New Norwegian Films 2012 by Rushprint

Pushwagner:

«You have to find the man behind the mask»

Babycall | Company Orheim | Into the White | Escape | Back to the Square

4 | Pushwagner takes control

Even Benestad and August B. Hanssen has made a documentary on one of Scandinavia’s greatest living artists, Hariton Pushwagner alias Terje Brofors. But who has the right to stage whom?

6 | A thriller in daylight

Noomi Rapace is one of a kind, says Pål Sletaune about the lead in Babycall. Six years after the box office success Next Door, Sletaune is back with a thriller movie

8 | A fighter from the first scene

Meet Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Scandinavia’s most hard-hitting film actress. She has been busy with two new films: Roar Uthaug’s Escape and Tommy Wirkola’s Hansel and Gretel: Which Hunters

10 | When resistance causes anger

Company Orheim is the second book in Tore Renberg’ bestselling trilogy about Jarle Klepp, adapted for the big screen by Arild Andresen

12 | A chamber piece in the mountains

Through mutual need, unlikely friendship bloom. War, after all, is absurd. On Into the White, Petter Næss has been working with an international team of acclaimed actors

13 | The polar pistol

Which are the new hidden treasures of Nordic crime fiction to be found and adapted for the big screen? Let us take a look at some of the names in Norwegian crime and thriller litterature

16 | 2011: Norwegian films succeeds abroad

Impressive ticket sales at Norwegian movie theatres, heavy participation at festivals, and extensive sales of foreign rights. 2011 was good year for Norwegian films, says NFI’s Stine Helgeland

17 | Back to Tahrir Square

Where will the Egyptian revolution end? In Back to the Square Torstein Grude and Petr Lom follow several people who have suffered injustice under the current regime

19 | Digital cinema: Year one

Norway became the first country in the world where all analogue projectors in movie theatres were substituted with digital systems. How has the switch affected the smaller movie theatres?

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New Norwegian Films a magazine by Editor: Kjetil Lismoen Contributing Editor: Pia Ekeland Translation: Dag Sodtholt Thanks to: Norwegian Film Institute (NFI)

20 | Pioneers in 3D

– 3D is a new storytelling element, and that means new possibilites. Lasse Alsos is one of the producers of Norway’s first 3D-movie, Magic Silver 2

21 | Co-productions in the best sense

Two Lives and Mercy are German-Norwegian co-productions. Producers Axel Helgeland and Kristine Knudsen are part of a rising trend

22 | The Troll hunter

Producer John M. Jakobsen is a living legend of Scandinavian cinema, after 30 years in business and almost as many films. All of them regarded as box office successes

23 | The best Norwegian film of all times

Erik Løchen’s The Hunt is voted the best Norwegian film of all times by critics. His grandson Joachim Trier’s film came in third

23 | Nominated: Academy Award for Best Short

The graduation film Tuba Atlantic by Hallward Witzø won the Student Academy Award 2011, and is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short

24 | Sørfond

Sørfond will make it easier for Norwegian and international coproducers to take part in international co-productions. It is the only fund of this kind in the Nordic countries

24 | New Nordic Films

New Nordic Films is the annual market during the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund. The film industry of France and the Benelux countries will be at focus this year

25 | Sci-fi and 3D

After huge international success with, respectively, The Troll Hunter and The Last Norwegian Troll, André Øvredal and Pjotr Sapegin have both started new projects

25 | Levi’s Horse, Imagining Emanuel

Levi’s Horse is in the Generation Programme at the Belinale. Imagining Emanuel will be screened at MOMA’s Documentary Forthnight 16-28th

26 | With ignorance as strategy

Mariken Halle and Clara Bodèn have finished their feature film The World is Waiting which is produced at their own production company, Vapen och dramatik

Cover: Pushwagner. Photo: Indiefilms Design: Motorfinger, www.motorfinger.no Print: PinguinDruck GmbH Advertisement: Annette Gustavsen, mail: annette@rushprint.no

is the leading magazine for the film-and tv industry in Scandinavia For news in English: www.rushprint.no/english

Pushwagner takes control – The film starts out with the circus, then we peel that off to get to the human and brutal story, says Even Benestad, who directed Pushwagner together with August Baugstø Hanssen. by Oda Bhar In Pushwagner we get to meet one of Scandinavia’s greatest

and are devices that a documentary filmmaker would like to use.

living artists, Hariton Pushwagner alias Terje Brofos. The ini-

– I had to talk to Push and his co-operative partner Stefan

tiative came from producer Carsten Aanonsen, who has for

Stray for a long time to persuade them. They had bad experi-

many years been fascinated with Pushwagner’s art. He con-

ences with other documentary projects where the co-operation

tacted the shy artist through director Jens Lien, who used

did not work out. Push is hardly a person whom it is simple to

the painting Self Portrait as the point of departure for The

follow over a long period of time.

Bothersome Man (2006).

Directors Even Benestad and August B. Hanssen are still full

Control is one of the main themes in the documentary,

of praise.

according to directors Even Benestad and August B. Hanssen.

– Pushwagner’s possibly most incredible quality is his lack

Not only is Pushwagner in a phase of life where he is trying to

of bitterness, Hanssen says. Having gone through everything

take control, but it also develops into a struggle between artist

he has and still be able to laugh and play the game! He has a

and filmmakers. Duels and conflicts drive a lot of good fiction,

sharp tongue, but is humble and attentive. © Indiefilm AS

Pushwagner obviously has a role he is playing in public, Benestad says. Early on, he once went up to us and said: «Wonderful that you turned off the camera, because now I was really bored like shit with being a clown.» It took a long time before he learned to trust us. What Pushwagner was most afraid of, I think, is to show emotion. If he does that, afterwards he tends to say that no, it was just play-acting. How did they find the balance when it came to exposing him? – It was about sorting the material. It was important to make something that revealed him as a human being. In the film he says: «You have to find the man behind the mask.» That has been a rule to us. We have an incredible amount of material, also stuff that shows Pushwagner at his craziest, but we never considered

using that. In every single scene there is something sensible and

Even Benestad

likeable about him. He has a balanced attitude to his own pro-

Even Benestad (b. 1974), hailing from Grimstad, a small coastal town in the

blems, even when he is talking about the drinking, about the

southern part of Norway, studied cinematography at Oslo Film and Television Academy. He made his first feature-length documentary All About My Father in 2002, portraying Benestad’s relationship with his own father, a wellrespected doctor and transvestite, and how his father’s choices, behaviour and self-realisation also affect his surroundings and family. The film was, for Benestad, an intensely personal film, which was screened at more than 100 international film festivals, and received both national and international acclaim. Besides directing his second feature-length documentary Natural Born Star in 2007, Benestad has (in various capacities) also worked on several other documentaries, shorts and even features – perhaps most notably acting as

butterflies he tries to keep down.

himself as a behind-the-scenes-documentary filmmaker in the Norwegian romantic comedy “meta-film” You Said What? in 2011.

Around 2008, when the graphic novel Soft City was released, it was even more excitement than usual around Pushwagner.

Pushwagner

For his book signing at Tronsmo, Norway’s largest comic book

Pushwagner is the fascinating, at times wild and tragic, life of the artist

shop, there were enormous queues; at the opening at the Oslo

Hariton Pushwagner (aka Terje Brofos), providing insight into his life and art.

Art Society, T-shirts were sold; he was interviewed on national

Pushwagner is Norway’s most prominent representative of pop art. He enjoys

TV shows and then there was the Autumn Exhibition, Norway’s

international success: critics praise him, he has made a name at the biennales

major annual art event. In the documentary this period ends

of Berlin and Sydney, and international museums are flocking to his Oslo stu-

with a circus scene where he is cycling backwards through a

dio. Set against a backdrop of the trial against his former agent, Morten Dreyer

burning portal.

– a dispute over an art collection now considered to be worth millions –

– The films starts with the circus, all the pranks, Even

Benestad, Hanssen, and even Pushwagner himself tell an enthralling, yet

Benestad explains. Then we peel that off to find a quite human

sometimes provocative, story about an unconventional man. Who controls the

and brutal story. People think it is great fun to watch the circus.

controller? This is a central theme in many of Pushwagner’s works of art. In the

But the clown he is playing would hardly be capable of creating

film we witness the power play between the main character and the film crew.

the art he does.

Who is actually commanding who?

The idea of using 3D animation came early. Pushwagner’s art invites for 3D. – Seeing his pictures is a three-dimensional experience,

Genre: Documentary Director: Even Benestad,

Benestad says. Some of them make me dizzy. We wanted to find

August B. Hanssen

a technique that allowed us to enter the pictures.

Screenplay: Even Benestad,

Several times Pushwagner took control of the shooting of the film. – We reinforced that by building the control room from Soft City,and let him sit there before the screen, August says. – Sometimes he even dictated what we were going to do, Benestad says. Once he grabbed the camera away from me and pointed it towards me. From the outset control was a main theme of the film. – It is about taking control and letting go of control, and who has the right to stage whom. In a way, we actually got more control when he stopped being so concerned with it. As we got to know him, he gradually became more himself, as in the conversation about one of his friends, the author Axel Jensen. Then he did not have any need to control things any more.

August B. Hanssen Produced by: Carsten Aanonsen for Indie Film AS Production Year: 2011

A thriller in daylight – Noomi didn’t want to play Anna just a little – she wanted to be Anna. Her intensity during preparation and production was magical to behold, says director Pål Sletaune, who is airing his anxieties in Babycall. by Jon Inge Faldalen the Dragon Tattoo. She is visible on screen with an enormous presence. And when you meet her it becomes obvious why she is a star. She is exceptional and does the part with her entire being. She didn’t want to play Anna just a little – she wanted to be Anna. Her intensity during preparation and production was magical to behold. –Noomi is an extremely intelligent actress who can portion out her expression. She can play emotionally, using her technique only as a foundation. In a rehearsal with thirteen stops on marks, she hits all of them without anyone noticing. She has great insight into her own method and is a fantastic instrument. She will bring you to an emotional level where you haven’t been before, the director states. He admits there is a risk in letting actors have control. – A lot of the direction is in the screenplay and we are not talking about improvisation. But of course you are taking a bit of a chance. At the same time, it is supposed to look like it happens for the first time. In Babycall she plays against Kristoffer Joner. Director Pål Sletaune

– Noomi demanded to know who she was up against. She said that she wanted to rehearse with and approve all of the

The idea for Sletaunes new thriller came from a newspaper. Six

Scandinavian actors, with one exception: Kristoffer. She has

years after the critically acclaimed box office success Next Door,

seen his films and was a great fan. And it was fantastic to see

Pål Sletaune returns with a new feature film.

them together. Kristoffer Joner is world class in my view. He has

– I read a short item about someone overhearing an attack

his own special method and works out things in a context. We

through a babycall. Who is hearing it? I thought. Then came the

improvised, for example, quite a bit at the office, Sletaune says.

idea of Anna, a protagonist who is fleeing something, moving to an area of apartment buildings with her son. I had a strong intuition about who she was, but quite a few things had not surfaced

b Babycall was shot in the classical way.

