From 26th February - 2nd March, enjoy the very best in Swedish Music, Food, Art & Cinema with the Totally Swedish Festival!
TOTALLY SWEDISH FESTIVAL 2008
Venue: Temple Bar
Date: 26th February - 2nd March
For the second year running, the Totally Swedish Festival brings the delights of Swedish culture to our doorstep for a week of the very best in Swedish music, art, film, and food. Check out the listings below for a taste of what's on offer.
MUSIC
Venue: The Button Factory
Dates: 29th February & 1st March
Times: Various - see below
Some of Sweden's biggest acts will perform in one of Dublin's hottest venues on 29th February and 1st March in this two-day musical extravaganza featuring the amazing Weeping Willows, Sahara Hotnights, Jonna Lee and Love Is All
Weeping Willows & Jonna Lee
Date: 29th February
Time: 20.00
Tickets: €25.60
Weeping Willows are one of the biggest bands in Sweden, and have been for ten years. With influences ranging from Walker Brothers to The Smiths and through to Depeche Mode they promise to bring you "music that fit you better than your own clothes. Only you don't know that yet". Singer-songwriter Jonna Lee is newer to the scene, having recently released her debut album which was recorded with the help of members from Travis and Supergrass. She also started the live club Popmarathon, so that Stockholm would have a decent music scene to play at.
Sahara Hotnights & Love is All
Date:1st March
Time: 20.00
Tickets: €25.60
All girl-band Sahara Hotnights have been around since the turn of the millenium, and have managed to transform from alternative rock to a more commercial style of catchy tunes without losing any integrity. With their grown-up sound, Sahara Hotnights have enjoyed global success, touring extensively on all continents but especially in the US. Gothenberg Indie band Love Is All play their second gig in Ireland, having previously supported Maximo Park in Vicar Street. This is their first live gig since recording their second album
ART
Venue: The Sebastian Guinness Gallery, Eustace Street
Date: 29th February - 9th March (except 3rd March)
Time: 10.00 - 18.00 (Mon-Sat) 11.00 - 16.00 (Sun)
Enjoy the work of some one Sweden's most talented and talked about artists with a showcase of art from Pär Strömberg, Marcel Strüwer, Oskar Nilsson, Monica Tormell, Christian Saldert, Amelie Hegardt, Lina Scheynius and Fanny Boström. Some of the artists will be flying in from Stockholm, Amsterdam and New York especially for the event!
FILM
The memory of Sweden's most celebrated filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman, with a mini-festival of some of his greatest works at the Irish Film Institute. Bergman, who died last year aged 89, still casts a long shadow over Swedish culture. He once said that he'd kill his friends, or anyone else for that matter, if it would help his art. This may have been an exaggeration, but it was an honest assessment of where his priorities lay. Yet, despite his dour reputation, Bergman had a very keen sense of humour and delighted in the hypocrisies and absurdities of the strict Lutheran society that he grew up and lived in. The two films being shown in the festival provide an interesting balance showing both sides of the coin. They are:
Smiles of a Summer Night
Date: 1st March
Time: 14:50
This light comedy of manners gave Bergman his international breakthrough with a nomination for the Palme D'Or at Cannes. It's a story of musical beds with philandering lawyer Fredrik Egerman juggling wife, mistress and maid over the course of the shortest night of the year, summer solstice. Egerman (played by Bergman regular Gunnner Bjornstrand) represents the judiciary. He is closely rivalled by members of the bourgeoisie and the clergy for moral laxity as the warm Swedish summer exerts its power over the townsfolk's libido.
Persona
Date: 2nd March
Time: 14:10
This seminal film has kept critics and academics busy for over forty years as they thrash out the whole spectrum of interpretations. Liv Ullman plays Elisabeth, an actress who is so distressed by the cruelty of the world she had has lost the ability (or willingness) to speak. She is cared for by Alma, a nurse who speaks to her throughout the time they spend together at the summer house Elisabeth's doctor has let them stay in. Gradually, however, Alma's state of mind deteriorates and she begins to assume the identity of her patient.
Tickets for both films are available from the IFI website.
FOOD
Over the course of the festival, you'll be able to sample delicious traditional Swedish food in some of Dublin's premier restaurants. Choose from:
- Steak "Rydberg" with Horseradish cream (and other dishes) at The Tea Room in The Clarence Hotel .
- Meatballs with mashed potatoes, cream sauce and loganberries at Ron Blacks on Dawson Street.
- Fried fillet of Arctic Char (and other dishes) at Odessa.
- Västerbotten cheese pie with crispy bacon salad, at the South William on South William St
and
- Operakällarens Baltic herring with mashed potatoes and brown butter at the Market Bar on Fade St
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