For the 10th time, Gdańsk will become the centre of Nordic culture! On 14-16 November, the University of Gdańsk campus, the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre and the Ethnography Department of the National Museum will host the anniversary edition of the Nordic Focus Festival - an event that has been promoting the art, literature, languages and music of the Nordic countries for ten years. The NFF 2025 programme will focus on Danish culture.
Festival guests can look forward to Nordic language workshops for beginners, lectures and presentations on Northern culture, discussion panels and meetings with authors (such as Ilona Wiśniewska, Agata Komosa-Styczeń, Charlotte Weitze , Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl and Szymon Drobniak) and translators (e.g. Jacek Godek). The event will also be accompanied by film screenings, including Benjamin Christensen's classic The Witch (1922) with live music and Magnus von Horn's latest production, The Girl with the Needle (2024).
This year's edition of the festival is divided into two main programme themes. The first and dominant theme will be the HERstorycal perspective, which presents Danish literature, cinema and society through a female narrative.
Another theme will be the relationship between humans and nature. Through discussions and meetings with authors, we will show, on the one hand, the destructive impact of human activities on nature and, on the other, the natural longing and need of modern humans to live in symbiosis and harmony with nature.
There will be plenty of attractions for both children and adult lovers of creativity – in a special zone, you will be able to build with LEGO bricks, and workshops with dr Agata Rudnik and a lecture by dr Michał Duda will show how these iconic Danish bricks support well-being and develop our creativity regardless of age. As usual, you will also be able to learn the basics of Nordic languages, as well as relax with a good book and coffee in the hygge zone.
The festival will culminate in concerts at the St. John's Centre as part of the Sounds of the North Festival, including a performance by the band HÉR, as well as the monumental Drone Mass, a piece by Jóhann Jóhannsson for string quartet, vocal octet and electronics, performed by NeoQuartet and Simultaneo, conducted by Karol Kisiel.
Admission to events organised on the University of Gdańsk campus and at the Ethnography Department of the National Museum in Gdańsk is free of charge. Advance registration is required for language workshops. The events were co-financed by the City of Gdańsk.
Nordic Focus Festival 2025 is a unique opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the North in the heart of Gdańsk!
The detailed programme is available on the Festival website: 2025-PROGRAM - nff.ug.edu.pl (the programme is interactive - click on the name of the event to see its description).
We also encourage you to follow the event on Facebook: Nordic Focus Festival | Facebook.