– I wanted to shoot a lot from a dolly, not steadicam, which I

yet. I wanted to find out what those were. Many write a full

have bad experiences with. We built the apartment so to be able

synopsis and treatment, but I prefer to join the characters into

to run a dolly through it. It gives an authority to the storytelling,

the writing process. I also did this on Junk Mail, You Really Got

where nothing seems accidental, he says.

Me, Next Door and Babycall. In this way it becomes an exciting exploration for me while writing it, Sletaune explains.

He changed his mind during the process whether the film should have music.

For the main character he chose the rising star Noomi Rapace.

– I wanted to make a film without music. But when we star-

– It was a long casting process even though the film has few

ted cutting it became too harsh. It needed music to acheive an

characters. Casting is all-important. We had to find Anna and her

emotional resolution. We worked a bit with one composer, but

son, and also Helge, and ended up with the experienced

replaced him since our co-operation did not work out. Then we

Norwegian actor Kristoffer Joner. We auditioned many actresses

contacted Fernando Velasquez, who did the music for The

and had many good alternatives. But if you change the main part

Orphanage. He had a window between some American movies.

it will become another film. Noomi came in quite early. She was

We sent him the film in the evening, by mistake on a file without

enthusiastic about the screenplay. I wanted to work with people

subtitles. He started to watch it anyway, with the intention to

who have children themselves, who would have a feel for how

see ten minutes, but ended up seeing it all without translation.

that is like, actors with access to their own pain. She intuitively

In the morning he started to write the music. Of course he was

grasped the whole screenplay. It’s mood struck a chord, Sletaune

unable to understand everything, but got the most important:

says.

the mood. Over four days he wrote a stretch of seven or eight

a He was extremely impressed with Rapace.

– She is one of a kind. I watched her films, like The Girl with

minutes which is now included in the film. Sletaune realises that some will compare Babycall to Next Door, but the latter is different in many ways.

– Some think the film is some sort of female version of Next

hired gun type. Going forward, I would prefer to make a film

Door. But genrewise the two films are very different. Next Door

every second year. I will soon be finished with a screenplay,

was intended more like a meta film, with many quotations. This

which in a couple of months will be ready as a basis to apply for

time I wanted a more sober, realistic film, a thriller in full day-

money. It is called Thou shall kill. It will be a kind of satire,

light, not behind doors in the dark. Directing a film is a bit like a

Woody Allens meets Tarantino, Sletaune concludes.

love affair: You have a preconceived notion about how it will be and you often want something else than what is working out. It is not a good idea, however, to go through with an idea if there is another one that works better. A film should appear by itself. It has to get its own life. Babycall is a highly visual film, with long stretches without dialogue. I had many strong ideas about those images, ideas previously unrealised in my body. I am not interested in making a film that I know exactly how is going to turn out, the director says.

c The film is a mix of various genres.

– Babycall is hovering between the drama and thriller genres. I wanted to find out whether a film could do that. I am a very impatient person and like suspense. But I also want to tell a

Babycall An over-protective mother moves to a secret address with her eight-year-old son after a difficult divorce. Anna and her son Anders are under a witness protection programme following a difficult relationship with Anders’s father. Anna buys a babycall to keep track of her son, but it seems to be activated from other apartments in the block. One day she overhears what she thinks is the murder of a child. Genre: Thriller Director: Pål Sletaune Screenplay: Pål Sletaune Produced by: Marius Holst og Karin Julsrud for 4 ½ AS Production Year: 2011 International Sales: The Match Factory

story. The film has, for example, two very long dialogues. I think such scenes are the most fun to write and shoot – I love to tell things in dialogues that there is not room for elsewhere in the film. Then one can include some digressions while there is an unease beneath it all, he says. The director is happy that Babycall is finding the emotions of the audience. – When a film strikes people they become emotionally moved by it. I am very happy with that. To me this film is very personal, about my own anxieties and fears. Every character is very close to parts of myself, Sletaune says. After Babycall he wants to get going with a new project immediately.

Pål Sletaune Director, producer and screenwriter Pål Sletaune (b. 1960) holds degrees in literature, photography and art history from the University of Oslo, and has become one of Norway’s foremost directors for both feature films and commercials. Sletaune started his career directing the documentary Merz in 1991, before turning to short films with The Bingo Place in 1992. He made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed comedy drama Junk Mail in 1997. All of Sletaune’s feature films have been screened at major international film festivals like Cannes, Venice and Toronto. Sletaune is also a well-known director of commercials with several international awards, including Golden and Silver Lions in Cannes. His features have sold very well internationally, with two of his feature films also selling remake rights to the US and Australia.

– I have to work. I am a filmdirector and this is is how I make a living. I want to work on interesting projects, but I am not the

Actress Noomi Rapace playing Anna in Sletaune’s Babycall (2011). © Agnete Brun 4 1/2 AS 2011

A fighter from the first scene From a brutal medieval drama to a horror comedy about Hansel and Gretel. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal is Scandinavian cinema’s most hard-hitting film actress.

By Kjetil Lismoen

Few Scandinavian actors can match Ingrid Bolsø Berdal’s experience from acting in horror or action movies. In Cold Prey the horror movie series, she excelled in bloody physical exertion among the Norwegian mountains, interpreting the most famous “final girl” figure in Scandinavian horror cinema. Since then, in between her stage work, she has played more psychologically realistic characters, like in House of Fools and I Travel Alone. Over the last year she has been busy with two new film projects: Roar Uthaug’s action drama Escape and Tommy Wirkola’s horror comedy Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Berdal has just returned from Serbia and the shooting of the horror film The Diary of Lawson Oxford, by Paranormal Activity producer Oren Peli. Flight is an action drama set in the 14th Century. It seems like a brutal and spectacular story? – Yes, it is at times brutal, but not more than you can bring your popcorn into the dark and sit back and enjoy the film. Conditions of life were tough in that age. My character in the film is a gang leader named Dagmar who is leading her people with an iron hand. Until a certain point – and then all hell breaks loose. The role is very far from everything I have played before. It was especially interesting to work on the psychology for the part – why on earth does she act the way she does? The Cold Prey films were physically demanding, a classic horror film part. How would you compare that part with the one in Escape? – I ran a lot in Cold Prey, and run a lot in Escape as well – but the similarities stop there. Jannicke in Cold Prey was a typical “girl next door” figure, just in a little stronger version, perhaps, who in the course of the film realised that she has to fight back. Dagmar is a fighter from the first scene. In some scenes she is like an animal, she may bite before she speaks. But Dagmar also has a heart, she also has people she loves. What happens when people like Dagmar feel betrayed? I thought that was an interesting issue.

You also have a part in Tommy Wirkola’s Hollywood film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. There you play a witch attacking Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. How was that experience? – I haven’t worked on such a Hollywood production before, so it was a new experience to me. The transition was overwhelming compared to a Norwegian production, where we are 30 to 40 people on set and everyone knows everyone. Here there were 200 people on set at all times, even the second unit was double the size of a Norwegian main unit. But the job is basically the same. When the camera starts rolling, it is exactly the same job that is to be done. Both Gemma and Jeremy are very generous actors and that made me feel safe. But in the beginning, compared to before, it was much more creepy to risk “ruining” a take in front of hundreds of people with an idea that maybe came out of left field. I discussed this with Jeremy and he said that I never should think about how big or small a production was. He became very eager when he stressed that you should always be as brave as usual. What kind of film is it? It seems to be an unusual genre hybrid? – Tommy Wirkola is a director with a sharp sense of humour. The film is brimming with cool action scenes, tough witches, even tougher heroes and wonderfully exaggerated violence. I think it will be a riot of a movie. Tommy really has so many fun ideas. The film is a mix of many things, and it is probably a bit rougher around the edges than much of the streamlined stuff from Hollywood. You are also in the horror movie by Paranormal Activity producer Oren Peli, The Diary of Lawson Oxford. – It was very exciting to be part of. We shot it in Serbia and I must admit that I have never been present at so special – and creepy – locations before. I think this could be a horror film that we have never seen the like of before. I was never afraid on the set when we made the Cold Prey movies. In Serbia I was, honestly speaking, often scared. I say no more! What is the greatest challenge acting in horror movies? – The horror movies have doubtless been my most exhausting

Ingrid Bolsø Berdal

projects. You have to deal with extreme emotions, while it

Ingrid Bolsø Berdal started studying music and singing in high

is also often very physically demanding. But – I have made

school and after graduating she continued her music education

drama films that took a much longer time “to get out of the

at the University of Trondheim (NTNU), studying jazz singing

system” after the shoot. It is hard to do horror films, but there

and improvisation for two years. She moved to Oslo and was

is no genre that is more fun to see the result of afterwards. If

accepted at Oslo National Academy of Dramatic Arts (KHiO),

that result is good, of course.

where she studied acting for three years.

