Norwegian Films Magazine #1 Cannes 2015

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20: Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt on their successful collaboration

with Louder Than Bombs: – A passion for cinema brought us together.

4 : CEO, and Exec. Dir., Promotion and Int. Relations, Sindre Guldvog and Stine

Helgeland, says talent and black humour are staples of the Norwegian film industry.

25: Norway’s Producer on the Move Kjetil Omberg is a self-described

outsider: My desire is to make films that do - and feel - better.

2 NORWEGIAN FILMS | CANNES 2015

NORWEGIAN FILMS CANNES 2015

Published by the Norwegian Film Institute

EDITORS:Tommy Gjerald Vibeke Lj. Rydland

EDITORIAL STAFF:Stine Helgeland, Stine Oppegaard, Mette Tharaldsen, Anett Fondevik, Nina Bull

CONTRIBUTOR:Jørn Rossing Jensen

TRANSLATION:Dag Sødholt

DESIGN:Lise Kihle Designstudio AS

PRINT:Oslo Digitaltrykk

CEO NORWEGIAN FILM INSTITUTE:Sindre Guldvog

ISBN: 978-82-8025-038-4

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/norskfilminstitutt, and Twitter: @norskfilm - #NorwayCannes

Cover photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

Table of content:

4. Norway Got Talent

6. Norway on the Red Carpet

8. Ten Norwegian Talents to Watch

18. From Norway to The World

20. – Film is an International Language

25. 5 Questions With Kjetil Omberg, Norway’s Producer on the Move


”I would like to convey my warmest congratulations to Joachim Trier and, by extension, the entire Norwegian film community, on the inclusion of Louder than Bombs in the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

This is a remarkable achievement, and also a testimony of the way in which the Norwegian film industry has evolved as a top class player in international filmmaking.”

Børge BrendeMinister of Foreign Affairs

NORWEGIAN TALENTS

”It is a great honour for me to congratulate Joachim Trier, and everyone who has contributed to Louder than Bombs.

This is a big recognition for Trier, but also for the Norwegian film industry and Norway as a film nation.”

Thorhild WidveyMinister of Culture


Sindre Guldvog and Stine Hel-geland glow with enthusiasm at the news of a Norwegian entry in the competition. Joachim

Trier’s film Louder Than Bombs is the result of a collaboration with long time friend, Eskil Vogt, with good assistan-ce from financial support initiatives administered by the Norwegian Film Institute. Stine Helgeland talks about a Norwegian film industry going through great development.

– Since I started out five years ago, the Norwegian film industry has beco-me more international. We co-produ-ce to an ever-greater extent, building networks with the international indus-try. The Norwegian operators are to a much greater degree financing their films in the international market. This

has happened through an interaction between the Norwegian industry and the Norwegian Film Institute. We see that Norwegian cinema is doing well abroad, and that Nordic films are in vogue. The interest in Nordic films is steadily increasing, she says.

Sindre Guldvog emphasises the impor-tance of the Norwegian film industry’s success in the international arena, both as a political goal and general inspirati-on for our entire industry.

– It means a lot to our filmmakers to see that this quality is present among Norwegian operators. It gives inspira-tion and showcases Norway as a culture nation internationally. This helps realise the cultural-political goals we have in the film area: highlighting our history

Norway Got TalentParticipation in the Cannes competition puts the Norwegian film industry in the

limelight. In a conversation with Sindre Guldvog, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute, and Stine Helgeland, Executive Director, Promotion and International Relations, they point to talent – and a bit of black humour – as two national qualities that have been a driving force

for Norwegian cinema abroad.

and our distinction, he says.

Every film nation is unique and tells stories that are markedly different. Hel-geland emphasises, among other things, the variety of Norwegian cinema – from genre films to artistically ambiti-ous stories – as a characteristic of the Norwegian film industry.

– When asked about Norwegian mo-vies, international festivals and buyers often mention the humour – especially a bit of black humour. And they say that Norwegians make films within every genre and cannot be pigeonholed as a film nation. There are both high-level crime films, like Headhunters (Morten Tyldum/2011), and action adventures, through films like Trollhunter (André Øvredal/2010).

SINDRE GULDVOG & STINE HELGELAND


In addition to genre variety, Guldvog reminds us that we also make a mark as a nation when we work or participate in international arenas.

– One can showcase the distinctly Norwegian, but we also bring Norwe-gian qualities with us on international terms. We take Norwegian values with us into the world, shoot with a Nor-wegian script, director and capabilities, interpreting the world through Norwe-gian eyes.

