Saturday, 6 January - Gala Opening Day

Featuring special guests throughout the day, including the films' directors, producers, actors and actresses.

11:30 a.m.  Long Flat Balls (Lange Flate Ballær), Norway 2006, 100 min. Harald Zwart. The story of six men working together in the "Ed Garage," run by Edgar, their father figure. All but one is a huge soccer fan. Though the garage faces hostile takeover and bankruptcy, the men embark on a trip to support the Norwegian national soccer team during the final matches of the World Championship. The garage, the brotherhood and the characters face a variety of challenges. The biggest is the fate of the garage itself – because none of the men are competent mechanics or salesmen, and no one is guaranteed a job if the business goes under.

1:30 p.m.     CHILDREN (Börn),* Iceland 2006, 120 min. Ragnar Bragason. A tough look at a collection of dysfunctional people, many related by blood, whose destinies are intertwined. One is a woman in financial dire straits who's a single mother of four, including a lonely boy bullied at school whose only friend is a schizophrenic neighbor. The boy's father is a ruthless strong-armer from the underworld who's been rejected by both his criminal colleagues and his family, and who tries to reconnect with his son. Is there a glimmer of humanity left behind his cold eyes? Can we take the man seriously in his attempts to reconcile with a forgotten branch of his family?

3 p.m.           BIGGER THAN BARBIE,+ Norway/documentary 2006, 52 min. Tina Davis. In South Africa, a small group of women from the townships near Cape Town are changing their lives, and exciting people around the world by making colorful beaded dolls. The film follows the women behind the beading project, Monkeybiz, and their fight to overcome poverty and HIV/AIDS through contemporary art. We also join the dolls on a fascinating journey from one township to Donna Karan's high-fashion store on Madison Avenue. From the fashion world of New York, the dolls travel to the Mandela concert for HIV/Aids in Norway on their quest to become 'bigger than Barbie.' The film includes appearances from Desmond Tutu, Donna Karan, Annie Lennox and Nelson Mandela. Followed by:

4 p.m.           FALKENBERG FAREWELL (Farväl Falkenberg),* Sweden 2006, 91 min. Jesper Ganslandt. It's the last summer in Falkenberg, Sweden. Five childhood friends have now become young men. David yearns to be a child again. Holger never wants to move away. Jesper constantly returns home without anybody ever really noticing that he's been gone. Jörgen finances his catering company by burglarizing homes. Finally, John, always in a bad mood, believes that bacon is the source of happiness. The future looms, but not all of them will be there to see it. Falkenberg's Farewell is about friendship, memories and a final farewell to a little town by the sea. Advance reservation recommended by Thurs., 4 Jan. 2007.

6 p.m.         Gala Opening Buffet. The Gala Opening includes a buffet and no-host bar at 6 p.m., with film screening at 8 p.m., followed by champagne dessert table. Advance reservation required by Thurs., 4 Jan. 2007. Followed by:

8 p.m.           AFTER THE WEDDING (Efter Brylluppet),* Denmark 2006, 120 min. Susanne Bier. Jacob has dedicated his life to helping street children in India. When the orphanage he heads is threatened by closure, he receives an unusual offer. A Danish businessman, Jørgen, offers him a donation of $4 million. There are, however, certain conditions. Not only must Jacob return to Denmark, he must also take part in the wedding of Jørgen's daughter. The wedding proves to be a critical juncture between past and future and catapults Jacob into the most intense dilemma of his life. Advance reservation recommended by Thurs., 4 Jan. 2007; followed by champagne dessert table.

Friday, 12 January

5:30 p.m.     BIGGER THAN BARBIE,+ Norway/documentary 2006, 52 min. Tina Davis. In South Africa, a small group of women from the townships near Cape Town are changing their lives, and exciting people around the world by making colorful beaded dolls. The film follows the women behind the beading project, Monkeybiz, and their fight to overcome poverty and HIV/AIDS through contemporary art. We also join the dolls on a fascinating journey from one township to Donna Karan's high-fashion store on Madison Avenue. From the fashion world of New York, the dolls travel to the Mandela concert for HIV/Aids in Norway on their quest to become 'bigger than Barbie.' The film includes appearances from Desmond Tutu, Donna Karan, Annie Lennox and Nelson Mandela. Followed by:

6:30 p.m.     ROSA,+ Sweden/short subject 2005, 12 min. William Olsson. Rosa, a young girl, sells roses on the streets of a vast Latin American city. Her father has disappeared and her mother has moved in with another man. Bearing nothing but a torn photograph, Rosa embarks on a quest to find her beloved papa. Followed by:

7:15 p.m.     A SOAP (En Soap), Denmark 2006, 104 min. Pernille Fischer Christensen. Thirty-two-year-old Charlotte could have it all, but she doesn't want any of it. When she moves out on her boyfriend, she becomes the upstairs neighbor of the transsexual Veronica. Veronica prefers to keep to herself with her little dog and a romantic soap opera on TV, while Charlotte gets through the nights with one-night stands. An assault, a new bed, and some white curtains bring the two together and they become the main characters in their own turbulent love story.

