Package Deals.03: Daydream Nation // 9.13.06
The Tank, 279 Church Street btwn Franklin + White, 7:30pm, $7
Advance tickets can be purchased through SmartTix (www.smarttix.com)

New Swedish video lands at The Tank (www.thetanknyc.org) in Tribeca on Wednesday, September 13th at 7:30pm. "PD03: Daydream Nation," a curated lineup of animated shorts, music videos, and artist films rarely seen outside of their native Nordic kingdom, showcases work from some of the best and most creative Swedish imaginations around.

A far cry from the beloved Saturday cartoons of mornings past, Daydream Nation's roster of animated video offers a vision of Sweden all grown-up, bringing unorthodox and often unsettling imagery to life. Taboo intimacies, couples on the brink, lonely mopers, and more than a few decapitation and dismemberment scenes find themselves juxtaposed against the nicer things in life: colorful origami, toy cars, dancing ladies with parasols, horses, and pretty blonde party girls. So is Sweden, then, a nation of dreamers? Well, this program, featuring vibrant work from the cosmopolitan streets of Stockholm, the up-and-coming communities of arty Goteborg, the maritime landscape of southernmost Malmo, and various expatriate outposts, suggests so.

Daydream Nation's diverse program includes art world favorites Nathalie Djurberg and Cecilia Lundqvist, whose works are more commonly found in galleries and museums, as well as films by well-known music video directors and filmmakers, such as Andreas Korsar and Jonas Odell (whose award-winning ode to the pleasures and pitfalls of losing one's virginity, "Never Like the First Time," took home a Golden Bear at this year's Berlinale). Likewise, Sweden's world-class contemporary music scene is ably represented, running the gamut from the macabre electronica of The Knife to the saccharine pop of The Concretes, the Envelopes, and El Perro Del Mar. "Kullaberg," Jacob Stalhammar's pastoral performance piece featuring Sweden's favorite Burt Bacharach/Stephin Merritt mashup, Jens Lekman, provides installation-like viewing as the evening's pre-program offering.

A one-night cultural smorgasbord, "Daydream Nation" will feature an after-party immediately follows the screening. Complimentary cocktails will be served courtesy of Svedka Vodka, and decks are to be manned by DJ Anja Degerholm from Malmo. Artist magazines by the Loyal and Hockey Rawk collectives will also be available.

"Daydream Nation" showcases artist films by Cecilia Lundqvist, Jonas Odell, Jens Lekman and Jacob Stalhammar, Nathalie Djurberg, Henrik Akerberg, Johannes Nyholm, Peter Larsson, and Bjorn Renner. Music videos by The Knife, The Concretes, El Perro del Mar, Envelopes, The Radio Dept, Jose Gonzalez, Erik de Vahl, and Peter, Bjorn, and John.

Package Deals is a multidisciplinary music and film screening series bringing the best in film, art and music from selected cities and places around the world to New York City. Following a program's premiere, it then evolves into a Touring Package, which travels to diverse sites in the months to come. "Daydream Nation" will begin touring in early 2007. Package Deals is curated by Kelly Shindler and Deirdre Corley.

For more information, please visit www.packagedeals.org or email info@packagedeals.org.