The film festival kicks off nationally with the heartwarming comedy, Here is Harold, which shows the journey of a bitter old man who seeks revenge by trying to kidnap the founder of IKEA. Other handpicked films include RAMS, which received the top prize of Un Certain Regard as well as a 10 minute standing ovation at Cannes; the thought-provoking, coming-of-age film, Young Sophie Bell; and the hilarious holiday drama featuring an award-winning performance from Bodil Jørgensen, All Inclusive.  The Scandinavian Film Festival wraps up with an eye-opening documentary on one of Hollywood’s most beloved imports, Ingrid Bergman: In her Own Words.

Another highlight of the festival is the guest appearance from multi-talented actress, Bianca Kronlöf, who appears in the biting drama, Underdog. Kronlöf will appear for the opening night screenings in Melbourne and Sydney for exclusive Q & A sessions on the 10th and 11th of July respectively. We spoke with the star about the festival.

“The program is fantastic I have to say. As a Scandinavian to come here and see all the films that they got together is amazing. I hope that I will have time to see as much as possible. It’s actually weird as a scandinavian to come to Australia and be like ‘now I can see all the good Scandinavian films, this is amazing!’ It’s like travelling back to my roots through Australia.”

Miss Kronlöf said that the fact that more Scandinavian films are heading abroad is testament to the growth of the Scandinavian film industry. She said their point of difference to mainstream Hollywood films is their focus on the characters and their relationships.

“In Sweden we don’t do these huge action things. Of course we have these boring, mainstream movies that don’t say anything about anyone that are just there for people to watch when you’re hungover, which is a good thing we need those movies as well. And then the smaller, underground ones. But to compare Swedish films to Hollywood mainstream I would say that it’s more relationship based and about the characters.”

The Swedish actress also added: “Everyone should go to the Scandinavian Film Festival because it’s such a good program. So if you go, you can be an expert about Scandinavian films right now, because the program is so exceptionally good.”

Head to the Scandinavian Film Festival website for more information on the films and to buy tickets.

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SLAM is an Australian festival that takes place on South Cronulla Beach as well as Noosa, Scarborough, St. Kilda and Surfers Paradise. SLAM Festival is committed to nurturing the sport of beach volleyball, from the absolutes rookies just looking to ‘have a go’ to the competitive professionals wanting to pit their skills up against some of the nation’s best. The day also includes an after party where live music and Coronas will run abound.

The 2014 SLAM Festival is split into competitive teams and social teams and involves a round robin competition that determines play off rounds in three division from highest to lowest. Each of these division – Cup, Plate and Bowl – have prize money and sponsor prizes. The top prize is $800 cash, 6 cases of Corona plus more. As well as prizes for first and second place in each of the three divisions across both competitions there is also a $200 cash prize for the winners of the best dressed competition at each beach.

The competitions have a specific set of competition rules and protocols enforced by an official which can be found on the SLAM festival website. They generally follow your basic beach volleyball rules such as switching sides at the half-way point of the game, not being able to touch or go under the net, ensuring the ball is cleanly hit or pops off the hand, no open hand digs on the first contact, one toss per serve attempt, an unlimited number of substitutions per game, assigned positions at the start of the rally, clockwise player rotations upon winning a side-out and continuous play if the ball hits the inflatable line and bounces back into court.

Registrations costs $50 per player, which includes a minimum of three games. Teammates must be 16 years or older to play and teams are able to have 6-8 players in the social comp and 4 players for SLAM competitive. Registration on the day begins at 9am and competition starts at 10am. Simply register via the SLAM Festival website to enter you and your mates for the competition now.

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