Nordic echoes at Karlovy Vary: love, solitude and shifting moral lines

The upcoming 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (4-12 July) has unveiled a sharply curated line-up of 11 world premieres in its Crystal Globe Competition, two of which put Nordic cinema in the spotlight. With Don't Call Me Mama (Se meg) by Norwegian director Nina Knag and The Visitor (Svečias) by Lithuanian helmer Vytautas Katkus — a co-production with Norway’s Stær Films and Sweden’s Garagefilm International led by Lithuania’s M-Films — the region brings to the picturesque Czech spa town two intimate portraits of inner conflict and social dislocation.

In her feature debut, Knag crafts a provocative, character-driven drama about blurred moral lines and emotional entanglements. In detail, Don’t Call Me Mama follows Eva, a respected teacher and the mayor’s wife, as she volunteers at a refugee centre ahead of her husband’s re-election campaign. When she forms a bond with 18-year-old Amir, their relationship slowly unravels the veneer of altruism she projects to the world. What begins as a redemptive impulse evolves into a quietly devastating study of power, vulnerability and self-deception. Norwegian stars Pia Tjelta and Kristoffer Joner lead the cast, joined by newcomer Tarek Zayat in a quietly affecting role. Knag’s background in casting pays off, as the performances elevate the film’s exploration of hypocrisy cloaked as virtue. The feature is staged by The Global Ensemble Drama, Screen Story, and Mediefondet Zefyr.

Meanwhile, The Visitor marks a meditative feature debut for Katkus, known for his award-winning short films. The story centres on Danielius, a man returning from Norway to his Lithuanian hometown to sell his late parents’ apartment. His attempt to reconnect with old friends falters, prompting a reluctant drift into isolation. Rather than returning to his young family, Danielius lets time stretch and dissolve around him. Co-written with Marija Kavtaradze, the pic balances delicately between memory and alienation, anchored by Katkus’ signature use of static, richly composed imagery. The co-production with Norway and Sweden further reflects a pan-Baltic-Nordic sensibility, offering quiet insights into what we carry — and what we leave behind — when we move between cultures and selves.

With these two premieres, Karlovy Vary once again confirms its curatorial eye for emotionally intelligent, resonant Nordic voices willing to take risks.

Both titles are having their world premieres in competition and are currently seeking further international exposure. Don’t Call Me Mama is being sold by Denmark’s REInvent, whilst France’s Totem Films handles the international rights for The Visitor.

This year’s Crystal Globe jury includes Swedish actress and filmmaker Tuva Novotny, alongside producer Nicolás Celis, director Babak Jalali, critic Jessica Kiang, and actor Jiří Mádl. The Proxima jury, meanwhile, brings together producer Yulia Evina Bhara, director Noaz Deshe, filmmaker Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias, filmmaker and journalist Jakub Felcman, and industry exec Marissa Frobes.

Watch this space.