at home and abroad. The selection at West Nordic Film Days will not only reflect the current development and tendencies in West Nordic cinema, but also the diversity, combining films by prolific, prizewinning directors and upcoming filmmakers, who all live in and tell their stories from very different parts of the region.

This year's lineup includes Iceland's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards, director Yrsa Roca Fannberg's The Ground Beneath Our Feet / Jörðin undir fótum okkar (Iceland/Poland, 2025), screening Sunday, October 11. Winner of the Edda Award for Documentary of the Year, Fannberg's film is set within Grund, Icealnd's oldest retirement home, capturing the rhythmic passage of seasons and everyday moments.

This year's lineup includes the 2025 winner of the Nordic Council Film Prize — and first Faroese film to be nominated for that award — director Sakaris Stórá's The Last Paradise on Earth / Seinasta paradís á jørð, screening on Opening Night, October 9 at 7 PM. A poetic tale of love and loss, the film follows the different paths of two grieving siblings amid change in their small island village. And on Saturday, October 10 (5 PM session), the festival will also screen Stórá's debut film, Dreams by the Sea / Dreymar við havið, a coming-of-age tale exploring the bond between a village-raised teen and a city girl, who both dream of escape.

The festival also includes last year's official Greenlandic entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, and nominee for the 2025 Nordic Council Film Prize, Walls – Akinni Inuk (dir. Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg and Sofie Rørdam). A raw, non-sensationalized look at the Greenlandic justice system, the documentary portrays Ruth Mikaelsen Jerimiassen, a Greenlandic woman who has spent nearly half her life behind bars, through the bond she develops with a filmmaker, and screens on Saturday, October 10 (2 PM session).

All screening sessions will also feature a range of short films. On Friday, October 9, Blaðberinn / Paperboy (dir. Ninna Rún Pálmadóttir, Iceland, 2019), explores an unexpected connection between a young boy and a grieving woman; and The Price of a Story / Oqaluttuap Akia / Cena Příběhu (dir. Lukáš Masner, Greenland/Czechia, 2023) looks at a cultural clash between a wealthy Czech tourist and an Inuit shaman. On Saturday, October 10, Selshamurinn / Sealskin (dir. Ugla Hauksdóttir, Iceland, 2020), looks at solace found in an old Icelandic tale, and Faðir mín Faðir / Father, Oh Father (Julia í Kálvalíð, Faroe Islands, 2025) is a tragicomic story about grief and estrangement (2 PM session); Dögun / Dawn (dir. Valdimar Jóhannsson, Icealnd, 2012) depicts a brief but intense shared dream between a father and son, and Arina Kleist's short documentary Ivikkisartoq Kingulleq / The Last Grass Seamstress (Greenland, 2024) follows South Greenland Inuk Marie Josefsen, the least surviving specialist of the traditional craft of grass sewing (5 PM session). On Sunday, October 11, Halt um meg / Hold Me Close (dir. Maria Winther Olsen, Faroe Isalnds, 2025) captures an intimate encounter at a bar's closing time, and Greenlandic artist/filmmaker Alberte Parnuuna's Always Moving (2026) is a poetic animated reflection on our urge to stay in motion.

Birgir Thor Møller was born (1970) in Iceland, but lives in Copenhagen. He is the head of the annual film festival North Atlantic Film Days (Nordatlantiske Filmdage) at The North Atlantic House (Nordatlantens Brygge) in Copenhagen, where he also holds the position as program editor. Apart from organizing film, literature and other cultural events and festivals since 2005, Møller has published essays and articles related to Nordic and especially North Atlantic cinema and film history in a variety of publications, including the books Transnational Cinema in a Global North: Nordic Cinema in Transition and Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema. He has also been a jury member at the film festival Nordic Panorama in Sweden (New Nordic Voices 2023) and at the Faroes short film awards Geytin 2025, and he holds an M.A. in film studies from the Institute of Film and Media Studies, University of Copenhagen.

Other film highlights at Scandinavia House this fall season will include a special screening of director Sabine Lidl's documentary Siri Hustvedt – Dance Around the Self ; Siri Hustvedt will be present for a Q&A following the screening on Saturday, November 21 at 2 PM. The New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) also returns bringing the best new films from the Baltic region to New York, with screenings and director talks, from November 5-8 (info also TBA).

New Nordic Cinema also continues, with weekly screenings on Wednesdays at 7 PM that began August 26. Upcoming films include the poignant, meditative family drama The Quiet Beekeeper , winner of the Audience Award at the 2026 Göteborg Film Festival (September 16); Finnish director Lauri-Matti Parppei's comedy-drama about the power of music and community, A Light That Never Goes Out (September 30); Solomamma from Norwegian director Janicke Askevold, about a single mother searching for the identity of her son's sperm donor; Home Sweet Home , a look at the world of healthcare workers from Danish director Frelle Petersen (October 14), and award-winning director Alli Haapasalo's period drama Tell Everyone , about a remote island where women were sent to be forgotten in 19th-century Finland, on October 21; and Norwegian director Petter Næss's political satire No Comment , based on a real-life stock trading scandal, on October 28.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/West-Nordic-Film-Days-to-Return-at-Scandinavia-House-20260915)._