Eight cities, five countries and one award-winning dog winter just got a lot more cinematic thanks to the Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival.
The 2026 Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival has unveiled its full programme, bringing the best new cinema from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to Palace, Palace Nova and Luna Palace Cinemas nationally.
Running through July and August, the 2026 Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival spans cinematic legends, sweeping landscapes and the kind of storytelling that’s earned Nordic film a reputation all its own.
2026 Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival
- Canberra: 9 July – 2 August, Palace Electric
- Melbourne: 10 July – 2 August, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Church St, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Penny Lane, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema and The Astor Theatre
- Ballarat: 10 July – 2 August, Palace Regent Cinema
- Brisbane: 22 July – 16 August, Palace James St, Palace Barracks
- Adelaide: 22 July – 16 August, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
- Sydney: 23 July – 16 August, Palace Norton St, Palace Moore Park and Palace Central
- Perth: 23 July – 16 August, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and Palace Raine Square
- Byron Bay and Ballina: 23 July – 16 August, Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Opening the festival is Árru, a powerful Icelandic drama from debut director Elle Sofe Sara following a family of Sámi reindeer herders whose way of life is threatened by a proposed mining project, woven through with traditional joik song.
In a festival exclusive, Fjord screens as the centrepiece fresh off winning the Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, starring Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan as a Romanian-Norwegian couple navigating scrutiny in a progressive small town.
Reinsve also leads Special Presentation Butterfly, about estranged sisters reuniting after their mother’s mysterious death at a Canary Islands resort.
Fellow Special Presentation The love that remains, from director Hlynur Pálmason, captures a separating family’s year together and features a scene-stealing turn from the director’s own dog, Panda.
Closing things out is a 60th anniversary screening of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona, starring Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson.
The programme also digs into Swedish cinema history with documentary Being Bo Widerberg, paired with screenings of his films Ådalen 31, Raven’s end and Elvira Madigan.
Denmark brings The guest, starring Trine Dyrholm; Göteborg winner The last resort; dark comedy The last viking, reuniting Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas; girls’-trip comedy Offroad; and coming-of-age drama Weightless.
Finland contributes blackly comic The kidnapping of a president, plus dramas A light that never goes out and Tell everyone. Sweden’s line-up includes psychological thriller Doctor Glas and Göteborg Audience Award winner The quiet beekeeper.
From Norway come dramedy Home, heist comedy The pension heist and true-story drama The battle of Oslo.
Iceland rounds things out with The fires, a thriller that recently picked up six Icelandic Film Awards.
Tickets for the 2026 Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival are on sale now.
For more information, head here.
