The Fencer – Nordic Film Festival 

The Fencer

Klaus Härö/ FIN/2015 / 93 min/ Drama / 15 years

Touching drama about love and a man who finds meaning in his life through children who need him. The Fencer was shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar / Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A young man, Endel Nelis, arrives in Haapsalu, Estonia, in the early 1950s. Having left Leningrad to escape the secret police, he finds work as a teacher and founds a sports club for his students. Endel becomes a father figure to his students and starts teaching them his great passion – fencing, which causes a conflict with the school’s principal. Envious, the principal starts investigating Endel’s background…

Endel learns to love the children and looks after them; most are orphans as a result of the Russian occupation. Fencing becomes a form of self-expression for the children and Endel becomes a role model. The children want to participate in a national fencing tournament in Leningrad, and Endel must make a choice: risk everything to take the children to Leningrad or put his safety first and disappoint them.

Language: Estonian/ Subtitle: English

Reserve free tickets: www.tix.is   If the screening is not fully booked, tickets will be available at the door.

Trailer: http://thefencermovie.com

Nordic Film Festival

The Nordic Film Festival is a yearly event, and this is the fourth edition at the Nordic House in Reykjavik. The festival runs the period 13th – 20th April 2016 and we screen selected Nordic films in all genres, with English subtitles.  The Nordic Film Festival is a collaboration between the Nordic House, Embassy of Denmark, Finnish Embassy, Norwegian Embassy and Embassy of Sweden in Reykjavik, Iceland. Local partners are Aalto Bistro and Bio Paradis.