This year, Les Boréales festival will honour Finland from November 20 to 30 in Caen and throughout Normandy!

After thirty editions, it has established itself as the largest European festival dedicated to the Nordic countries. With a variety of events ranging from literature to circus, performances, concerts, cinema and round tables, the event offers a complete immersion into contemporary Nordic culture.

On the programme for 2024:

For literature, the festival will be an opportunity to meet journalist Pihla Hintikka and writers Arttu Tuominen and Satu Rämö, while author Sofi Oksanen will host round-table discussions with three Finlandia prize-winners: Jukka Viikilä, Pajtim Statovci and Pirkko Saisio. A number of themes will be addressed during the event: Maria Turtschaninoff, Niillas Holmberg and Petra Rautiainen, for example, will be combining stories and nature.

For lovers of the visual arts, the Finnish acrobatic duo Katerina Repponen and Pasi Nousiainen will be presenting a circus show. Susanna Lehtinen’s photographs, drawings and installations, which explore the theme of light, will be exhibited at La Halle in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. The local cinemas will be presenting a special programme of Finnish films and series of all types.

Finally, to liven up the evenings, there will be concerts in a variety of musical styles: discover the Finnish country band Steve ‘N’ Seagulls, with their bluegrass versions of hard rock and heavy metal songs, or the indie classic by multi-instrumentalist Arttu Silvast, and of course Antti Paalanen, who combines Siberian throat singing, techno and accordion.

The festival is also opening up to other Nordic cultures, with artists from Iceland, Sweden and Lithuania… 

Follow the festival’s latest updates on their website → More information