Norwegian cinema has a number of talents, and with a film in the main competition the industry proves that we have succeeded in cultivating our wide-ranging capabilities well. We must continue supporting this, Guld-vog states.

– It is incredible to have people like Jo-achim Trier in the midst of a small film nation like ours. He must have extra-

ordinary gifts. It is important to pro-vide him with opportunities and a fra-mework to develop. We hope that the Norwegian Film Institute has provided him such a framework for the develop-ment of his very special talents.

Helgeland says that the international interest in the Norwegian film indus-try has led Hollywood, especially, to embrace several Norwegian talents for their projects.

– Hollywood asks where all the stories and talents come from in little Norway. One after another, filmmakers appear with interesting stories to tell, people that can realise their ideas at a high le-vel: Morten Tyldum with The Imitation Game, Joachim Sandberg and Espen Rønning with Pirates of the Caribbean, and Harald Zwart and Tommy Wirko-la as door openers for Norwegian films abroad. Sørfond also helps open up our industry, and it has been very inspiring

and revitalising for Norway to work with such dedicated and capable people as represented by the Sørfond films.

– We are very happy to see that our ta-lents also make it internationally. This follows the same patterns as we see in sports and other art fields – the very best establish themselves abroad. It is important that our best filmmakers do well in Hollywood, for example. This gives guts and wind in the sails for the industry, making it more interesting to put resources into. In this context, we live in an ever more globalised world, in every way. More often, we see that films are co-operative productions bet-ween several countries. This goes for the artistic angle as well as for shooting locations and economy. It is therefore important that Norway shows its face in competition, and participates in the important projects in the future, Guld-vog concludes.

SINDRE GULDVOG & STINE HELGELAND

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NORWAY ON THE RED CARPET

When Norwegian director Joachim Trier sets foot on the red carpet at Palais des Festivals with his star

cast - Gabriel Byrne, Isabelle Huppert, Jesse Eisenberg, Devin Druid – for the screening of his third feature, Louder Than Bombs, at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival, it is the first time since 1979 a Norwegian director has an entry in the official competition on the Côte d’Azur. But he has been on the way since his Oslo, August 31st (Oslo, 31. august/ 2011), was selected for Un Certain Regard; both his previous features, also includi-ng the 2006 debut, Reprise, received an Amanda – Norway’s official film award – for Best Directing, and were nomina-ted for the Nordic Council Film Prize.

Copenhagen-born into a film family, Trier’s father was Danish sound techn-ician Jacob Trier, his grandfather Nor-wegian legendary director Erik Løchen (in the 1960 competition with The Hunt (Jakten) – and yes, distantly he is related to Danish director Lars von Trier. Norway’s till today latest feature conten-der for the Golden Palm was Norwe-gian director Anja Breien’s Next of Kin (Arven/1979) 36 years ago – of course Norwegian director Bobbie Peers’ Sniffer collected the prize in 2006, but for Best Short, and Norwegian actress-director Liv Ullmann’s Faithless (Trolösa) compe-ted in 2000, but it was a Swedish film.

This year’s selection confirms the cur-rent position of Norwegian cinema,

Norway on the Red CarpetThe development of Norwegian cinema shows both in the local and international cinemas -

and in Norway’s first feature in the Cannes competition for 36 years

which has in recent years increased both domestically and internationally. Last year Norwegian films registered 2.7 million admissions in the local ci-nemas - the best result since 1975 – con-trolling 24.4% of the market. Norwegi-an titles were No 1 on the charts from early April till 10 December, and five domestic productions among the Top Ten films. At the same time statistics from the Norwegian Film Institute showed that from 2002 to 2012 Norwe-gian film exports had soared by 682%. The reason is talent, and with a group of other Norwegian Directors to Watch, Trier can take the credit for moving the international spotlight to Norwegian filmmakers, including his friend and partner Eskil Vogt, who has co-written


