As usual, I’m posting the Hot Docs 2018 Nordic documentaries film selection and this year has a few treats. I so appreciate the fact that Toronto is a mecca for film lovers and that many come from near and far to see worldwide premiers. Don’t forget to purchase tickets early, the festival starts April 26-May 6!

Here is a list of both full length and short film features:

Full Length

Maj Doris

In this visually stunning portrait of the Sa´mi tradition, meet 75-year-old Maj Doris Rimpi: sought-after artist, painter, actress, mentor and living legend, leading a solitary life in the harsh conditions above Sweden’s Arctic Circle.

Ubiquity (Japanese/Swedish/Dutch)

Wi-Fi routers, smartphones and cell towers are ubiquitous, but for some people who suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, the expanding digital network is a tightening noose. Are these “electro sensitives” eccentric outliers, or canaries in the coal mine of our modern world?

Dreaming Murakami (Danish/Norwegian)

Discovering a writer can change a person’s life. More than 20 years ago, Mette Holm read her first novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, who had yet to grow into one of the biggest names in contemporary literature—and it turned her world upside down. She has since become his official Danish translator, spending thousands of hours transcribing his bizarre and unique universe into her native language.

The Return (Danish)

Two Danish-Korean adoptees return to Seoul in search of their birth mothers. Staying at the Koroot guesthouse, they meet and exchange confidences with other transnational adoptees from around the world who struggle with similar experiences: grief, frustration and a longing for something without knowing exactly what.

Entrepreneur (Finnish)

A Finnish family crisscrosses the countryside running a tiny fun fair and selling meat from the back of their food truck. Meanwhile, in bustling Helsinki, a pair of businesswomen launch a new plant-based protein called “pulled oats.” Filmmaker Virpi Suutari connects two seemingly disparate business models—a butcher struggling to survive and a startup trying to scale—and shows how self-employment, work-life balance and customer preferences are changing across time.

Rodeo (Estonian/Finnish)

Just over 25 short years ago, Estonia was still an occupied country. Far from the independent democratic nation it is today, it was locked under Soviet military control and ingrained communism. The heroes and hijinks that forced the country’s leap towards free thought and the free market are the subject of this spirited look at a not-so-distant history.

SHORTS
Juck (Swedish)

All-female Swedish dance troupe JUCK perform their signature “hump” dance in public spaces to provoke, inspire and blow up norms. “Femininity is a word we can fill with whatever we want”—and they do. “It’s tiresome that it’s still so provoking to see women not apologizing for their existence”—and they don’t. The #MeToo movement finally has its theme song and dance.

The Traffic Separating Device (Swedish)

A bus trap is installed in the middle of Stockholm. Intended to allow only buses to pass, the contraption totals hundreds of cars whose drivers ignore the warning signs and try to circumvent the obstacle. An amusing and telling record of how entitled, dangerous and stupid drivers can be, and how unresponsive people are to rules and change.

Haunted (Danish)

An aging mother of four encounters a ghost outside of her filmmaker son’s childhood bedroom. Rarely visited by her adult kids, the spectre is a welcome distraction. But is the sighting a sign of absence or presence? A distinct tribute that blends dry humour, stylized tableaux and home movies, Haunted shows how estrangement can possess an entire family.

A Woman Like Me (Danish)

A deafblind Danish woman travels to Nepal to meet a woman with the same condition in the hopes of communicating and engaging in a cultural exchange. A Woman Like Me is a remarkable demonstration of the delicacy and complexity of human communication, and how susceptible it is to privilege, preconceptions and misunderstandings.

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Happy watching!