This year's Northern Lights' slogan is "MIND THE GAP". And every person, at some point in their life, was at a gaping distance, both literal and metaphorical, from someone or something close and dear. The heroes of the international program's films—brothers from Norway, neighbors from Sweden, lovers from Lithuania, and others—measure this gap in kilometers, years, or the number of attempts to make a connection with the person living under the same roof. It seems that neither they nor all of us will be able to bridge all these gaps until the end, but this doesn't mean that it's not worth trying—humanity, sincerity, kindness and, of course, cinema will undoubtedly help.
This year, the Northern Lights FF—for the first time being—opens the international competition of debut works. It includes 13 full-length documentaries and feature films created by directors from Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. In all these movies, authors experiment with the form of cinema and find new approaches to stories about people, places, nature, creativity, modern society, and personal experiences. Most of the films presented in the competition have been awarded prizes and nominations at the largest international festivals: Cannes Film Festival, Berlinale, Sundance, Locarno, IDFA, and CPH:DOX.