This is yet another job with director Roar Uthaug. How would

at The Norwegian Theatre in Oslo. After her first year at

you describe him as a director?

the theatre she received the Hedda Award (The Norwegian

Since graduating, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal has been employed

– Roar gives us actors a great deal of freedom. We contribute to the development of characters and relationships. And he is very clear if he disagrees with something. Roar is visually

Theatre Award) for Best Debut of The Year. On stage she has played both classical and contemporary plays. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal has also been working with radio

very strong and good at doing action sequences. I really like

theatre, TV and film: I Travel Alone (2011) by Stian Kristiansen,

that he wants to “take it further”, he dares to try big things

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) by Tommy Wirkola,

and enter an epic landscape. I like to work in a subtle scale,

and Bradley Parker’s The Diary of Lawson Oxford (2013). In

especially if I act in a psychologically realistic project, but

2006 she received the Amanda Award (The Norwegian Film

sometimes it is great fun to play it big as well.

Award) for Best Actress.

When resistance causes anger Can a father instill values in his son without provoking him? We have spoken to director Arild Andresen about Company Orheim, a film about anger, liberation, politics and music – and about the place of mountain hiking in Norwegian cinema.

– Company Orheim is a powerful book with a wide range of emotions. It has humour and energy, but also dark sides. Jarle’s presence in the story is intense and I thought it was suitable for cinema. It is a story of growing up and liberation, but also reconciliation, Jarle’s road back as an adult.

a From youth film to coming of age

Arild Andresen has previously made his mark as a director of films for children and youth. His best known work is the feature The Liverpool Goalie (2010), with an international premiere in Berlin in 2011. It won the Crystal Bear as best film of the Generation Kplus programme, as well as a special mention from the adult jury. For the government channel NRK Andresen has made the children’s and youth series Gutta boys (2006), the first Norwegian production to be nominated for an Emmy. Company Orheim is primarily aimed at adults. It premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival in 2012, where it competed in the Nordic programme, Dragon Awards. – In youth films you tend to give the world of adults less space, the most important is how the youths look at things. A grown-up audience will require more focus on the adult characters, but age does not at all need to be a barrier. The most important is to portray the characters with nuance, but with desires and emotions we can recognise. After all, no one has forgotten how it is to be fifteen – on the contrary, we are full of memories and references. Company Orheim Best Nordic Feature at Gothenburg Film Festival

The adaptation process was about making the story more

By Oda Bhar

concentrated and sharp, when it comes to time and conflicts.

The novel Company Orheim came in 2005 and is Tore Renberg’s

This resulted in a framing story where the adult Jarle (played by

second book about Jarle, his alter ego. Previously, two novels in

Rolf Kristian Larsen from the previous films) learns that his

the series have been adapted, The Man Who Loved Yngve (2008)

father is dead and attends his funeral. The rest goes on in 1985-

and I Travel Alone (2011). They were about Jarle’s life at high

88, with Jarle (here played by young Vebjørn Enger) attending

school and as a student in Bergen, but Company Orheim goes

school. He discovers music and politics, but has constants

back in time to meet him at a younger school stage. The director

conflicts with his father.

of the two previous films was Stian Kristiansen, while Company

– His father’s problem is that he cannot stand being contra-

Orheim (2012) is by Arild Andresen. To Andresen it is important

dicted. He wants to teach his son the important things in life,

to emphasise the independency of the new film.

overruling him instead of supporting his son having his own

– We don’t consider Company Orheim as a follow-up film. It

ideas. When Jarle talks back it becomes even more important to

is a film you can see totally independent of the previous ones. I

be right, the opposition is a trigger for his father to insist: You

read the book when it came in 2005 and immediately wanted to

must learn, you must listen to me!

film it. I have worked with this project for five years. In the childhood story the protagonist is named Jarle Orheim, while he later takes the name Jarle Klepp. Company Orheim tells

b His father and the war

Jarle discovers other political values than his father, who doesn’t

the story behind the name change: he no longer wants to bear

share his son’s interest in music. Already in the first sequence we

his father’s name. The changes in the father/son relationship

see how Jarle would rather be home and watch the famous Live

fascinated director Arild Andresen.

Aid concert, but his father forces him to go on a biking trip to

Kristoffer Joner plays Jarle’s alcoholic father in Company Orheim

Director Arild Andresen and Kristoffer Joner on the set

show him a war memorial. Why is the war so important to Terje?

– The mountains are close to us. Norwegians are a mountain

He constantly talks about it, idealising the struggle against the

people, «mountain apes», as the Danish call us. The mountains

German occupants. Once he takes his whole family mountain

also represent challenges that are dramaturgically interesting.

hiking in the footsteps of the famous heavy water saboteurs. – The heavy water incident at Rjukan is part of the national

In this case Terje wishes to express his values through the mountain trip, but his dream becomes the others’ nightmare.

consciousness and to Terje Orheim it expresses basic values. In

I have been hiking in the mountains a lot and know the chal-

hindsight, there was a debate as to how successful the mission

lenge. Hiking with a girlfriend, for example, if everything is not

was: the Germans rapidly rebuilt the plant and the Americans

working optimally… Latent conflicts will often surface. People

had to bomb it. As a sabotage mission it is still unique. A few

are small and the distances are great, every choice has big con-

brave young men go in and blow it up, get out, no one gets hurt,

sequences. If you can’t stand walking with your hiking compan-

no one is captured. It is the perfect sabotage mission. Terje isn’t

ion you have to walk home alone. It will take a lot to leave the

the only one to be fascinated, just consider the American block-

other one. Challenging circumstances put the relationships

buster Heroes of Telemark with Kirk Douglas. Terje Orheim is

under stress, Arild Andresen says.

preoccupied by bravery, loyalty and the will to fight, exert oneself and go that extra mile. I guess it is also about masculinity, the idea of men and their courage. I think that Terje believes that it must have been simple to show courage at that time, because the world was clearly defined. You had to choose sides and then struggle. He experiences his own time as more chaotic and unclear, Arild Andresen thinks.

c The mountains in Norwegian cinema

Norwegian filmmakers have always used the mountains to create drama, from Erik Løchen’s new wave film The Hunt (1959), recently chosen as the best ever Norwegian film, to Ole Giæver’s lesbian relationship drama The Mountain (2011), screened in the Panorama section at the 2011 Berlinale. The mountain hike in Company Orheim becomes dramatic as well. What is so attractive about the mountains?

Company Orheim Jarle is 24 when a phone call rouses him from his drunken sleep. It is his mother, telling him that his father is dead. Instead of sadness, Jarle is filled with anger and a sense of relief. Based on contemporary writer Tore Renberg’s bestselling novel, Company Orheim is a strong, human tale about a boy growing up with an alcoholic father, but also an energetic story about teenage lust, pain and passion, about liberation and redemption. Company Orheim is the third chapter in the trilogy about Jarle Klepp, which started with The Man Who Loved Yngve (2008) and I Travel Alone (2011). Genre: Drama Director: Arild Andresen Screenplay: Lars Gudmestad, Arild Andresen, based on Tore Renberg’s bestselling novel Company Orheim Produced by: Yngve Sæther og Sigve Endresen for Motlys AS Production Year: 2012 International Sales: NonStop Sales

Arild Andresen

Arild Andresen (b. 1967) has directed more than 100 commercials for the Moland Film Company since 1999, and has received numerous national and international awards for his work in this field, as well as for other commissioned films he’s directed. While commercials may have been his bread and butter, Andresen also worked on other productions before making his debut as a feature film director. He directed the short film Mary in 1999, and both wrote and directed the two shorts Poker Face (1996) and Sit Tight (2003). Andresen also directed the television series The Boys in 2006, which became the first Norwegian television series ever to be nominated for an Emmy Award, and was sold to TV channels and networks all across the world. Andresen made his debut as a feature film director with the highly acclaimed youth comedy The Liverpool Goalie in 2010. The film had its international premiere at the international film festival in Berlin in 2011, where it won the Crystal Bear for Best Film in the 14plus section of the Generation Competition, and received a Special Mention from the Generation International Jury of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk.

– In the history books this was a small event, but on a human level it is a important one, says director Petter Næss. Into the White is inspired by a true story.

By Pia Ekeland

On 27 April 1940, during the German invasion of Norway, bad

known from such films as Hawai,Oslo, The Kautokeino Rebellion

weather separates a German plane from its squadron. The

and The Thing. The Mechanic Josef Schwartz who grew up with

German pilot catches sight of a British plane and the two planes

Hitler as an ideal, is played by David Kross, known from the

shoot each other down. Some are injured, but due to the ability

Academy Award -winning film The Reader. The British Royal Air

of the pilots, both planes land intact. When the three Germans

Force Fighter Pilot Charles P. Davenport is a British gentleman

fight their way through the snow to seek cover in a cabin, they

played by Lachlan Nieboer, known from the science-fiction

realise to their astonishment that the two Englishmen have

series Torchwood and Downtown Abbey. British Royal Navy

arrived before them.

Gunner private Robert Smith, a wise guy from the streets of

– This war incident was not decisive for the outcome of history, but Churchill heard about it and commented upon it at the House of Commons. He called it ”an anachronism of war”, and was angry with the Englishmen because they had not done their job, Næss says.

Liverpool, is played by Rupert Grint, known from the Harry Potter-films.

b A chamber piece

Into the White is written as a chamber piece, and Næss has plans

Næss points to the fact that not all stories about Norwegians

on making a stage version. When doing the interior scenes in

during World War II, are stories about heroes of war. In Into the

a studio in Trollhättan, Sweden, all shooting was cronological.

White the Norwegians represent the logic of war and become the

Næss would throw out the crew and direct the scenes together

threat from the outside. The film is based on an incident that is

with the actors who also were allowed to improvise. They

not wholly unknown. The two pilots each wrote a book about

arranged for the crew to come in and watch a few times every

what happened, and the young Norwegian in the ski patrol

day, and the actors would also learn from this response.

described his mission in a short report.

a Two empires

– I directed a film in USA some years ago, and I made a film in Sweden with children from Kurdistan – who did not understand a single word of what I said. As a director you have to

The two pilots represent the German and British empires, and

know which story you want to tell. When I know the meaning

the two authorities are forced to share a cabin at Strynefjellet to

of a scene, I can accept input from the actors and there is no

survive the frigid temperature of their Norwegian surroundings.

prestige in where the ideas come from.

The five men desperately try to avoid becoming friends.

