School Kino Shorts: Nordic Films for Primary School

This selection of recent Nordic short films explores a wide range of situations and emotions, even hard ones, from a child’s perspective. The films, which are spoken in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian and subtitled in Finnish, focus on themes such as family and friendships, as well as hobbies. Please note the films do not have English dialogue or subtitles.

Billie and Amina’s first meeting ends in a fight in the film Inside the Aquarium. However, the two children, fleeing trouble at home and out onto the streets, are fated to meet again. It turns out that Billie and Amina have more in common than they first thought. 

In the animated documentary Fabula, which brimms with creativity, six-year-old Vida tells an imaginative story about her parents’ experiences as war refugees and how they found love. 

In Warrior Heart 12 year old Vilja loves wrestling even though she’s terrified of pain and loses every match. When her parents separate, Vilja’s feelings freeze. Then mum’s new boyfriend’s daughter Thea turns out to be the star of the wrestling club. Can Vilja overcome her fear of physical as well as emotional pain in the film?

The learning materials produced by Koulukino (School Cinema Association) can be found here (in Finnish) and here (in Swedish).