9:15 p.m.     AFTER THE WEDDING (Efter Brylluppet),* Denmark 2006, 120 min. Susanne Bier. Jacob has dedicated his life to helping street children in India. When the orphanage he heads is threatened by closure, he receives an unusual offer. A Danish businessman, Jørgen, offers him a donation of $4 million. There are, however, certain conditions. Not only must Jacob return to Denmark, he must also take part in the wedding of Jørgen's daughter. The wedding proves to be a critical juncture between past and future and catapults Jacob into the most intense dilemma of his life.

Saturday, 13 January

12 noon       THE MAN EXPOSED (Riisuttu Mies), Finland 2006, 120 min. Aku Lohimies. This is a comedy about a 40-year-old priest, Pitkänen, who considers himself a rebel. In truth, the only signs of his rebellion are his ponytail and the boots he wears under his vestments. He's stuck in the intermediate church hierarchy – too low for his wife's ambitious family, but too high for his best friends. One Sunday, after an overzealous sermon, a bishop calls Pitkänen to a meeting. Pitkänen believes he's in big trouble, but the bishop recruits Pitkänen to become a new "rock-n-roll Bishop." Pitkänen seizes the opportunity, but first must sell out his ideals by betraying an old friend. Plus, he has no idea that his wife is plotting with the bishop behind his back.

2 p.m.           MATTI (Hell is for Heroes), Finland 2006, 130 min. Markus Selin. The famous ski-jumper Matti Nykänen won everything possible during his career: four Olympic gold medals, seven World Championship titles, four World Cup tour championships and 46 World Cup-circuit victories. Once his career as a professional athlete ended, however, the other side of his personality emerged into public view in all its vulgarity. Wherever he roams, drama and catastrophe dog his footsteps. And everything is exposed in the headlines the next day. This is based on the true story of a man who loved ski jumping so much that he became the best in the world, but whose life is littered with crash landings. Matti stumbles, falls, and miraculously gets back to his feet – ready to take on yet another doomed and foolhardy jump.

4 p.m.         COMRADE PEDERSEN (Gymnaslærer Pedersen), Norway 2006, 123 min. Hans Petter Moland. In 1968, the young high-school teacher Knut arrives in Larvik, Norway, dreaming of a bourgeois existence, but also with an inner discord that soon pushes him toward the seductive Marxist-Leninist party. He's a gentle, intellectual man, with doubts about the revolutionary ideas. Only when he meets a young medical doctor, Nina, do the absurd and utopian ideals seem achievable. The two become lovers and their intense relationship lasts until a fatal party annual meeting, where Nina exposes her own shortcomings, and says goodbye to Knut. He stands by her, however, as a friend and admirer, through the party's fall, worker strikes and the revolution's eventual demise.

6 p.m.           SONS (Sønner), Norway 2006, 103 min. Eric Richter Strand. Lars is 25 and works as a swimming-pool attendant. He has a good heart, but a violent temper, which has caused him problems his entire life. Lars lives the bachelor's life of soccer and beer. One day Lars discovers an unpleasant surprise at the pool – Hans, a middle-aged man who is rumored to have a penchant for teenage boys. Lars alerts the pool administrator that Hans is a threat and should be banned. However, the administrator won't act on the accusations without proof. Lars sets out to gather evidence – recruiting Tim, a boy who's been seeing Hans, to help bring down the abuser. The situation spins out of control, and rage takes over as Lars embarks on a crusade that endangers the people he set out to protect.

8 p.m.           VIRUS,+ Sweden/short subject 2006, 25 min. Jerker Josefsson, Gustav Oldén (producer). A routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Nordic winter wilderness. What begins as a training mission rapidly devolves into a battle against the most unlikely of enemies. Followed by:

                      MY WIFE'S FIRST LOVER (Min Frus Förste Älskare), Sweden 2006, 140 min. Hans Åke Gabrielsson. A comedy about what happens when the past knocks on the door with no prior warning. It's a story about letting go of old relationships, accepting new ones and giving love a second chance. Vivi and Magnus are an urban couple in their mid-40s whose relationship has grown stale. One weekend changes everything in their lives. When Magnus thinks Vivi is in Italy on a book fair she actually is reconnecting with a lover from her youth. At home, Magnus is surprised by a visit from an unknown daughter fathered during a one-night stand more than 20 years ago. Followed by ASFLA closing party at 10:30 p.m.

Nordic Café

Between screenings, you're invited to network and nosh at the Nordic Café in the theater lobby, where you'll enjoy refreshments and the good company of others who share a love for Scandinavian film and Hollywood.