In Norwegian you can also lack words, and it can be difficult

– The meaninglessness of war is also about alleged hostility

to explain an intuition, that can happen in any language. Then

between nations. People who have been taught that if you are a

I choose – as I have worked as an actor before – to show it and

German you are like this, and if you are British you are like this.

say: Look at me and do not do as I do, but watch and see what it

We want to reveal that human beings on a personal level are

can contain.

very much the same shit after all. There is much absurdity in the

Næss admits that it was a big challenge to shoot in the snowy

story, and a sense of humour in how the men are portrayed. One’s

mountains, but it gave him a taste for more. The production was

sense of humour can also be a powerful weapon, Næss says.

delayed only once, when the windy weather became too cold

The cast is a team of experienced young actors. The German

for the camera and the lens froze.

Leutenant Horst Schopis, military officer in the fifth generation,

– I am a nature lover. When I have time for it, I love to go skiing

is played by Florian Lukas, one of Germany’s most acknowled-

from cabin to cabin, so it is actually a bit strange that I have not

ged actors of his generation. Navigator Sergent Wolfgang

made a film in the countryside before. It is truly impressive out

Strunker, a man of few words, is played by Stig Henrik Hoff,

there.

A Chamber Piece in the Mountains

Petter Næss Petter Næss (b. 1960) started his career as a production assistant in television, and worked as an actor before he started as a director at Centralteatret, an Oslo theatre. After directing several successful stage plays, he made his debut as a film director with the comedy drama Absolute Hangover in 1999. In 2001 he premiered the film Elling, to unison critical acclaim and some of the best ever Norwegian box office figures. The film won numerous awards at film festivals, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2005 Næss directed Love Me Tomorrow, the final film of the Elling trilogy. Since his film debut in 1999, Næss has established himself as one of Norway’s leading directors. His other films include the youth film Just Bea (2003), the Swedish children’s film Leaps and Bounds (2007), Gone With the Woman (2007) and his Hollywood debut Mozart and the Whale (2005). In 2008 he also made a rare return in front of the camera, playing the small role of Capt. Martin Linge in the epic WWII film Max Manus (a.k.a. Max Manus - Man of War).

Into the White

Into the White is an anti-war movie. High above the harsh Norwegian wilder ness, English and German pilots shoot each other to the ground after a v iolent chance encounter. Isolated, they must fight to survive the brutal winter. Though war has made them enemies, antagonism is hard to maintain as days go by. Through mutual need, unlikely friendships bloom. Somehow, they become comrades. War, after all, is absurd. Genre: Drama Director: Petter Næss Screenplay: Ole Meldgaard, Petter Næss, Dave Mango Produced by: Peter Aalbæk Jensen for Zentropa International Norway Production Year: 2012 Language: Norwegian, English, German International Sales: TrustNordisk ApS

Support and invest in film, tv and game productions within central Norway. We assist in finding locations and local staff. www.midtnorskfilm.no

Martin Scorsese is to direct a film based on Jo Nesbø’s bestseller The Snowman. © Aschehoung

The polar pistol Which are the hidden treasures of Nordic crime fiction to be found and adapted after the Millennium trilogy about Lisbeth Salander? Let us take a look at some trends within Norwegian thriller and crime literature. BY Oda Bhar

In the wake of the success of Stieg Larsson’s heroine Lisbeth

films, as well as the Swedish and British TV series about Kurt

Salander, Scandicrime and Nordic Noir have become terms

Wallander (played by Kenneth Branagh in the latter). Writer

to reckon with, and not limited to the Millennium trilogy.

Anne Holt has a versatile professional background, as a former

Distinguishing features of Scandinavian crime fiction are anti-

police lawyer, practicing lawyer, TV news anchor and even

heroes, powerfully drawn environments and a dark approach

Minister of Justice for a short period in the 1990s. Her most

that goes deeper than the usual cops-and-robbers movies. Now

well-known books are about a lesbian police investigator, but

the novels of Norwegian author Jo Nesbø are lined up, featuring

Yellow Bird has decided to adapt one of her more recent works

the rough and self-destructive, but very capable and intuitive

about a male police investigator and a female psychologist and

policeman Harry Hole. It was recently announced that Martin

lawyer with a background from the FBI.

Scorsese is to direct the first film, based on Nesbø’s bestseller The Snowman.

Other writers in the psychological and socially aware field are Kim Småge, Pernille Rygg and Ingrid Berglund, the latter with a

Jo Nesbø is far from an unknown name to international crime

psychologist as the protagonist. A male example, Torkil

readers, and last year he was at the top of the official bestseller

Damhaug, is a psychiatrist himself and is actively using his

list in Great Britain, something that has happened only once

expert knowledge, when dreams and repressed memories are

before to a translated author, and that was Stieg Larsson. Who

used to build the suspense in books that are close to the psycho-

are the other candidates for the next Nordic crime success?

logical thriller.

Where should filmmakers start looking for screenplay options?

a Psychological depths

b Historical enigmas

A kind of crime fiction that has received a lot of attention is the

Several bestsellers in Norwegian crime fiction since the 1990s

historical mystery thriller. The most prominent Norwegian prac-

are written by women. Important names are Karin Fossum, Unni

titioner is Tom Egeland, a well-known newspaper and TV jour-

Lindell and Anne Holt, all of them with psychologically-oriented

nalist who in 2001 broke through with Relic. This novel has also

plots that look deeply into dark souls. They are as concerned

been named «the Norwegian Da Vinci Code», and some even

with what happens when madness takes over as with investi-

suggested that Dan Brown had plagiarised Egeland, something

gations and resolution.

which Egeland himself emphatically denies. He thinks that they

Several novels by Fossum and Lindell have been adapted for

simply have studied the same mythical material. Egeland’s pro-

films and TV. Holt has seen two adaptations so far, but the pro-

tagonist is the albino archaeologist Bjørn Beltø, who is especially

duction company Yellow Bird recently bought options for sev-

fascinated by codes and myths of ancient Christian, Egyptian

eral of her books. Yellow Bird produced the Swedish Millennium

and Norse times.

An senior Norwegian author with a similar field of interest is Gert Nygårdshaug, who in a series of crime novels about the food

d The urbane – hard-boiled or realistic?

The most usual type of crime fiction in Norway, by far, is con-

and wine connoisseur Fredric Drum takes us on journeys to far-

temporary “whodunnit” novels, usually with a policeman or an

away places like Italy, Egypt and Mexico to decipher old codes.

investigator duo as protagonists. Private detectives are far more

There are also writers who work with more recent history. The

rare, something that mirrors the actual situation in Scandinavia.

Danish-Norwegian Kurt Aust, who is writing historical crime

What distinguishes these novels from each other is often the

fiction from, for example, the 18th Century Denmark-Norway.

environment. The story may take place in a certain city or

Vidar Sundstøl, who recently broke through with the so-called

use an exotic landscape, as in the “polar crime” novels of two

Minnesota trilogy, about a US policeman of Norwegian descent

excellent female writers: Glaciologist and polar explorer Monica

who during an investigation of a murder of a tourist stumbles

Kristensen writes about Svalbard, while Jorun Thørring divides

upon Indian myths and a 100-year-old murder mystery.

her writing between a series set in Tromsø about a Sami inves-

c The international political thriller

tigator, and stories about a policeman from Northern Norway who works for the Paris police.

The most famous adaptation of a Norwegian spy thriller from

As genres, the police and detective novels fall into two types:

an international scene is Orion’s Belt (1978), based on a novel by

the hard-boiled and the realistic ones. Two of the realism-ori-

the leftist radical Jon Michelet, who is writing crime fiction in the

ented writers are themselves policemen: Jørn Lier Horst sets his

tradition of Swedish authors Sjöwall and Wahlöö.

action in his home town of Larvik, and Bjørn Bottolfs’s investiga-

More recent authors often write about environments of

tor does not sit behind a desk but is on patrol in Oslo. Other

which they have first-hand knowledge, like Tom Kristensen, a

popular examples are Jørgen Gunnerud, Magnhild Bruheim and

financier who sets his John Grisham-like thrillers in the finance,

Knut Faldbakken, as well as Jan Mehlum, who writes about a

oil, shipping company or aid industries. The retired pilot, engi-

lawyer in Tønsberg. Interesting are also the advertising guru

neer and airport manager Arild Rypdal had to flee the Germans

Kjetil Try and the successful musical and opera singer Øistein

to Great Britain as a boy during World War II, where his father

Wiik, who sets his crime stories on the European jet set scene.

got a position in the MI6. Rypdal’s childhood home became a

The hard-boiled contemporary novels may lean towards noir

haunt for agents, which inspired him to write spy thrillers

or novels centred on criminals, emphasising the unsentimental

focussed on the MI6. The promising newcomer Olav Njølstad

and brutal. Most important in Norway is Gunnar Staalesen, who

helds a position as research manager at the Nobel Institute in

has written a number of bestsellers about the dishevelled pri-

Oslo, and his writings are based on international politics during

vate detective Varg Veum, many of them adapted. Other house-

the Cold War.

hold names to Norwegian crime readers are Kjell Ola Dahl, Fredrik Skagen, Morten Harry Olsen and Kjersti Scheen, who writes about a female private detective.

Welcome to the 8th annual

Trondheim inTernaTional Film FesTival

march 19–25 2012

introducing the new directors award kosmorama.no facebook.com/kosmorama twitter.com/kosmoramafilm

Back to Tahrir Square © Piraya Film

– The threat picture was chaotic. When we have previously worked under totalitarian regimes, the opponent has been more clearly defined, says director Petr Lom and producer Torstein Grude. In the documentary Back to the Square they follow several characters in Egypt who have suffered injustice at the hands of the current post-revolutionary military regime. By Kjetil Lismoen Ten months after the euphoria of Tahrir Square and Mubarak’s

orient himself against the fate of regular Egyptians.

fall, Egypt’s revolution remains incomplete: more than 12,000

– Some journalists tipped me off about the story of the blog-

protesters have been arrested by the army and secret police,

gers Mark and Maikel Nabil, but also about another blogger who

sentenced by summary military tribunals, and often tortured. It

got arrested by Mubarak in 2005. The same with the story of

shows how the systematic use of violence and fear by Mubarak’s

15-year-old Wally Hosni who was thrown into the turbulent

regime continues unchanged after the revolution.