NORWAY ON THE RED CARPET

all his features, also Louder Than Bombs. Vogt’s own directorial debut, Blind (2014), which was launched last year, has just been named Best Norwegian Film 2014 by the Norwegian Film Cri-tics’ Association; awarded at Sundance and in Berlin, it has so far been scree-ned at 32 international festivals. Norwegian director Ole Giæver’s Out of Nature (Mot naturen/2014) received the Europa Cinemas Label at this year’s Ber-linale (in 2014 it went to Blind), and for his next feature he is leaving wildlife in favour of On the Balcony (Fra balkongen) – his own, for a 12-month shoot. Signing the 2014 family hit, Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder (Doktor Proktors prompepulver), Norwegian director Arild Fröhlich – also an experienced helmer of TV drama and comedy - will check in at the Grand Hotel for his next 2016 comedy. A frequent festival traveller since her 2010 feature debut Happy, Happy (Sykt lykkelig), which was on show at 39 in-ternational showcases; it was the first Norwegian film to win in Sundance, the Grand Jury Prize-World Cinema, Dramatic. Sewitsky’s latest, Homesick (De nærmeste/2015), was just premiered. A graduate from New York University’s Film School, writer-director Vibeke Idsøe is returning to feature filmma-king after 11 years, to adapt Norwegian author Erik Fosnes Hansen’s The Lion Woman (Løvekvinnen/2016). Norwegian-Pakistani actress writer- director Iram Haq wrote and performed in Trond Fausa Aurvåg’s short, Old Faithful (Trofast), the only Norwegian entry in Venice 2004, and her featu-re debut I Am Yours (Jeg er din), about a Norwegian-Pakistani single mother, also toured the circuit. Norwegian dire-ctor Hisham Zaman, of Kurdish descent, has dealt with refugees’ situations since his 2005 short, Bawke, which won 40 in-ternational prizes, till last year’s Letter to the King (Brev til Kongen). Twice Haman

has received one of the world’s largest film awards, Göteborg’s Dragon Award with SEK 1 million (€110,500). Two Norwegian genre film directors, Tommy Wirkola and Roar Uthaug, have both reached international fame – after Kill Buljo-The Movie (2007) and Dead Snow (Død snø, 2009) Wirkola made the US-German horror-action Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). Uthaug’s action-adventure-thrillers, ao Cold Prey (Fritt vilt, 2006), and the fa-mily film Magic Silver (Julenatt i Blå-fjell, 2009) have been both local and foreign bestsellers, and his new disaster film The Wave (Bølgen) will open the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund (15-21 August).

Cannes is not the only festival to ob-serve that something is happening in Norway. Earlier this year 23 January-2 February) Scandinavia’s largest festi-val – Sweden’s Göteborg Internatio-nal Film Festival – screened a Focus on Norway, “the Nordic film country which has made the strongest progress in recent years, both artistically and au-dience-wise,” explained artistic director Jonas Holmberg. Norwegian actress-di-rector Liv Ullmann received the Nordic Honorary Dragon Award for “an inspi-ring Nordic filmmaker whose work de-serves special attention, now and forever. Romania’s Transilvania and France’s Les Arcs will also turn the spotlight on Nor-wegian films in 2015.

Left: Out Of Nature (Mot Naturen, 2014) Photo: Mer film. Above: Dead Snow (Død snø, 2009)Photo: Sveinung Svendsen. Homesick (De nærmeste, 2015) Photo: Erik Aavatsmark.


TEN NORWEGIAN TALENTS TO WATCH

JOACHIM TRIER (b. 1974)

2015 Louder than Bombs2011 Oslo, August 31st2006 Reprise

An internationally celebrated director and screenwriter. His critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films Repri-se (2006) and Oslo, August 31st (2011), both co-written with Eskil Vogt, have been invited to and won awards at inter-national film festivals such as Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Karlovy Vary, Gothenburg, Milan, and Istanbul. Oslo, August 31st was selected for Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011 and nominated for the César award for Best Foreign Film 2013 after reaching over 180 000 admissions at theatres in France. Reprise received the 2007 Amanda Award (Norway’s top film award) for Best Norwegian Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The film was released in the US by Miramax and was the Norwegian Oscar candidate for Best Foreign Film in 2006. Hailed as “a sublimely natural talent“, Trier was named one of 20 Directors to Watch by the New York Times in 2013. Louder Than Bombs (2015) is his English language film debut and his first appearance in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

ESKIL VOGT (b. 1974)

2013 Blind

Aknowledged as one of Norway’s top screenwriters and di-rectors. His directing debut Blind premiered at Sundance in 2014 where it won him The World Cinema Screenwriting Award. The film then picked up the Europa Cinema Label Prize at the Berlinale (Best European Film in the Panora-ma Section) before going on to win more than 20 interna-tional awards and gaining theatrical distribution in as many countries. In addition to writing his own film as a director Vogt also has a longstanding and close collaboration with Jo-achim Trier, including the screenplays for the features Reprise (2006), Oslo, August 31st (2011) and Louder than Bombs (2015). Vogt is a directing graduate from La Fémis in Paris, the Na-tional French Film School.


