20/02/2013 - The festival, which runs from February 19 to March 17 will highlight the intersection of life and nature, art and culture in the Nordic countries

“Nordic Cool manifests the intersection of life and nature, art and culture  - probably more than any other international festival we have created,” said festival curator, international programming Alicia Adams, of Washington’s Kennedy Center, who yesterday (February 19) opened the festival, which will further explore the question 'What Is Nordic?'.

750 artists in theater, dance, music, visual arts, literature, design and film will participate to highlight the cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, adding the territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland Islands: "They will bring unprecedented treasures to the center," added Adams, who will also be flying in Nordic award-winning chefs to demonstrate the latest Nordic cuisine.

The film catalogue includes Marie Krøyer, the latest feature by Danish Academy Award-winning director Bille August (Pelle the Conqueror) and The Last Sentence, from Swedish director Jan Troell, whose The Emigrants was nominated for an Oscar in 1973. Swedish director Victor Sjöström’s 1921 classic, The Phantom Carriage, will unspool to live musical accompaniment.

The showcase is programmed by film professor and former head of the Lincoln Center Film Society, Richard Pena, who will also moderate a March 10 panel discussion on Scandinavian Cinema: Making National Cinema in a Globalised World with Norwegian director Sara Johnsen (All That Matters Is Past [+see also:
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