”Day of the Camel”, where riders on horses or camels entered

Director Petr Lom and producer Torstein Grude of Piraya

Tahrir Square and beat up demonstrators. A central theme of the

Film originally wanted to make a film about Mohamed

film is police brutality. I got permission from the Minstry of the

ElBaradei, who at an early stage appeared as one of leading

Interior to visit a prison – as the first Western journalist. After a

figures of the Egyptian revolution.

week I realised that much had stayed the same. And it was there

– I had come into contact with ElBaradei one year before the revolution. Someone had tipped me off about what could be brewing in Egypt. When the revolution became a fact I joined

we found another of the film’s stories. Lom and Grude worked under the Chinese radar on On a Tightrope. But that was simpler in many ways, they say.

him going to Egypt. But I gradually realised that the film would

– It is always a risk connected to being present during the first

not be about him. For various reasons, I became more interested

days of a revolution. You get easily scared since you don’t know

in ordinary people’s lives in Egypt and how they reacted to what

what is happening. It is a lot of suspicion towards foreigners in

happened around them. I started to gather various human fates

Egypt, especially towards those with a camera.

and their stories. After a couple of months we decided that the theme should be injustice. It is still difficult to predict where the Egyptian revolution will end, Lom and Grude emphasise. Therefore it has not been easy to predict how the film will end. Much in Egypt is still the same, Lom explains.

– When we have previously worked under totalitarian regimes, the opponent or the ”enemy” have been clearly defined, Grude says. – Here there was an upheaval that no one knew how would turn out, and where the threat picture was chaotic . Grude has produced a string of award-winning documentaries about exposed human beings under totalitarian regimes.

– The lack of rights and the abuse have been going on for so

Yodok Stories is about prison camps in North Korea, Belarussian

many years that it won’t disappear like that. The stories we have

Waltz about the lack of free speech in Belarus, while On a

decided to tell has something universal about them; they are

Tightrope portrays the conditions of life for a persecuted

about government abuse against individuals. In this way it can

Moslem group in China.

be a metaphor for every closed and restrictive society.

– During my entire adult life I have been concerned with

Making a documentary is about looking for and meeting

human rights. But especially the co-operation with the

people, Lom thinks. It was when he filmed a press conference

Norwegian Rafto Foundation, which helped finance our the first

with ElBaradi during the first week in Egypt that he started to

three films, has been inspiring and stimulating.

Being a producer is not a simple profession to begin with. Making films about and from totalitarian states does not make it simpler. This type of film projects requires very good insight into human nature and an ability to judge situations, Grude says. – Petr has several times worked in dangerous areas. He is a tall guy, 2 meters and 10. So it is not much use for him trying to hide. When he enters dangerous areas nobody thinks he is there with a hidden agenda, and that can actually have a disarming effect. – Directors on such projects have to share their protagonists’ fears and at the same time deliver cinematic content on a high level. They cannot become so afraid that they freeze up, but they cannot be fearless either, without contact with the realities around them and their team. They make up a special league of sensitive tough guys.

Back to the Square A year after the euphoria of Tahrir Square and Mubarak’s fall, Egypt’s revolution remains incomplete: many continue to suffer from government-inflicted cruelty. More than 12 000 protesters have been arrested by the army and secret police, sentenced by summary military tribunals, and often tortured. The film follows several people who have suffered injustice at the hands of the current post-revolutionary military regime. It shows how the systematic use of violence and fear by Mubarak’s regime continues after he has been ousted from power. Genre: Documentary, 80’ Director: Petr Lom Screenplay: Torstein Grude, Petr Lom Produced by: Torstein Grude for Piraya Film Language: Arabic Production Year: 2012 International Sales: Kudos Family Distribution AS

Torstein Grude Torstein Grude (b. 1971) holds a degree in media theory and film history from the University of Bergen (1994), and studied at the London International Film School, graduating in 1997. He has directed several documentary films, and works as a director, cinematographer and producer at Piraya Film AS, a company that he also founded. In addition to his own efforts as a director and producer, Grude has also worked in various technical capacities on over 100 other productions.

Petr Lom Petr Lom (b. 1968) hails from Prague, Czechoslovakia, but grew up in Canada, and received his Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Harvard University in 1997. He gave up his academic career in 2004 to pursue a full-time career as a documentary filmmaker, making his debut with Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan the same year. He has since written, directed and produced several documentary films and television series, and runs his own documentary production company Lom Films. Grude and Lom with Mark at Rotterdam International Film Festival 2012

LOOK TO NORWAY - A LOCATION WITH A DIFFERENCE

PHONE: +47 22 47 45 00 - POST@NORWEGIANFILM.COM - WWW.NORWEGIANFILM.COM

2011: Norwegian films succeed abroad 2011 was a very good year for Norwegian cinema. Impressive ticket sales for Norwegian movie theatres, heavy participation at international festivals, and extensive sales of foreign rights, says Stine Helgeland at The Norwegian Film Institute. By Morten Steingrimsen – The Troll Hunter, Happy, Happy, Turn Me On, Goddammit,

the meaning of life» story, and

Oslo, August 31st and Headhunters were all programmed at

is also a sensitive celebration

important film festivals, like Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes and

of Oslo. Based on a familiar

Toronto, receiving a very good response, says Stine Helgeland,

novel and film, it fits very well

Director of the Department of Promotion and International

into the classical, intellectual

Relations at the Norwegian Film Institute.

French way of film storytell-

– All of these films have a very well defined concept, a limited

ing. Joachim Trier is a hugely

universe and a clear story. Happy, Happy and Turn Me On,

talented young director, and

Goddammit also have powerful female stories with refreshing

he showed with his debut

and original angles on how girls and women ofte n are portrayed

Reprise that he could capture

on film. Their basis is a small, and typically Norwegian country-

the zeitgeist and say some-

side universe, but they come across as universal stories – and

thing important about a gen-

stories that are very well told.

eration and our age.

Stine Helgeland © NFI

Happy, Happy won The Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance

Headhunters received its international premiere at Piazza

Film Festival, and according to Helgeland Happy, Happy suits

Grande during the Locarno Film Festival, and was later screened

this major US arena for indie films very well.

at the Toronto International Film Festival.

– The film has an «independent» style, something I think is

– The plan was to get the film to Toronto, and the Locarno

caused by the Maipo Minimal Concept, which means limits on

screening came almost as a bonus. But already in Berlin and

the number of locations and actors. Perhaps the winter land-

Cannes, almost a year before the Toronto screening, Headhunters

scape also appeals to this festival, which takes place in the

was presold to several large distributors, including Magnolia in

middle of winter in the Utah mountains. Happy, Happy seems

the US. The Scandinavian crime wave has conquered the world.

very exotic internationally, with its typical Norwegianness and

Headhunters is mastering this genre to perfection. The film is

episodes of absurd humour. Director Anne Sewitsky thought it

efficient, suspenseful and appeals to a wide audience. In addi-

was almost as if her film had arrived at home when it was

tion to that, it is based on a novel by Jo Nesbø, a Norwegian star

screened at Sundance.

of world literature, Stine Helgeland says.

Filmkameratene presented The Troll Hunter as a secret ”work-in-progress” event during Fantastic Fest in Austin. – This was a quite a risk to take, since the film was not slated for a Norwegian premiere until a few months later and it had not been showed to an audience before. Fantastic Fest is not among the largest festivals, but it attracts a big and very enthusiastic genre audience who are highly active on film blogs and other internet forums. The audience loved what they saw and told the whole world about it. Fantastic Fest positioned The Troll Hunter in an excellent way and this probably contributed to Sundance also becoming aware of it.

2011 – an outstandig year for Norwegian cinema Ticket sales for Norwegian films in theatrical release reached 2,855,000 in 2011, the highest since 1975. The marked share was a record high of 24.5% for Norwegian films in movie theatres in Norway. 2011 was also the year when the international film industry joined André Øvredal’s troll hunt in the Norwegian mountains. 45 international film festivals have screened The Troll Hunter and so far it has been sold to more than 50 countries. Headhunters tops the Nordic sales figures with more than 65 countries, while Happy, Happy and The Troll Hunter follow closely with sales to more than 50 countries.

As the first Norwegian film ever, Jannicke Systad Jacobsen’s feature film Turn Me On Goddammit was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Screenplay. – Tribeca is a relatively new festival and they look for new voices and stories. I guess it was the quirky story of horny Alma that appealed to them. In this film as well, a very local and typical Norwegian environment is emphasised. Oslo, August 31st received its world premiere in the prestigious section «Un Certain Regard» in Cannes. Joachim Trier attracted attention in Cannes with his debut Reprise, and he was received well also this time. – Oslo, August 31st tells a timeless «young man searching for Headhunters © Nordisk Filmdistribusjon

Digital Cinema: Year One The switch to digital cinema in Norway could have meant the end for many small movie theatres, but they experience a strong attendance increase, says Jørgen Stensland from Film & Kino. By Marius Øfsti The great majority of Norwegian cinemas and almost all of the

90 screenings already during the opening weekend. Therefore

smaller ones, are run and/or financed by local government.

the independent distributors expect they will have to have to

Only 20 out of nearly 200 Norwegian movie theatres turned a

pay the largest part of the distributors’ VPF, even though

profit before the digitalisation. When it became inevitable that

Hollywood represents a majority of the screenings.

cinemas would turn digital, it was a risk that many of Norway’s

The financial support for «quality films» is complicated and

cinema theatres would not be able to afford the digital equip-

has seen some changes. The support has to be applied for for

ment.

each title, and is given per screening, up to 90. After that it is

This is why Film & Kino and some of the largest Norwegian

cancelled. The consequence has been that films have been

cinemas together with the independent distributors, in 2005

withdrawn after 90 screenings, even though audiences still

began to plan a switch to digital projection. Negotiations with

want to see the film. This happened to Joachim Trier’s acclai-

Hollywood started in 2007, and in 2010 the financing was in

med Oslo, August 31st (2011).

place. During the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011, Norway became the first country in the world where all analogue projectors were substituted with digital systems.

c Increased film availability

The independent distributors’ struggle against the agreement

– Today there is 184 movie theatres in Norway compared to

could also be an expression of anxiety about the future. There

199 in 2007, and some closed down during the digitalisation. But

is a surplus of films to choose from when cinemas are deciding

there are plans for about 30 new theatres, so we will soon be

what to show, and audiences must get used to the fact that

back to the level of 2007, Stensland says.

films will run for a shorter period of time. Even if ticket sales

a Virtual Print Fee

are increasing, the profits will be spread out among many more films. This is not a problem for the cinemas, but distributors

The transition to digital cinema in Norway is the result of a

have to share the earnings with more producers. The increase

unique co-operation that involves the cinemas, Film & Kino

at the smaller cinemas suggests they have used the new oppor-

and both Hollywood and independent Norwegian distributors.

tunities well, and that audiences value the access to more and

Through a Virtual Print Fee (VPF) the distributors will cover

newer films, and thereby accept shorter screening periods.