TOMMY WIRKOLA (b. 1979) 2014 Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead 2013 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2010 Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch 2009 Dead Snow 2007 Kill Buljo - The Movie

Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Film & Television from Bond University in Australia, and has also studied Media Sciences at Finnmark University Col-lege, and Film and Television Sciences at Lillehammer University College. After directing several shorts, both on an amateur basis, and as part of his education, he made his debut as a fe-ature film director with the low-bud-get Kill Buljo in 2007. The film was a spoof (and an homage) to amongst others Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill-films, but with a definitive twist of the typical humor of Wirkola’s home region of Northern-Norway. Wirkola also co-wrote, edited, co-produced and acted in the film. It was an unconven-tional success, and paved the way for

Wirkola’s next films: Dead Snow (2009), and the mockumentary Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch (2010). Dead Snow, another box-office hit for Wirkola, was invited to the Sundance Film Festival in 2009, and became one of the best-selling Norwegian features until then, selling to 73 countries aro-und the world. He had made his mark in the ”new wave” of Norwegian cinema of the ”noughties”, and was soon picked up by Hollywood. His first film in the U.S., Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was produced by Paramount Pictures and premiered in 2012. The film was a major international success and grossed over 225 million USD worldwide. In 2013 he returned to Norway to di-rect the sequel to his international hit,

Dead Snow 2; Red vs. Dead. As its prede-cessor it was also invited to Sundance, and ended up being the most exported film out of Norway through history – only be-aten by the Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki (2012). Wirkola is also one of the co-fo-unders and co-owners of the production company Tappeluft Pictures AS.

Why do you make films?I’ve always loved telling stories and the sensation of entertaining people. Of taking them to another place. My sole goal as a director so far has been just that, to simply entertain and to take the audience for a ride, which was my favorite type of film experience when I was young. Still is. So not only do I get to do what I love the most, and work with amazing people along the way, but I also get to, hopefully, show people a good time. No better feeling than that.

What inspires you?When I was young, growing up in the north of Norway, a lot of things inspi-red me: Nature, the stories, the people, the sense of humor, combined with all the films and books I saw and read, that I was probably way too young to expe-rience. All those things provided me with a vivid and, yes, dark imagination. I still go back to Alta (my hometown) as much as I can for inspiration, as it is truly a unique place. Recently I’ve been very inspired by the fantastic films and TV shows that has come out of Norway and Norwegian directors. It makes me want to try new things myself, and to go new places as a writer and director.

What’s next?My next project is a sci-fi called What Happened to Monday, starring Noomi Rapace, scheduled to shoot this sum-mer in Europe. Other than that I also wrote the script for the sequel for Han-sel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, which will go into production soon. I will not be directing this time.




ANNE SEWITSKY (b. 1978) 2016 Sonja Henie, feature2015 Homesick, feature2011 Norwegian Cozy, television series2011 Totally True Love, feature2010 Happy, Happy, feature2008 Himmelblå, television series2008 Oh, My God!, short2006 Heartcut, short

Studied directing at the Norwegian Film School, graduating in 2006 with the short Heartcut (Hjertekutt) as her diploma film. Her first film after gra-duating, the short Oh, My God! was given special mention by the children’s jury, and awarded the Special Prize of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerkin in the Generation Kplus programme of the 2009 Berlin International Film Festi-val. Her feature film debut came in 2010 with the comedy Happy, Happy, which was awarded the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festi-val in January 2011. Her second featu-re film followed shortly: The children’s

drama Totally True Love premiered at the 2011 Berlin International Film Fes-tival, opening the Generation Kplus programme that year, with a great re-ception. The film was also a winner with Norwegian critics and audiences alike.

Sewitsky has also worked in television, directing four episodes of the popular drama series Himmelblå for the Norwe-gian Broadcasting Company NRK in 2008, as well as four episodes of Nor-wegian Cozy, an 8-episode drama series produced by Tordenfilm AS, and aired by NRK in early 2011.

Why do you make films?I like to explore the complexity of hu-man relations. Even the strangest acti-ons can be made understandable. I like that challenge. And of course the in-tensity of creating, the mix of all senses.

What inspires you?I guess mostly people around me. But also, I´m a restless person, so a new direction in genre, story, character, so-mething I haven´t done before actually becomes an inspiration of its own.

What’s next?In September I start shooting a thril-ler in the very northern Norway for the Norwegian Broadcasting Company. I´ll be directing the four first episodes, so I am in preparation for that these days. After that, I’ll direct a biopic on the great figure skater and Hollywood star Sonja Henie. So two very exciting pro-jects to dig into.


