SWEA Boston welcomes you back to Swedish Yuletide and holiday Cheer!
This year at the beautiful Scandinavian Cultural Center in Newton. We are adjusting to the location with unique gifts indoors, and an outdoor market with foods and music. As always, the children of the Swedish School will join us for the Lucia performance – at 1 PM.
Proceeds go to SWEA Boston scholarships to New England students for study and special projects in Sweden, and local Scandinavian non-profit programs. We look forward to seeing you on December 3!
Gabi: Between ages 8 and 13 follows the remarkable Gabi over the course of five formative years as she wrestles with society’s stereotypes about boys and girls. When her family moves from Stockholm to a small rural town, and as puberty kicks in, Gabi must decide whether she wants to fit in with the crowd or chart her own path. A landmark portrait of early adolescence, GABI: Between Ages 8 and 13 is ultimately about the journey to be true to yourself.
Directed by Engeli Broberg. Produced by Anna Ljungmark and House of Real. Supported by the Sundance Film Institute
This film is presented in partnership with Gender Spectrum. Gender Spectrum is a national organization committed to the health and well-being of gender- diverse children and teens through education and support for families, and training and guidance for educators, medical and mental health providers, and other professionals.
A representative from Gender Spectrum will be in attendance for the screening to connect with attendees.
Saturday, May 6th, 2023 | 1pm | $10 suggested donation per person | tickets
In Swedish and English with English subtitles | 90 mins
*half of the proceeds will be donated with the partnering organization
A Christmas Tale (Sagan om Karl-Bertil Jonssons julafton) (2021)
A tale of a boy from a wealthy family who during his work at the post office steals Christmas gifts from the wealthy to give to the poor people of Stockholm.
presented by the Scandinavian Library
In Swedish with English subtitles | Family, Drama, Comedy | 1h 44m
Saturday, December 17th | 1:30 | $10; $8 for SCC and Scandinavian Library Members | tickets
LOVE AGAINST ALL ODDS – A REMARKABLE STORY OF TWO WOMEN FALLING IN LOVE IN THE RAVENSBRÜCK CONCENTRATION CAMP.
On Christmas Eve, 1944 the Belgian prisoner and opera singer Nelly Mousset-Vos had been asked to sing Christmas carols in one of the French populated Ravensbrück barracks. After a couple of songs, Nadine Hwang of mixed Chinese heritage requests a song from Madame Butterfly. After Nelly sings an aria about waiting on a loved one, Nadine emerges from the darkness and kisses Nelly – at this moment Nelly and Nadine become a couple.
After the war, they reunite and start building a life together. For many years their relationship was kept a secret, even from their closest family.
Now Nelly’s grandchild, Sylvie, has decided to open Nelly and Nadine’s unseen personal archives and tell their story. A story about war sufferings, mysteries, well-kept secrets, and the complicated stories of concentration camp survivors. And most of all, a love story of all time that will move and inspire you.
92 minutes | In English, French, Spanish, Swedish with English subtitles | Director Magnus Gertten
Saturday, October 29th, 2022 | 1pm | $10; $5 for members | tickets
Magnus Gertten, Swedish director and producer, previously TV- and radio journalist, has directed a number of award-winning documentaries including ROLLING LIKE A STONE, A THOUSAND PIECES, HARBOUR OF HOPE, LONG DISTANCE LOVE. Magnus started the production company Auto Images together with Stefan Berg in 1998.
Through the Roaring Twenties and the first half of the Great Depression, the Swedish-born landscape painter Gunnar Widforss (1879-1934) focused his discerning eye and passionate energy on the national parks of the American West. Because of Widforss’ untimely death at only age 55, and
because the rise of modernism in the early-twentieth century consigned many highly skilled realistic painters to obscurity, Widforss’ legacy is largely unknown today. The amiable Swede led a bohemian life in search of beautiful landscapes to paint. Widforss dressed formally as he worked and always attracted wonder-struck onlookers when he painted in Yosemite Valley, on the rim of Grand Canyon and the other locations he favored in the national parks. Park Service friends such as Ansel Hall and Stephen Mather as well as tourists marveled at the accuracy of his painting and the way in which he was able to capture the dramatic landscapes. Widforss never resorted to sentimental or romanticized depictions, so prevalent in depictions of western subjects. He very well may be viewed as one of the greatest artists to paint the West and his obscurity is a paradox. The story of Widforss’ life and work is one of great triumph in realistic painting, and the tragedy of his anonymity and death is a compelling story of a Swedish expatriate who fell in love with the landscapes of the American West.