40% of the costs of the digitalisation. The deal was negotiated

In June 2012, one year after every Norwegian cinema went

between Film & Kino and the Hollywood studios, and later offe-

digital, the VPF deal will be evaluated. Disagreements will pro-

red to the independent distributors. The final negotiations tur-

bably remain between independent distributors and Film &

ned out to be more difficult than expected, largely because the

Kino, but big changes are not expected. More likely, the industry

VPF meant a change to the distributor’s business model.

will draw a breath of relief over a successful transition. Now that

When films were screened on 35mm, the distributors wanted to get every single print screened as many times as possible.

Hollywood is reluctant to make further VPF deals, it seems that Norway’s initiative came in the nick of time.

Almost all costs were connected to the making of the prints. In some cases, the VPF will soon exceed the distributor’s expected revenue. Therefore the distributor might want to withdraw films that cinemas still would want to show.

b Limiting the withdrawal

Two elements of the VPF deal intend to limit such withdrawals. Only the first 90 screenings will have the VPF, and the cinemas have access to financial support from Film & Kino for the screening of «quality films». These two elements have been the core of the conflict. A VPF for every screening would have created problems for the smallest cinemas. Even though the Norwegian VPF is low compared to the rest of Europe, few films would have earned more than the VPF at the smallest theatres, which would limit the availability for these cinemas. Small independent distributors fear the large blockbusters that will often reach more than

Digital cinemas: increased business The smaller Norwegian cinemas have seen a growth a growth of 50% compared to 2010. The growth is just under 6%, but the turnover increased with 9%. The increased is caused by the fact that 3D movies have seen a substantial growth after the digitalisation. In 2010 12% of all screenings were in 3D, and 25% in 2011. The total number of screenings is increased by 10%. 423 movie theatres out of 460 joined the agreement. Most of the theatres not digitalised, did not meet Film & Kino’s stipulation of at least one screening a week. The digitalisation seems to expand the number of cinemas, and it is still possible to join the financial support system for digital equipment.

Film & Kino is a member organisation for Norwegian municipalities and an industry organisation for the cinema and video industries. The organisation, established in 1917, administers the Norwegian Cinema and Film Foundation and runs the Mobile Cinema and S-Kino. www.kino.no/english

Pioneers in 3D – 3D is a new storytelling element and that means new possibilities, says Lasse Greve Alsos, who is one of the producers of Norway’s first 3D movie, Magic Silver 2. By ANDERS FAGERHOLT

Lasse Greve Alsos, who has produced Magic Silver 2 together

to Norsk Film’s props warehouse, a lot of the things there are

with Jørgen Storm Rosenberg, explains that there is scientific

imitations in plastic. This works fine in 2D, but in 3D it will

research on how 3D affects audiences, for example an experi-

reveal itself as plastic. You have to get things that look more real.

ment performed at the University of Helsinki.

You also need a larger crew on a 3D movie.

– They had two different audiences. One audience saw a shot

– In addition to the usual crew, we got assistance from a team

of a sleeping child in 2D, the other in 3D. The 3D audience felt

from England – for example a stereographer, who takes care of

much closer to the person on the screen.

the 3D part. He brings along a stereograph assistant, who in

When Alsos and Rosenberg decided to do Magic Silver 2 in 3D,

principle functions as a second unit cinematographer. While the

like many they were inspired by great 3D successes like Avatar.

second unit cinematographer is adjusting the focus, the stereo-

But it was Street Dance that convinced them that it was possible

grapher is adjusting the convergence point. In addition there is

to make the film.

an even greater need for a DIT, and even greater need for video

– Street Dance was made in London, on something that loo-

assist and 3D playback. Because the stereographer constantly

ked more like a Nordic budget. We realised then that it would be

has to check the footage. You also have a digilab on set, with

possible to this in Norway. We contacted the people working on

three people who are checking that the 3D is working and that

the film and started researching what it would take. Magic Silver 2

the cameras are in synch.

was the right film for us to do 3D on. You are drawn into the

The shooting team came from Vision 3 in London and the post-

fairytale-like universe, allowing us to achieve the magic atmo-

production team from Post Republic in Berlin. Both teams have

sphere we want.

experience from big Hollywood productions. The Vision 3 team

a 3D AFFECTS EVERY LINK IN THE CHAIN

came straight from Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Alsos tells us that they have received very positive feedback

During the screenwriting process you have to think possibilities

from these international operators, and that they often show

in a new way, Alsos says.

scenes from the film to others, as examples of good use of 3D.

– You have to find the type of scenes suitable for 3D. The cutting

– I think this is so because our approach was quite humble. We

rhythm will also be different. A 3D movie emphasises mise-en-

felt that this was a situation where they brought the compe-

scène and favours longer takes, where you can really be at rest

tence to us. I think they felt that they had a greater impact on

and take in the space.

the result and what had to happen to make it the best possible

– Where to put the convergence point between the two

3D. On many other productions you can see that they shoot it

camera lenses is important in 3D. This decides where you set the

almost like a 2D film, with a worse 3D as a result. Here they hel-

depth. Do you want the depth inwards, into the screen, or out-

ped laying the groundwork from the start.

wards? There are various methodologies to shooting in 3D. Since this was a pioneering project, we decided to go for the method where we can see the result at once. We decided on the depth while shooting, and the only thing we can do in post-production

b THE FUTURE OF 3D

Alsos thinks it is unfortunate that so many recent 3D films are bad. He is especially critical towards post-converted 3D.

is to adjust it a little back and forth, compared to the screen

– This destroys the market for 3D, because regular audiences

plane. We could sit on the set and see the result, knowing that

are not aware of the difference. They have attended a badly

this is basically what we will get. We chose this method since we

post-converted film and go ”Is this what 3D films are like? This

wanted to know at once that what we have on tape now, we

was not so cool.” I hope this will end.

really have. It is also more difficult to cheat and get away with cost-cutting effects. – The first Magic Silver movie was shot in the studio and we built a cave out of plaster that was painted to look like stone. This won’t work in 3D. In this film we decided to go on location in some cobalt mines. We had to enter through a 150-meter

He is still positive as to the future of the 3D format. – Personally I think 3D is such an interesting new storytelling element that I hope there will still be an opportunity in the market for it, to the advantage of both filmmakers and audiences. But not every movie is suitable for 3D. Alsos also thinks there are quite good opportunities for 3D movies in the Norwegian film industry.

passage, 40 meters underground. We even made a custom-built

– The costs will go down as more equipment become standar-

elevator to transport several tons of equipment. Logistically, it

dised. The threshold for making a 3D film becomes lower. We

was more challenging for us, but what we gain visually is really

also have a great advantage in the Norwegian way of distributing

fantastic.

films digitally. It is not in every country that you are able to

– Texture is also important in props and costumes. If you go

show your film in 3D everywhere.

Co-productions in the best sense The films Two Lives and Mercy are co-productions that concern both Germany and Norway equally much, says the Norwegian co-producers. Both films are part of a rising trend of German and Norwegian co-productions. By Tommy Gjerald The German-Norwegian co-production Two Lives (Zwei Leben) is a hybrid of two genres – family drama and spy thriller. The story

The fact that Norway and Germany enjoy a very productive co-operation does not surprise Axel Helgeland.

is about Stasi’s exploitation of Norwegian Lebensborn children

– Germans are fond of Scandinavian cinema. Every year

after the war, camouflaged as a family secret. Directed by Georg

three or four Norwegian productions have theatrical release in

Maas from Germany, the main character is played by Juliane

Germany. There are several interesting financial support sys-

Köhler from Germany, and the also cast include Norwegian

tems for film production in Germany, and the producers are

actors Liv Ullmann and Sven Nordin.

easy going to work with. They are very professional with a high

– Two Lives is inspired by historical references to events that actually happened. It is set in both countries, but primarily in Norway, producer Axel Helgeland says.

level of precision, Helgeland says. The co-operation is seeing a positive development. Much of the reason for this is that Norway has joined The European

Mercy (Gnade) which is in the competition programme at the

Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production.

Berlinale, was shot in the world’s northernmost city,

– Positive things have developed regarding Germany as a

Hammerfest, and in Hamburg. The German auteur Matthias

co-operative partner. It has been an active two-way co-opera-

Glasner has taken on a Scandinavian story written by the

tion. The previous film I co-produced with German partners ran

successful Danish screenplay writer, Kim Fupz Aakeson, and the

into trouble because Norway was not connected to The

film is produced by Kristine Knudsen.

European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production. It is

Mercy portrays a big theme where the inner conflicts are expressed in the violent landscape, Knudsen explains. – Hammerfest is an international small city, to which many foreigners have moved to work in the gas industry – including Germans. The central parts are played by a mix of German and

a great advantage that we are now a part of the agreement, with a 10% German share being enough to get a project approved as a German production, Helgeland says. He has a clear strategy for how to achieve increased cooperation between the two countries. – We have to continue building and qualify relations, on an

Norwegian star actors. – Mercy is the first ever feature film to be made in the area,

official and a personal level. It is important, it gives an increased

but the enthusiasm from local resources was completely incre-

focus and professional attention for future projects, Helgeland

dible. Locals joined the film as interns, actors and extras, and

concludes.

we had to improvise and be open to changes, not least because of the changing weather, she adds.