ROAR UTHAUG (b. 1973) 2015 The Wave, feature2012 Escape, feature2009 Magic Silver, feature2006 Cold Prey, feature2002 The Martin Administration, short1996 DX13036, short

Graduated from The Norwegian Na-tional Film School in 2002. His gra-duation film The Martin Administration was nominated for a Student Academy Award. His debut feature Cold Prey (2006) was a huge box office hit in Norway, and was sold to more than 40 countries and spawned two sequels. He went on to co-direct the children’s ad-venture Magic Silver (2009) which was an even bigger success. The medieval action drama Escape (2012) followed, selling to more than 70 countries and putting Roar on Variety’s list of 10 Euro Directors to Watch. All his films have travelled extensively on the internatio-nal festival circuit. In between features Roar has directed commercials across

the globe, winning numerous awards. His fourth feature The Wave (2015), the first ever Scandinavian disaster movie, will hit theaters this fall.

Why do you make films?Growing up some of my strongest emotional experiences was in front of the silver screen. I have always been fascinated by the magic of movie ma-king and how you can see the world, or a completely different world, through the eyes of someone else for two hours. I guess I make movies to share that joy with the world.

What inspires you?Everything! From the feeling I get watching other movies to articles, pho-tography, art and just what I see around me in my daily life. But I think the big-gest inspiration comes from my audi-ence.

What’s next?That’s what I’m trying to figure out right now. I would love to find a pro-ject that combines my fascination for cinematic spectacle with my love for characters who resonate and have an emotional core. Wherever I might find it, I can’t wait to get started!




HISHAM ZAMAN (b. 1975) 2014 Letter to the King, feature 2013 Before Snowfall, feature 2009 The Other Ones, short 2007 Winterland, short 2005 Bawke, short 2003 The Bridge, short

A Norwegian director of Kurdish des-cent. He immigrated to Norway at the age of 17. Zaman is a graduate from the Norwegian National Film School. In 2005 Zaman had his major internati-onal breakthrough with the short film Bawke. The film was invited to Sun-dance and was awarded more than 30 prizes and nominated for Best Euro-pean Short. In 2007 Zaman directed another noteworthy mid-length film, Winterland, a warm and humorous di-aspora-story about a man settling in a godforsaken spot in Northern Norway. Winterland opened Tromsø Internatio-nal Film Festival and won Amanda for Best Actor. Before Snowfall was presen-ted in 2013 at Gothenburg Film Fes-

tival where it received the prestigious Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film. The film also won the award for Best Cinematography at Tribeca and was the most award winning Norwegian film in 2013. One year later he presented Letter to the King, his second feature film, and won the Dragon award for Best Nordic Film for the second time in a row. The film also received the FIPRESCI award at the European cinema festival of Le-cce. Zaman is currently working on his third feature film.

Why do you make films?Cinema has always been an important part of my life. My perspective on life changed dramatically after I felt the

power behind the craft of telling stories through pictures.

What inspires you?Growing up I was inspired by watching films and pictures. As a filmmaker, wor-king with realistic themes has made me more aware of what is valuable and real. For me and my films, life has been the most important source of inspiration.

What’s next?I am writing my third Norwegian fea-ture film, where I am exploring a diffe-rent way of storytelling to challenge my previous work.


OLE GIÆVER (b. 1977) 2017 From the Balcony, feature2014 Out of Nature, feature 2011 The Mountain, feature 2008 Summers Past, short 2007 Tommy, short 2006 B Block, short 2004 Foreplay, short2003 The Pledge, short

Studied film at the Nordland Art- and Film College from 1999-2001, before moving on to the Konstfack Art Aca-demy in Stockholm, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2005. He dire-cted several short films before making his debut as a feature film director with The Mountain in 2011. He was nominated for the European Film Awards for Best Short Film with Tommy in 2007, and the Norwegian National Film Award Amanda for Best Screenplay, for Summer Past, in 2008. His feature film debut, The Mountain made its international premier as part of the Panorama section at the Berlin

International Film Festival, and has since been screened at several other in-ternational film festivals.

Why do you make films?There are two reasons. The first one is about a personal need, making films gi-ves me some sort of therapy. Being cre-ative, coming up with and developing ideas, finding ways to communicate and to tell stories that gives meaning to life. It makes me feel vital and that I have something to offer to the world. Which brings me to the other reason that is less self-absorbed; I make films because I want to explore and under-

stand who we are, why we behave in the ways we do, what our deepest needs are, why we hurt each other and what we long and hope for. I believe film is the most emotional and complex media we have to understand these questions in an intuitive way that makes us all feel connected.