Today, Widforss’ work is known only to a small number of dedicated collectors, the descendants of his family and friends, and those who discover his gem-like paintings when they visit the national parks he depicted.
Curator and author Alan Petersen has published a catalogue raisonné of Widforss’ works and is nearing completion of a monograph on the artist’s fascinating life and work.
Sunday, October 16th | 1pm | $8 suggested donation | register here
ABOUT ALAN: Alan recently published a catalogue raisonné of works by Swedish-American artist Gunnar Widforss that currently lists nearly 1,300 paintings. He is continuing work on a monograph on Widforss’ fascinating life and art. Alan has also published a number of articles on the artist and in 2018 co-curated an exhibition of the artist’s work in Ljungby, Sweden.
Alan recently retired from a faculty position at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff where he taught art history, drawing, painting, and courses pertaining to the Colorado Plateau for thirty years. His own paintings have their source in the light, space and landforms of the Colorado Plateau, and explore the formal relationships between color and pictorial space. He is also engaged in a major project that involves mapping and drawing the geological sources of uranium within Grand Canyon.
Enjoy this wonderful introduction to slow stitching which draws inspiration from the Japanese boro and Indian kantha techniques. Working with a basic running stitch, we’ll explore the use of different fabrics, colors and pattern. Create a fabric collage to display or use the techniques to embellish jeans or other clothing. This a wonderful way to upcycle used clothing and linens.
A selection of fabrics will be available as well as needles and a selection of embroidery thread. Please bring a pair of scissors and a bag for transporting items.
No experience necessary and beginners are welcome!
Saturday, October 8th from 10am-1pm | REGSTRATION CLOSED
ABOUT ANN As a graduate of Tufts University, Ann took numerous art classes at The School of The Museum of Fine Arts. While doing a semester at The American College in Paris she immersed herself in studio art classes through the Parsons School of Design. Ann’s day job is raising funds for a non-profit but she has taught courses on embroidery,
Beware of Children traces the dramatic aftermath of a tragic event in a middle class suburb of Oslo. During a break in school 13 year-old Lykke, the daughter of a prominent Labour Party member, seriously injures her classmate Jamie, the son of a high profile right-wing politician. When Jamie later dies in hospital, contradicting versions of what actually happened risks making a difficult and traumatic situation worse. Was it only innocent play behind? Liv, the school’s principal and the secret lover of Jamie’s father, must find the strength to confront a community in distress, and her own highly conflicted emotions.
presented as part of the Scandinavian Library’s monthly film series
Saturday, October 8th | 1:30 | $10; $5 for members | tickets here
A special Halloween presentation of this Swedish silent film from 1922.
Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen’s legendary silent film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages and early modern era suffered from the same ills as psychiatric patients diagnosed with hysteria in the film’s own time. Far from a dry dissertation on the topic, the film itself is a witches’ brew of the scary, the gross, and the darkly humorous. Christensen’s mix-and-match approach to genre anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in the history of cinema.
Music from the 1922 Danish premiere, arranged by film-music specialist Gillian B. Anderson and performed by the Czech Film Orchestra in 2001.
Sunday, October 30th, 2022 | 7pm | $10; $5 for SCC and Library members | tickets here
Voting for the upcoming Swedish Parliamentary will be held in person in the Nordic Hall on:
Saturday August 20 10 AM-1 PM
Saturday August 27 10 AM-1 PM
As from July 28th, 2022 one can begin voting by mail and the Consulate can provide mail voting material – boston@consulateofsweden.org. All ballots must reach Sweden by September 11.
Today, Widforss’ work is known only to a small number of dedicated collectors, the descendants of his family and friends, and those who discover his gem-like paintings when they visit the national parks he depicted.