Mercy (Gnade)

Two Lives (Zwei Leben)

Genre: Drama Director: Matthias Glasner Screenplay: Kim Fupz Aakeson Produced by: Kristine Knudsen, Matthias Glasner, Andreas Born for Knudsen & Streuber Medienmaufaktur GmbH, Schwarzweiss Filmproduktion GmbH, Ophir Film GmbH AS Norwegian Co-Producer: Aage Aaberge for Neofilm Production Year: 2012 Country: Germany, Norway International Sales: Beta Cinema

Genre: Drama Director: Georg Maas Screenplay: Georg Maas, Cristoph Tölle, Ståle Stein Berg Produced by: Zinnober Film- und FernsehProduktion Norwegian Co-Producer: Axel Helgeland for Helgeland Film Country: Germany, Norway, Denmark

A German family are moving to the world’s northernmost city, Hammerfest, in an attempt to start a new life. But a terrible accident turns their lives upside down and forces the question: What role does innocence play for the family’s happiness?

Kristine Knudsen

Europe 1990. The Berlin wall has just crumbled. Katrine, raised in East Germany, now living in Norway since more than 20 years, is a “war child”. A lawyer asks her and her mother to be witnesses in a trial against the Norwegian state on behalf of the war children, but she resists. Her loved ones are forced to take a stand: What carries more weight, the life they have lived together, or the lie it is based on?

Axel Helgeland ©Tom Trambow

– To enter an unknown landscape and deal with new challenges, that is the

The Troll Hunter

fun part, says Norway’s most prominent producer John M. Jacobsen, who will finally see his dream project become reality.

By Sølve Skagen © Scanpix

After nearly 30 years and almost as many films, all of them regarded as box office successes, producer John M. Jacobsen is a living legend in Scandinavian cinema. Filmkameratene is arguably the most successful production company in Norwegian film history. What is your formula for success? – If there is any formula, it is always to make the film you would like to see, not the one you think others would like to see. We have a good team at Filmkameratene, and most of the time we are in agreement when we come across a project with potential. We did the deal on The Troll Hunter (2010) during our first meeting with André Øvredal. We just looked at each other and …wow! We must try to make this film! I guess it goes that fast very rarely? – In most cases it actually goes that fast – but usually in the other direction, unfortunately. That does not necessarily mean that the project is no good, but that we are already doing something similar. Or we know that others do. Or we cannot see any challenge in the project. And without a challenge there is no fun in it. What production of yours has been the most challenging? – Body Troopers (1996), without a doubt. Something like that had never been made in Norway before, maybe not in the entire Europe. The CGI technique was in its infancy, neither had we any experience in blending model shots and live action. There was a lot of trying and failing. It sold 350,000 tickets in its Norwegian theatrical release and is still selling on DVD. Spelling bought the world rights, today it is handled by Paramount. In Germany alone it was released in 200 prints. Can one say that Filmkameratene is based on making hits? – Of course we want to make successful films, and we have almost always done that. The only film we weren’t sure whether there was a wide audience for, was Only Clouds Move the Stars (1998). But the screenplay was so good that there was nothing else to do but give the green light. In the future I don’t think it will be possible to survive as a film producer without a high hit factor. The movie theatres will not keep films on long enough for them to «find their audience», as it is called. Not that I think that audiences would be interested in finding them. Today audiences know what they want to see long before the curtain is raised for the first screening.

The Troll Hunter has become a formidable success, also abroad? – For about six months it was Norwegian cinema’s greatest film export success of all times, possibly with the exception of Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975) which we don’t have verifiable figures on. Without knowing the numbers for Headhunters (2011) in detail I have a feeling that Friland and Yellowbird now have beaten us. That’s great. Two Norwegian successes like that happening within the same year is fantastic. We must also not forget Happy, Happy (2010). And we sold Max Manus (2008) to more than 40 countries. This is a sign that foreigners finally are discovering Norwegian cinema. Hopefully this is the start of a trend, for success has a tendency to breed success. Is The Troll Hunter a greater success than Pathfinder? – A really difficult question. Pathfinder (1987) was a megasuccess in a Norwegian context, but reports from abroad were often inaccurate. We actually don’t know how great that success was, even though we know that it was screened all around the world. But even if we adjust for inflation and the dollar exchange rate, we have received more money from export markets for The Troll Hunter than for Pathfinder. You closed a deal on The Troll Hunter in the first meeting – are you able to foresee a success? – It doesn’t work that way. What I can foresee is whether I would like to see that film myself, if it turns out as expected. Then the hope is that I am in tune with the market. The Troll Hunter was a very interesting challenge and we realised of course that it was something we could sell in theory, but we didn’t know if Øvredal would deliver a finished product that lived up to its potential. It was a process where Filmkameratene as a production company also had something to contribute. Do you have any unrealised dream projects? – One film we would have liked to make is an adaption of Erik Fosnes Hansen’s novel Psalm at Journey’s End, and we actually thought we would make it. But alas, a gentleman named James Cameron decided to make his version of Titanic and then we could just forget about ours. My dream project has always been Hamsun’s Victoria. I already started working on it in 1974. And now we will finally make that film. It is important not to lose faith.

The Hunt: Best film of all times Erik Løchen is Scandinavian cinema’s forgotten modernist.

In December

Norwegian critics chose Løchen’s The Hunt as the best ever Norwegian film, with a film by his grandchild Joachim Trier in third place. The film magasine Rushprint assigned 30-odd film critics, film scholars and curators the task of assembling their own list of the ten best ever Norwegian films released theatrically. Erik Løchen’s groundbreaking The Hunt turned out to be the clear choice. The Hunt was a small film revolution when it was released in 1959. The following year

nuance. Perhaps it was too subtle – dare

characters and their deep, almost crush-

it was selected for the main competition

one say too Norwegian? – in the sense of

ing sense of exposure - to each other, to

in Cannes, where it attracted attention

understatement, of controlled emotions,

themselves, to their environment - lends

and recieved an award for its sound. But

but surely one doesn’t need a therapist’s

a certain magnificence to the intimate love

in Norway Løchen’s break with traditio-

degree or a PhD in the Norwegian charac-

triangle.

nal storytelling got a lukewarm reception.

ter to appreciate the depth of feeling, not

The film needs to be seen, and Joachim

Variety critic Jay Weissberg points out in

to mention the playfulness, that Løchen

Trier’s justified championing of his

his piece on the film in Rushprint, that it

brings to his debut. I have no hesitation in

grandfather’s work will hopefully increase

is exactly this approach that is the film’s

saying it’s one of the best films I’ve seen

Løchen’s exposure worldwide. For me,

raison d’être. Løchen plays with time and

recently, from any period. The Hunt has a

the discovery of Erik Løchen reinforces

space, wraps the mountains of Norway in

fresh inventiveness that’s intimately tied

the sense, which should be in every

elegant jazz music and shows us the pos-

to the story, and notwithstanding our

cineaste’s head, of how limited our

sibilities of cinema:

foreknowledge of the conclusion, the

exposure is to the galaxy of filmdirectors

”The Hunt is a film that’s brimming

ending is still deeply disturbing. In addi-

barely explored outside their own coun-

with insight and character, beautifully

tion, Løchen’s stunning use of landscape,

tries. We all have a lot of catching up to

modulated for maximum psychological

highlighting the solitary nature of the

do.”

Nominated: Academy Award for best short says director Hallvar Witzø.

The Norwegian student production Tuba Atlantic is among the Academy Awards

Tuba Atlantic is the first Norwegian

nominees for Best Short Film. The film

student film to receive an Academy

is one of five shorts that could receive an

Awards nomination, and the first

Oscar statuette at the world’s most cele-

Norwegian live action short film to be

brated film awards at the ceremony 26

nominated. In 2007 Norwegian director

February 2012 ...

Torilll Kove’s short animation film, The Danish Poet (Den danske dikteren),

Tuba Atlantic by Hallvar Witzø, is a graduation film from the Norwegian Film

was nominated and won the trophy.

School. The film has already received an Academy Award: it was voted the best Foreign Student Film at the 38th Annual

Tuba Atlantic

Student Academy Awards in Hollywood in June 2011. – To me as a director, we have reached much further than our wildest dreams with this film. Both winning the student

Academy Award, recieveing a prize at

the whole team

have achieved.

Clermont-Ferrand in France, and now

Regardless of who the statuette goes to,

being nominated for an Academy Award

I am humble about the experience I have

for Best Short. I have to pinch my arm to

had with this film. All this started out as

believe it. I am incredibly proud of what

some childish drawings in my notebook,

Everybody is going to die one day. Oskar (70) is going to die in 6 days. He is now ready to forgive his brother for a disagreement years ago. Will he reach his brother, who he believes live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, before it is too late? Genre: Drama Director: Hallvar Witzø Screenplay: Linn-Jeanethe Kyed Prodcution Year: 2010 Produced by Gudrun Austli for The Norwegian Film School

Sørfond: New opportunities for international co-productions – According to the feedback, there is a big

co-operation between the Norwegian

demand for support like the Norwegian

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The

South Film Fund provides. We support

Norwegian Ministry of Culture, The

features and documentary films, but

Norwegian Filmininstitute (NFI) and the

we would like to se some of the major

Films from the South Festival (FFS) will

Norwegian producers taking part in the

jointly be in charge of the administration

co-productions, says Lasse Skagen.

of the fund.

By Pia Ekeland

and the application should be sent by the

Sørfond will make it easier for Norwegian

Norwegian co-producer. A short form

and international co-producers to take

agreement between the producer and the

part in international co-production, and

Norwegian co-producer is also required

grants production support as top finan-

at the point of sending the application.

cing, meaning a substantial part of the

But please contact us if you need further

financing must be confirmed before first

information, says Skagen.

-A Norwegian co-producer is required,

payment. Maximum support for one production is EUR 1.3 million.

a Inspire co-productions

grity are top priorities. A basic Sørfond feature is to encourage productions dea-

-This is the only fund of this sort in the

The main objective of the new fond is to

ling with freedom of expression to apply

Nordic countries. We arranged a pitching

inspire the increase of filmproduction

for grants.

session this autumn, and we have had a

in countries where production is limi-

great response from abroad. There is for

ted for political or economical reasons.

example many international price win-

Producers and directors from countries

ners among our aplicants

in Asia, Africa, Latin-America and the

The deadline for application to the fund is February 15, 2012.

