Episode list

OLE HENRIKSEN, award-winning Danish founder and creative director of his eponymous skincare brand kicks off the series from his home in Los Angeles, a city he's made his life for close to fifty years. Ole talks about art, wellness, and Danishness, and shares tried and true lessons from his path from the town of Nibe on Jutland Peninsula in northern Denmark and his long-held disciplined role as strong proponent and global ambassador of positive thinking. Ole selects a work by P.S. Krøyer from the SMK collection.

On a visit to Los Angeles, Copenhagen-based Oscar- and Golden Globes-nominated Danish-Greek director NIKOLAJ ARCEL talks about his new film The Promised Land (2023). He retraces his time living in LA, from when received an Oscar nod for A Royal Affair (2012) through The Dark Tower (2017). He talks about key differences in his experience with Hollywood and Danish film productions, and his seminal training from the National Film School of Denmark. Nikolaj selects a work by Caspar David Friedrich from the SMK collection.

On a trip to Los Angeles to screen Apolonia, Apolonia (2022), Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Danish-Icelandic documentary film producer SIGRID DYEKJÆR shares her thoughts on a few of her other notable international co-productions, including The Cave (2019) and The Territory (2023). Sigrid talks about team building in support of the director's vision, her interest in ethical filmmaking, and the changing landscape of the documentary film market. Sigrid selects a work by Kirsten Justesen from the SMK collection.

On a trip to Los Angeles for the Oscars luncheon to honor the nomination of Knight of Fortune (2022), Danish producer and Oscar winner KIM MAGNUSSON discusses his 12th Oscar nomination, what he looks for in a short film, why short films are important, and what are themes that speak to him. He shares insights on the Danish and American film industries, the importance of Danish filmmaking in the global space, and his own professional path. Kim selects a work by Olafur Eliasson from the SMK collection.

In Los Angeles for the premiere of True Detective: North Country, season four of the popular series, Upernavik-born Greenlandic activist and actress AKA NIVIÂNA discusses her first tv role as the troubled character Julia Navarro. Having experienced prejudice while living in Denmark, Aka supports opening sustained dialogue about indigenous individuality and seeing increased Greenlandic representation in storytelling and in being part of the world community. Aka selects a work by Nicolai Abildgaard from the SMK collection.

At the Honorary Danish Consulate in Los Angeles, Funen-born Danish pastor ANNE-GRETHE KROGH NIELSEN, who first arrived in 2004, talks about being inclusive and visionary as she serves an international as well as locally diverse congregation in a cultural environment of multiple religions. It's a role that Anne-Grethe treasures, as it allows her to make connections with people from all over. And her image of God is definitely not a white man sitting in the sky with a long beard. Anne-Grethe selects a work by J.F. Willumsen from the SMK collection.

Allerød-born Danish car designer and entrepreneur HENRIK FISKER left Denmark at age 20 to pursue his dream of becoming a car designer. He trained in Switzerland, left his legacy at Aston Martin and BMW, and has called LA home since 2000. Now focused exclusively on electric vehicles, at Fisker Inc. headquarters in Manhattan Beach just outside of Los Angeles, Henriks shares his vision to make the world's most sustainable vehicle. Henrik selects a work by Richard Mortensen from the SMK collection.

Los Angeles-based, Emmy-winning Danish musician and music producer JOACHIM SVARE has seen the changes in the music industry, and especially the recording industry, over the decades. Joachim shares his thoughts on the community of Danish musicians he helped build in Studio City when he first arrived in the early '90s to his current work scoring for film and tv, in particular preschool animation, a highlight being an Emmy win for "Color Song Red" (2019). Joachim selects a work by Emil Nolde from the SMK collection.

From her studio in Glendale, Los Angeles, where she made her home about 10 years ago, florist TRINE DAHL KLUBIEN talks about her path from a flower shop on Pistolstræde in Copenhagen to one in Los Angeles, where she is sought after for her characteristic Scandinavian-California aesthetic, and where she works with a wide range of clients including Hollywood household names. Trine talks about the personal nature of the flower business and the physical demands of the work. Trine selects a work by Anna Ancher from the SMK collection.

Coming off of The Color Purple (2023), Helsingør-born Oscar-nominated Danish cinematographer DAN LAUSTSEN talks about shooting the musical in Savannah, Georgia. Dan describes his work as both technical and creative with the sole goal to help the director tell the story, and retraces his steps from the National Film School of Denmark in the '70s, to working in the U.S with directors Ole Bornedal, Guillermo del Toro, Chad Stahelski, and Blitz Bazawule, respectively. Dan selects a work by Henri Matisse from the SMK collection.