A Festival First
This year, we’re excited to announce the launch of a brand-new Nordisk Panorama collaboration where, each year, an artist from a different Nordic country will be invited to design the official Film Festival T-shirt, before passing the baton to a creative neighbour the following year. Every design will be released as a limited edition, making each T-shirt a unique piece.
We’re delighted to begin this journey with Tropical Scandinavia, the creative studio founded by Swedish artist duo Johanna and Emil. Based in the village of Hammenhög in Österlen, southern Sweden, they live and work from their gallery, where they create and exhibit original pieces. Tropical Scandinavia describes its work as modern totems – bold, playful creations distilled from the duo’s own distinctive artistic universe.
Q: How did you come up with the design for the print?
A: Everything we create goes back to our second date, 14 years ago.
We each had a piece of paper. We’d sketch something and pass it to the other person, who would add something and give it back again. Somewhere that evening, something just clicked. We realised we could create things together that neither of us would have made alone.
We’ve worked like that ever since.
For this collaboration we created a new version of one of our favourite symbols: the Protector of Fun.
This one is a filmmaker – balancing in a yoga pose, holding a camera, riding what might be a surfboard… or maybe a flying carpet. Around it you’ll find the sun, the moon and symbols inspired by nature. We love the ocean, surfing and the rhythm of the tides, so those elements naturally find their way into our work.
Q: What story or feeling did you want the artwork to communicate?
A: Optimism. We hope people smile when they first see it and then discover new details over time.
The artwork isn’t meant to tell one story. It’s an invitation to imagine your own.
Q: Which films have inspired you the most?
A: Emil: The Karate Kid.
I was 11 when I first saw it and I’ve never forgotten how it made me feel.
Johanna: Eat Pray Love. I watched it when I was 21 and studying in Lund. I remember feeling there had to be something more to life than the path I was on.
Although they’re very different films, they tell the same story. They’re both about having the courage to begin.
Q: What kind of documentaries or stories do you enjoy?
A: We’re drawn to stories about transformation.
One story we often come back to is Roger Bannister. For years, experts believed running a mile in under four minutes was impossible. Some even thought the human body simply wasn’t capable of it. Then, in 1954, Bannister broke the four-minute barrier.
The amazing part is what happened next. Once someone proved it could be done, others quickly followed. Within a relatively short time, more than a hundred runners had also broken the four-minute mile.
That tells us something powerful: sometimes the biggest barrier isn’t physical – it’s what we believe is possible.
The best stories don’t just entertain us – they expand our sense of what’s possible. That’s exactly what we hope our own work can do, in its own small way.
Q: If Tropical Scandinavia was a film, what would its title be?
A: Protect the Fun. It’s more than a title – it’s our philosophy. We hope our work reminds people that they don’t have to have everything figured out before they begin. Stay curious. Take the first step. Trust the process. Protect the fun.