What inspires you?I get inspired by everything that tou-ches or engages me. It can be everything from stories I’m told, literature, music, something I read in the newspaper or saw on television, theatre and of course films. The core of these stories or inci-dents is often that it’s about one per-son that does something extraordinary, that makes a huge offer or goes beyond his or her limits to reach a higher goal. Basically, the core of all drama, but it’s the very specific and unique stories that makes it relatable and universal.

What’s next?From the Balcony, a film about why we must fight with our kids to make them eat their vegetables even though the sun will burn out in 5 billion years. We started shooting on March 20 this year and will shoot for 365 days, making the earth’s orbit around the sun the framework for the film’s structure and dramaturgy. After that I have a scien-ce-fiction coming up, a chamber play in deep space.




IRAM HAQ (b. 1976) 2013 I Am Yours 2009 Little Miss Eyeflap, short

Is an actress, writer and director. She was educated at Westerdals School of Communication. She has worked as an actress for many years on stage, and in feature and TV films. She also wrote and starred in the short film Old Faithful (Trond Fausa Aurvåg/2004) which was selected for the short film competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2004. She made her directorial de-but with the short Little Miss Eyeflap in 2009, which won The Ellen Award at Aspen Shortsfest in 2010. I am yours (2013) was her first feature film. The world premiere was in Toronto and it was also the Norwegian Best Foreign Film entry at the Academy Awards in 2013 and it has won many awards, among them Best Nordic Film in Lü-beck in 2013.

Why do you make films?I want to tell stories that touch me, about topics I am concerned with. Through moving images and sound I am able to tell my stories the way I want.

What inspires you?I want to make films that touch and engage the audience. Choosing subje-ct matter that I know and care about, finding characters that move me, and therefore also can move and affect the audience. Being educated as an art di-rector it’s important for me to explore how the visuals of the film can help tell the story. I often work with themes that are taboo and characters that are so-mewhat on the side of society - charac-ters that hide dark secrets and that also have weaknesses. I hope that the audi-ence, through the meeting with such characters and stories, will be touched

and find room to reflect on complex emotions and issues.

What’s next?My next film is called What Will People Say and it is a story about a Norwe-gian-Pakistani girl who lives a double life, both with her Norwegian friends and at home with her family. One day, these two worlds collide in a brutal way. Her parents find her in bed with a Norwegian boy. The consequences become enormous. The family kidnaps her to Pakistan, and her stay in Pakistan becomes very different than expected and she goes through a personal jour-ney that changes her life forever. What Will People Say aim to be an intense, be-autiful and painful story about growing up between two cultures: A film about identity and belonging.



VIBEKE IDSØE (b. 1965)

2016 The Lion Woman 2005 37 and a Half 2002 Karlsson on the Roof 1996 Chasing the Kidneystone aka Body Troopers

Studied film at New York University’s Film School, and is both an author and a writer-director. She made her debut as a film director in 1996, with the chil-dren’s adventure film Chasing the Kid-neystone, which she also wrote the scre-enplay for, based on her own novel from 1994 by the same title. The film was a great success in Norway, and won a number of awards at various prestigio-us festivals around the world, including the Adult’s Jury Award at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Idsøe also co-wrote the screenplay for one of Norway’s biggest animation-film hits: Gurin with the Foxtail in 1998, and the screenplay for her own animated film Karlsson on the Roof (2002). In 2005 she made her first film directed at

a more adult audience, the comedy 37 and a Half.

Why do you make films?I want to create a memorable experien-ce for people. I like to make stories they can identify with, maybe give them an opportunity to look at something from a different perspective. The kids who saw my first film Chasing the Kidneysto-ne are now adults, and it is so rewar-ding when they tell me how important this film was to them when they were growing up. And sitting in a theatre, hearing women laugh exactly when you want them to – it’s worth all the hassle.

What inspires you?Great stories and working with skilled

craftsmen, like the fantastic cast and crew I am working with at the moment. Hard working people in any kind of profession really, ranging from my doctor to Meryl Streep. And whenever I meet Joachim Trier, of course, he is very inspiring.

What’s next?I am shooting The Lion Woman in Ger-many for the next two months. It’s an adaptation of a novel by Erik Fosnes Hansen. A beautiful story about a girl growing up in a station town in Norway in the 1920s. She has been born with hair all over her body. It’s about being different in a small society. How do you deal with it and how you succeed against all odds.


