The festival opens with SAUNA (Finland) from director AJ Annila (Bandidas), a thrilling horror film bathing in Finnish Sauna culture in the murky zone between Christianity and paganism. A hit of the Toronto Film Festival in 08 and a further 30 festivals since, Sauna approaches themes such as sin, repentance and atonement - themes deeply rooted in the mythical Finnish gloominess - via a genre that has until now been almost non-existent in Finnish cinema.

The 2009 Nordic Film Festival is proudly supported by the Danish, Finnish and Norwegian Film Institutes, the Swedish Institute, the EU Commission and AFTRS. The festival is sponsored by Scandinavian Airlines, Pandora Jewellery, Finlandia Vodka, Design Mode International, Lundbeck SAAB Technologies Australia, and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics.

SYDNEY: 16-21 Oct at Dendy Opera Quays
CANBERRA: 23-26 Oct at Dendy Canberra City
MELBOURNE: 30 Oct-1 Nov at Cinema Nova