Users can easily find Nordic titles on the global film discovery platform, but currently few of them reach the popular lists.

The social media platform Letterboxd, often described as “Goodreads, but for films”, enables users to log and review films, create personalised lists, and interact with other film enthusiasts. Letterboxd is also known for highlighting niche and independent films.

Sara Ehnholm Hielm, a film critic and publisher from Finland, believes that Letterboxd offers a valuable opportunity for Nordic films to enhance their visibility outside traditional media and film reviews.

“Traditional film criticism is based on theatrical releases, and at least in Finland, there aren't that many Nordic films in cinemas. Nordic films need significant visibility to stand out if they’re not in theatres and not reviewed in newspapers, so I think platforms like Letterboxd can help Nordic films get discovered.”

Letterboxd is not a new player in the industry, but a rapidly growing one. Launched in 2011 by New Zealand web designers Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow, the platform initially served as a forum for cinephiles to log the films they watched. In recent years, Letterboxd has evolved into a social media network for a diverse and global community, expanding from 2 million users in 2020 to over 15 million in 2024. Letterboxd particularly engages a younger audience, 50% of its users are under 35 years old, and 25% are 16–24 years old.

Films listed on Letterboxd primarily come from established film databases like the International Movie Database (IMDb) and The Movie Database (TMDb), but users can also add films to the platform themselves. Films gain visibility on Letterboxd through a variety of curated lists created by both users and the platform's editors. These lists range from all-time top-rated films in every genre to more niche collections.

Currently, two Nordic films are mentioned in the crew’s weekly updated Top 50 list: As no. 14 (today) we find Norwegian Benjamin Ree’s documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Ibelin), which has also gained recognition on Letterboxd’s own news page. No. 38 today is Swedish director Levan Akin’s feature film Crossing (Passage), which was Sweden’s nomination to the 2024 Nordic Council Film Prize.

Letterboxd also serves as a tool for film festivals to showcase their film selections. The Bergen International Film Festival (October 16–24) used Letterboxd to make it easier for the audience to explore the festival programme.

“We had a large film programme with over 120 films, and we want to make it easy for the audience to navigate. For those who watch a lot of films at the festival, they often want to keep a record of which films they have seen,” says festival head Kristian Fyllingsnes.

The platform also helped the organisers understand how the films were received by the audience.

“It seems there is a lower threshold for the audience to write reviews and rate films on Letterboxd than on other platforms. It’s important for us to see how the films are received.”

Fyllingsnes believes that Letterboxd is a valuable resource for the Nordic film industry to connect with its most dedicated audiences.

“Letterboxd is made for film enthusiasts, and with enough users, it’s much easier to find your audience there than to try to reach a more general one.”

However, Sara Ehnholm Hielm finds that Nordic productions often go unnoticed on the platform, something she considers part of a broader challenge in the Nordic film industry. She observes a tendency among Nordic audiences to overlook national productions until they have received recognition abroad.

“It seems like Nordic films must first gain approval through foreign distributors or other channels before we even consider them good here. We have the same problem with books; Knausgård, for instance, only became widely known in the Nordics after he gained popularity in the US.”

Despite this, Ehnholm Hielm sees potential for Nordic films to gain recognition through Letterboxd and other social media platforms, particularly among younger viewers who are increasingly discovering films beyond mainstream releases.

“I think platforms like Letterboxd have a positive effect by bringing attention to older films, cult films, or classics. It draws people into film culture in a way that used to happen through film clubs or curated screenings.”

An open space for film critics also encourages people to justify their opinions about films, she adds.

“There’s sometimes a loss of distinction between simply liking something and forming an argument-based critique. But in places like Letterboxd, I’ve noticed that people learn to support their opinions. This can improve the quality of their critiques as they engage more deeply.”

However, not all opinions are equally qualified when it comes to film criticism, Ehnholm Hielm says.

“Many people are quick to say: 'This is just my opinion', without recognising the knowledge and reasoning that support professional film criticism. Therefore, there still has to be a place for traditional film criticism.”