ARILD FRÖHLICH (b. 1972)

2016 Grand Hotel2015 Doctor Proctor: Bubble in the Bathtub 2014 Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder2008 Fatso2005 Pitbull Terje2002 Utopia - Nobody is Perfect in the Perfect Country2002 Connecting People, short

Has broad experience in the Norwegian film and television industry, directing both drama and comedy shows. His directorial debut for the big screen, the family feature Pitbull Terje (2005), was a huge domestic box-office success, and so was Fatso (2008) and Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder (2014). In 2011, he was granted a scholarship intended for directors from the Norwe-gian Film Institute, and he was also the creator of the local success Totally Per-fect (2011-2015), a comedy show for TV now running in its fifth season.

Why do you make films?Ever since I was a kid, going to the cine-mas has been my favorite thing in life. It opened up the world to me, and it never stops enriching my life. I want to tell stories. I want to make people feel. I want to capture the audience. Without stories we are nothing, and a film is the most powerful storyteller there is.

What inspires you?My children. My wife. Films. Music. Books. Art. Nature. Other people. In other words the same things that also can annoy me the most.

What’s next?I’m currently in post-production on Doctor Proctor: Bubble In the Bathtub, the second film I’ve directed based on Jo Nesbø’s big hit series of children’s books about Doctor Proctor. I am also in pre-production on Grand Hotel, a warm comedy about a pompous, aging alcoholic and a tourettes-inflicted ten-year-old boy who are forced to spend a week together at a high-end hotel. Grand Hotel will start principal photo-graphy in August this year, and should be released in Norway during the spring of 2016.



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Norwegian director Anja Breien – who represented Norway in competition in Cannes in 1978 - will be 75 on 12 July,

and celebrated at the Norwegian Film Institute (2 June) at a screening of Next of Kin. This year awarded by the Nor-wegian Critics’ Association for her “ti-reless commitment to film art” and re-ceiving an honorary Amanda, Norway’s national film prize in 2005, Breien went to film school in Paris, and made her first feature, Rape (Voldtekt) in 1971; 40 years ago she released the first part of feminist comedy Wives (Hustruer) tri-logy, and she would follow the three main characters in Wives - Ten Years After (Hustruer – ti år etter, 1985), and Wives III (Hustruer III, 1996), the latter

for another Amanda. Also credited for a series of shorts and documentaries, Breien was praised by the Norwegian critics for “her independent and per-sonal approach to film as an artistic expression and an opinion former who influenced the Norwegian history of culture in an era of political, social and ideological upheavals.”

Norwegian actress-director Liv Ull-mann lived with her parents in Japan, Canada and the US, before they re-turned to Norway, where she started her acting career as Anne Frank at the regional Rogaland Theatre; she still re-turns to the stage - in 2013 she directed Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at Oslo’s Nationaltheatret. On screen she has

From Norway to the WorldA presentation of some of the Norwegian directors, who have toured the world and

established Norway as a film nation in line with other nordic countries.

played in 10 films by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (with whom she lived for five years), to be nominated for two Oscars ( Jan Troell’s The Emigrants/Ut-vandrarna, 1971; Bergman’s Face to Face/Ansikte mot ansikte, 1976). She has dire-cted, among others, two films from his scripts (Faithless, Private Confessions/Enskilda samtal, 1993, for TV), besides Sofie (1992, in Denmark), Sigrid Und-set’s Kristin Lavransdatter (1995, in Norway, where it sold 700,000 tickets), most recently the UK production of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, starring Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell and Sa-mantha Morton.

A film and stage director from the US’ Emerson College in Boston, Hans Pet-


ter Moland started making commerci-als and music videos, before returning to Norway, where he set up Moland Film Co, which would become Scan-dinavia’s largest producer of commer-cials. Having won several international top prizes, he directed his first feature in 1993, The Last Lieutenant (Second-løitnanten); his most recent, In Order of Disapperance (Kraftidioten, 2014) was selected for several festivals, from Ber-lin to Austin, from Chicago to Hawaii. He signed the English-language The Beautiful Country in 2003, and his next will be A Conspiracy of Faith (Flaskepost fra P), in the thriller franchise.

Acknowledged as a director who has created his own “Hamer-esque univer-se,” Bent Hamer has three times won an Amanda – Norway’s national film prize – for Best Feature (+ one for Best Short), adding to the 2013 Honorary Award. Except for his award-winning Factotum (2005) from US author Char-les Bukowski’s novel, which was shot in the US with Matt Dillon in the lead, his films have been very Norwegian, also last year’s 1001 Grams (1001 gram), which was launched in Toronto – in to-tal his films have been screened at more than 80 international showcases, and been distributed in over 40 countries. In 1994 Hamer founded his own pro-duction company, BulBul Film, which has since produced all his features.

