Malmö, Have a Seat!
For our 10th year in Malmö, 10 generous filmmakers and film lovers have lent us chairs for our Festival Centre in Cinema Panora. Between screenings and events, we invite you to have a seat in the Panora Foyer, perhaps in one of theirs, and try to guess which chair belongs to which of the people below. We asked our 10 contributors some questions so that we, and you, could get to know them a bit better before the festival kicks off.
Jan Troell, filmmaker.
Favourite NP memory
“I attended the festival many years ago. It was probably very nice but unfortunately these memories are long forgotten.”
Perfect day
“Good food, good company and good work!”
About their chair
“When I see my chair, I think about how good it is that I don’t have two – because then I would have fallen in between them!”
Silvia Wieser, film lover.
Nordic film
“Nudist by My Sandström.”
Perfect day
“Creative flow in my atelier, a walk and a dip in the ocean.”
About their chair
“The chair was bought at a secondhand store, so I think about craftmanship, design, time and history. It gives me space for my fantasy, associations and creativity. It’s a unique chair with a soul…”
Maja Moberg, filmmaker.
Favourite NP memory
“It’s hard to pinpoint my favourite memory from the festival. I’ve been involved in so many different ways and every year has been special in its own way.”
Perfect day
“A bike ride, a coffee date, a dip in the sea. I would be very happy if the day ended with a loud conversation over beer and food with friends. Maybe a dance or two as well.”
About their chair
“When I see my chair, I think about how stupid I am for spending so much time and money on auctions. But the heart wants what the heart wants.”
Mónica Hernández Rejón, filmmaker.
Favourite NP memory
“When I pitched at NP Forum 2019! It was the second time I’d been to the festival and to Malmö. This was also when I started thinking about leaving Stockholm to live here.”
Perfect day
“Eating well. Drinking wine. Going to the movies.”
About their chair
“This was one of the first furniture items I had in Sweden. When I first moved here in 2015 I lived in co-housing that got just sold six months after. We had to leave and take everything with us. So I brought this chair with me.”
Zenati Zenati, film lover.
Favourite NP memory
“My favorite memory from Nordisk Panorama was when I met a friend of mine who had come all the way from Palestine to attend the festival. It was 10 years ago when that happened.”
Perfect day
“A perfect day for me would start with some sunshine and the smell of olive trees. Then I would spend the rest of the day sitting on a hill with a seaview, together with a cat.”
About their chair
“When I see my chair, I think about all the life decisions that I’ve made in the past five years.”
Herman Müntzing, film lover.
Nordic film
“Gubben i stugan by Nina Hedenius. I think it was Christmas night when I first saw it many years ago. I just happened upon it, right in the middle, and was completely captivated.”
Perfect day
“I wake up well-rested without any cold sweats or stress during the night. There’s a light drizzle outside. I walk calmly with my umbrella to the rehearsal space where I organise cords and repack things in even more customised boxes. In the evening: vegetable soup and toast.”
About their chair
“It’s surprisingly comfortable. It’s perfect for sitting in and smoking a pipe.”
Emma Cleave, film lover.
Nordic film
“They Call Us Misfits by Stefan Jarl and Jan Lindqvist.”
Perfect day
“A day when I’m off and the sun warms my skin. I get invited to have some good food and drinks, and I spend time with the people closest to me. The place isn’t so important – as long as I have the people I care about around me.”
About their chair
“How much work I’ve put into them! I got them secondhand when they were pretty and whole – or so I thought! I’ve had to re-upholster them with new padding and new fabric. I’ve even had to take them apart and re-glue all the joints. They’ve caused me a lot of frustration, but now they mean more to me than they would’ve otherwise had.”
Elin Kamlert, filmmaker.
Favourite NP memory
“I pitched at NP Forum 2020 and I had a lot of great meetings that year. It was during the pandemic – when everything was a bit tough – so there was this spirit of liveliness and understanding. Everyone was just extra happy to be able to work together.”
Perfect day
“My perfect day would mean I get a lot done at work, and I’d also have the time to hang out with my closest friends and be a bit spontaneous as well. Beautiful weather, good coffee, good food. But I’d be grateful regardless of what would happen.”
About their chair
“When I decorated my first apartment in Copenhagen and bought those chairs. I’ve bought a lot of new things since then, but those chairs have been with me all these years. It’s the chairs, the dining table and the bookshelf that makes me feel like home wherever I live.”
C. Grace Chang, filmmaker.
Favourite NP memory
“Back in 2019, I randomly struck up a conversation with the person behind me at Grand. Turns out he was part of the U.S. film delegation! He introduced me to the rest of them, and we all just chatted the night away. We capped it all off with the best shawarma in town (RIP Beirut Taste of Lebanon!).”
Perfect day
“Part one: waking up slowly, cuddling with my dog, going to the sea and sauna. Part two: bubble tea, dim sum, and vintage shops with my friends. Part three: watching campy movies with my partner.”
About their chair
“When I see my chair, I think of moving into my first real grown up apartment with my partner. The chairs were salvaged by his uncle from an old school, and we restored them together that winter.”
Niklas Gyberg Ivarsson, filmmaker.
Favourite NP memory
“The screening of Always Amber in 2020. After the screening at Plan B, Shitkid played and they’d actually made the music for the film. Because of the pandemic, you weren’t allowed to leave your chairs, so the band had to stand on TOP of their chairs to dance. It was a highlight of an otherwise careful autumn.”
Perfect day
“I wake up in my bungalow and go to the beach for a morning dip. Afterwards, a long breakfast with yoghurt, watermelon, pancakes and a newspaper. Afterwards, a long afternoon that unnoticeably leads into a night in the company of good friends.”
About their chair
“That everything deserves another chance. From people to animals, to displayed and forgotten kitchen furniture.”
Swing by our Festival Centre from 21-26 September to meet our chair owners, have a coffee courtesy of Bengt and his Fogarolli coffee cart, win prizes, and get inspired by each other’s stories.