About EUR 5 million will be granted

Middle East are eligible for grants. Strong

Sørfond guidelines and the webform for

for foreign support in 2012. In a

artistic performance and cultural inte-

application is avaliable at: www.sorfond.com

New Nordic Films: Focus on Co-Productions Apart from screenings, the event also

the size of the market and the number

focuses on co-productions between the

of participants on the same level as last

Nordic Countries and other countries.

year, this works well for business. We

The Nordic Co-Production Forum was

prefer focusing on a few projects with

established in 2006 to assist producers

the right mix of participants, instead of

who are looking to make co-productions,

expanding in numbers.

finding nordic partners and working on the financing.

- A “location-tour” for the international producers by boat and helicopter into

- Our main focus geografically this

the Norwegian west coast has proved to

year will be on co-productions with

be a true hit among participants, and it

France and the Benelux countries. We

will be organized again this year.

will also be presenting their national

- New Nordic Films provides you with

New Nordic Films is a major annual mar-

cinemas: their financial support systems,

a broad selection of film screenings and

ket for Nordic cinema, and is organised

their volume of annual film production.

the opportunity of socialising with other

during the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund. It includes film

a A growing interest

film professionals, but we also like to present to our guests the beautiful coun-

More details in this year’s programme

tryside around Haugesund. Hopefully

a Nordic co-production forum and pre-

will be ready as we reach Cannes, but

they will be aware of the unique location

sentations of works in progress

in 2012 the event will also draw atten-

opportunities that this area can offer

tion to European co-productions with

international co-productions, Myklebust

By Pia Ekeland

Norwegians as minority co-producers.

says.

- At New Nordic Films we present the

- Co-productions remains a vital part

films that we believe have the best poten-

of the film industry. In Haugesund the

tial outside the Nordic countries. We aim

Scandinavian film industry is well repre-

to demonstrate the wide range of Nordic

sented, and the world’s largest film

cinema, with artistically ambitious works

festivals, international producers and

For news in English:

and more commercial genre movies, says

distributors will be back. There is a gro-

www.filmfestivalen.no

Manager Gyda Myklebust.

wing demand from abroad, but we keep

Contact: Gyda Myklebust gyda@kino.no

screenings, seminars, scripts-pitching,

New Nordic Films: 15-18 August 2012

Sci-Fi and 3D from Øvredal and Sapegin After huge international success with,

actors, but have brought in experts on

same time. We have commissioned stu-

respectively,

sword-fighting and martial arts veterans

dents from Norwegian University of

for the action scenes.

Science and Technology (NTNU) and

The Troll Hunter and

The Last Norwegian Troll, André Øvredal and Pjotr Sapegin have started

It is too early to say when it will be

teachers to design the futuristic cars,

new projects: Sapegin with his first short

finished, but Sapegin promises us a dif-

while Gimpville and Storyline deliver all

feature film in 3D, and Øvredal with a

ferent experience.

special effects. The project is based on a

– We are not in a hurry to be finished.

screenplay competition, organised by

We start shooting in April – we are wait-

Storyline in 2010, which I won. We are

By Tommy Gjerald

ing for spring. This is in many ways an

having big fun designing cars, the city

Pjotr Sapegin has never before directed

experimental project. I can guarantee

and the traffic system, and – well every-

a live-action film, but this spring he will

that this will be something completely

thing, Øvredal says.

start his first – an ambitious genre film

different, he says.

science fiction short.

project to be shot in 3D.

André Øvredal’s short film project is

– This time the project is not an animation but a short live-action film. It is

an adaptation of a science fiction short story from his youth.

The film was intended to be shot in 3D, but Øvredal still promise that it will be stuffed with special effects. – The idea was to shoot in 3D, but we

something I have been thinking about for

– My next film The Tunnel is based on

could not raise the money and wanted to

quite a long time – a project that, in a way,

an American science fiction story I read

get started. The completion date is not

has lived in a dark corner of my soul. It is

at school. It is called The Tunnel Ahead by

official yet, but if we get selected for the

a historical action drama, a sword-fight-

Alice Glaser, written in 1961. This was a

Norwegian Short Film Festival in

ing film set in the Viking age. The story is

story that my entire generation – at least

Grimstad this summer, we will try to be

about an old warrior and his daughter,

everyone I have talked to – had as manda-

finished in time for that. But there are

Sapegin reveals.

tory reading at school. And they remem-

special effects in every single shot – twice

– It will be shot in 3D, and it will be in

ber it with horror and was a very powerful

as many as in the entire The Troll Hunter

5K resolution – the same format that is

experience to a great many in my youth,

– so quite a lot of work remains to be

being used for The Hobbit by Peter

he says.

done.

Jackson, which is due for Christmas. We have decided to use non-professional

The story is set in a future dystopian world, which gives great latitude for a creative design process. – The film is set in a future world that is heavily overpopulated. We follow a family who is stuck in an enormous car queue on their way home from the beach. They must pass through a tunnel which is closing at various times, but no one knows when. Everyone caught in the tunnel is killed – the whole thing is a project to control the population growth. The story is a chamber piece inside the

Pjotr sapegin

car, but a lot is happening outside at the

Levi’s Horse

André Øvredal

Genre: Youth Drama, 14’ Director: Torfinn Iversen Screenplay: Torfinn Iversen Produced by: Mona Steffensen for Originalfilm AS Production Year: 2011

Fourteen-year-old Jonas is a lonely and alienated young boy living in a small village in Northern Norway. He feels a certain bond with Levi, a mentally disabled man, and his little horse. When Jonas wants to be accepted amongst his peers he is facing a moral dilemma: He must choose either to defend, or to throw a stone at, the weakest one.

Festival Contact: NFI Shorts Levi’s Horse is in the Berlinale’s Generation Programme

Imagining Emanuel

Genre: Documentary, 52’ Director: Thomas A. Østbye Screenplay: Thomas A. Østbye Produced by: Medieoperatørene AS Production Year: 2011 International Sales: Deckert Distribution GmbH

How can we know who a person is? Emanuel’s identity is unknown, and his life is put on hold. Through several different documentary genres, Imagining Emanuel attempts to form an image of a man calling himself Emanuel. At the same time, the film exposes the process of observing, and how credibility is formed in a documentary.

Festival Contact: NFI Documentaries Imagining Emanuel at MOMA’s Doc Forthnight 16-28th Feb

With ignorance as strategy – A lot is happening along the way when we are making films. But as long as we are as clear as possible without lying, we often get what we need. In their feature film The World Is Waiting Mariken Halle and Clara Bodén use ignorance as a central strategy. by Jon Inge Faldalen Mariken Halle and Clara Bodén have finished their feature film

character for a long period of time. Then they become more inte-

The World Is Waiting – a film about three Swedish actresses fresh

resting people, so that you can watch the scene many times:

out of acting school working as waitresses in Oslo.  They start

«What does he think about there?»

a limited company, buy a house and introduce us to a world of

They use ignorance to capture surprise, like when the well-

people who “do things they don’t want to and play roles they

known Norwegian artist Susanne Sundfør is acting in a hen

don’t know why they are playing”. Like the girls in the film,

party in The World Is Waiting.

Halle and Bodén produced the film for their own production company, Vapen och dramatik (“Weapons and Drama”).

– We use ignorance as a strategy, especially in the large scenes. But we also do it with the three main girls. For example, it

– We took the name from something the Swedish director

is too difficult to act surprised. We often know that we have only

Kjell Sundvall once said about female directors’ lack of box office

one chance. When Susanne Sundfør started to act, there was no

success. He thought that the women in our business should get

one who knew that she would be there. A lot is happening along

their act together, with more weapons and drama, Halle says.

the way when we are making films. But as long as we are as clear

The duo won the most prominent award during the 2011

as possible towards the people involved without lying, we often

Norwegian Short Film Festival in Grimstad for No Sex Just

get what we need. We feel that we are capturing what we think

Understand, which was nominated for the Swedish Oscar,

the film is about, Halle says.

Guldbaggen. Their graduation film from The School of Film

– We are working in between fiction and documentary. We

Directing in Gothenburg, Perhaps Tomorrow, was screened in the

use a very documentary cinematography to give an impression

independent section at Karlovy Vary in 2010. Halle and Bodén

that things are happening only once: an event and our attempt

are inspired by Cassavetes, Breien, Widerberg, Andersson, Olin

to capture it. Sometimes we have to reshoot. But we are looking

and Seidl – who take both reality and fiction seriously. They

for a documentary experience, Bodén says.

employ the strategy of ignorance and the method of unpredictability in an attempt to capture the fictional. They want to play around and have an open mind about what cinema could be. – We worked out a method on Perhaps Tomorrow, based on the wish to be a small team, Bodén says. – This was also for economic reasons. At the School of Film Directing you get 60,000 Swedish Crowns to make the graduation film. Clara and I had already met. And we had a person doing sound. Being just three people while shooting influences the way the scene can be done. We cannot have food on the set, for example. Everything has to move fast. At the same time we want to keep the actors in

The World is Waiting Three girls just out of acting school work as waitresses in Oslo one summer. They use all their intelligence to get as much tips as possible. They are going to set up a limited company and buy a house. They become our guides in the film, gradually opening up a world of people who do things they don’t want to do and play roles they don’t know why they’re playing. Written and directed by: Mariken Halle Cinematography: Clara Bodén Produced by: Mariken Halle and Clara Bodén for Vapen och Dramatik Co-produced by: Kalle Boman og Anna for Sohlman Hinden AB

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New NordiC Films 15â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 August A NordiC Film mArket AN iNterNAtioNAl Co-produCtioN ANd Film FiNANCiNg mArket A meetiNg plACe For Film proFessioNAls

www.FilmFestivAleN.No

www.steinariversen.no

40th

German-Norwegian co-production

GENERATION 14plus levi’s Horse by Torfinn Iversen

levi’s Horse by Torfinn Iversen

berlin 2012

norwegian films

COMPETITION Mercy by Matthias Glasner