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We first came across The Bench at Malmo’s BUFF Film Festival four years ago where a Swedish audience was grudgingly acknowledging that this Danish film was the best movie of the year. Of course, it never made it to the UK. A crime (in our opinion), as this is a magnificent and heartbreaking weepie.

This is the story of Kaj, a street-drinker who passes his days on a bench at the local shops, drinking with his fellow alcoholics. But Kaj has a past; he had a career and he had a family; a daughter he abandoned and a grandson he does not even know about. His life is suddenly turned upside-down when his daughter arrives on his doorstep, completely innocent and ignorant of who he really is, but dependent on his help to escape her abusive husband. The film and Jesper Christensen (one of the elder-statesmen of Danish Theatre), who plays Kaj, cleaned up at the Danish Oscars. Fantastic stuff, but be warned, there won’t be a dry-eye in the house…
Dir: Per Fly, Denmark 2000, 93 mins, Feature Film, Subtitled.

Buy a ticket for The Bench and see Inheritance for just £1.00!

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Screening as a Double Bill, these two films are a must for fans of the beautiful game. This double-header traces the fortunes of Swedish football team Malmo FF, painfully capturing the pride, the passion and the pain of any football supporter.

True Blue 1 was filmed in 1997, the year that MFF almost won the league. Two years later MFF were relegated and for the first time in its history, the team were out of the Swedish top flight. True Blue 2 is the story of their fight to get their respect back, their team together and their fans jumping for joy once more… Visit the Malmo FF website
Dir: Magnus Gertten, Fredrik Gertten and Stefan Berg, Sweden 1998 / 2002, 85 mins / 78 mins, Documentary, Subtitled.

Tickets: £5.00 / £3.00 concessions

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This remarkably funny tale of self-discovery, obsession, love and theft was co-produced by our Baltic pals Estonia and Latvia, and tells the story of seasoned Latvian thief Margita. With the police hot on her heels Margita’s escaping from the streets of Riga, and intends to cross the border and lie low in a sleepy rural Estonian hollow. With the help of her feminine wiles, she soon finds herself safe and sound and looking after an entire household of three grumpy old men and a young boy who need a good woman to take them in hand.

But the idyllic lifestyle doesn’t last long and soon enough Margita is up to her old thieving tricks and the men start to get suspicious. Margita has one decision to make – does she leave her life of crime behind her and embrace routine, stability and love? Or does she go back to life outside the law? A lovely film about how to make friends and influence people.
Dir: Peeter Simm, Estonia and Latvia 2001, 104 mins,
Feature Film, Subtitled.

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The story of two asylum seekers Ali and Massoud who, tired of waiting endlessly for their destiny to be decided by bureaucrats, escape from their ‘holding camp’ in Skåne in Southern Sweden, and go on the road trip of their lives. A brilliant exploration of the relationship between two survivors, the people they meet, the people who help them and those who spurn them, this fantastic story pulls you in until you feel like you are on the road with the boys yourself.

Despite the clear seriousness of the topic director Geir Hansten Jorgensten and his writers Lukas Moodysson (of Together fame) and Peter Birro aren’t afraid to lighten the mood with some truly funny moments. Originally screened to critical acclaim on Swedish TV, this four-hour epic is a hot topic for our times and a perfect fusion of drama and comedy.
Dir: Geir Hansten Jorgensten, Sweden 2000, 237 mins, TV Film, Subtitled.