A press photographer, Norwegian di-rector Erik Poppe graduated as a cine-matographer from Stockholm’s Drama-tiska Institutet and shot several films, before he changed to directing in 1995. He won several awards for his commer-cials, then had his feature debut, Schpaa in 1998 – part one of his award-winning Oslo trilogy, which continued with Ha-waii, Oslo (2004) and Troubled Water (deUSYNLIGE, 2008). Based on his own experiences in the press, he made his first English-language feature in 2013, A Thousand Times Good Night (Tu-

sen ganger god natt), launched in Mon-treal to win the Special Grand Prix of the Jury. His new WWII drama, The King’s Choice (Kongens nei), will open next year.

Originally an actor, Norwegian Sámi director Nils Gaup was a co-founder of the Beaivváš Sámi Theatre, the only theatre performing in the Sámi langua-ge in the Northern Norwegian region. Gaup’s first feature, Pathfinder (1987), aka Ofelas - the first with a Sámi dia-logue ever produced – was Oscar-nomi-nated; his Shipwrecked (1990), was shot in both Norwegian and English and co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Turning down offers to direct RoboCop and Not Without My Daughter, he has signed a total of eight films, including his upcoming The Last King (Birkebei-nerne), a medieval action-drama. His The Journey to the Christmas Star (Rei-sen til julestjernen, 2012) is still among the most seen films in Norway – by a 470,500 audience.

Norwegian director Erik Skjoldbjærg was educated at London’s National Film and Television School; his featu-

re debut Insomnia (1997) was selected for the Critics’ Week in Cannes, and later remade by UK director Christop-her Nolan in 2002. His Norwegian oil adventure drama Pioneer (Pionér, 2013) was also a world traveller, his Prozac Nation (2001) was an American produ-ction; he will shortly launch his sixth feature, Pyromaniac (Pyromanen), from Gaute Heivoll’s novel, scripted by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen (who also wrote Ger-man director Wim Wenders’ new film Every Thing Will Be Fine).

Norway’s most recent export, Norwe-gian director Morten Tyldum, dropped out of the local historical drama Torden-skjold in favour of the UK production of The Imitation Game, which has since its 28 November, 2014 release grossed $219 million worldwide. The WW2 dra-ma-thriller starring Benedict Cumber-bach was nominated for eight Oscars (won one), five Golden Globes and nine BAFTA Awards. Tyldum’s latest Nor-wegian film, Headhunters (Hodejegerne, 2011), took 530,000 local admissions and toured 29 festivals; the thriller was sold to more than 50 countries.

FROM NORWAY TO THE WORLD

Left: A Thousand Times Good Night (Tusen ganger god natt, 2013). Photo: John Christian Rosenlund.Above: Next of Kin (Arven, 1979). Photo: NFI.


Since meeting each other as teenagers, the co-operation between director Joachim Tri-er and screenwriter Eskil Vogt

(who is also a director in his own right) have given us film stories that reso-nate across nationalities. A common characteristic of several of the world’s most acclaimed filmmakers is a great affection for film growing up, and their curiosity about the art form make them discover the range of stories the me-dium can tell – a discovery they bring with them into their own film careers. Explaining the origin of their prized co-operation, Trier and Vogt say that it was the passion for cinema that brought them together.

– We met while working as camera assistants for the Norwegian Broad-casting Corporation, and during the breaks we started to discuss films – at this point, Eskil owned a fantastic VHS collection of American indie films and European art films, Joachim Trier re-collects.

– We became very good friends and soon started to make short films to-gether. Coming from a film industry family, Joachim had access to cameras and other equipment. This became the start of a co-operation that we have de-veloped ever since, Eskil Vogt adds.

Trier says the film friendship that brought them together is as strong to-

– Film is an International Language

Louder Than Bombs is Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt’s third feature film as collaborators. With a background in a close friendship, they continually experiment with the filmmaking

process. Louder Than Bombs continues the filmmakers’ probing of universal human issues with a story dealing with individuality and togetherness in a modern family.

day. Taking a break from work to go to the movies together is a pleasure they still share, and art experiences remain a central element of the friendship.

– This is not limited to films, but goes for anything cultural. We may call each other in the evening with a strong need to discuss a novel one of us has just read. There is a lasting enthusiasm between us – a great strength in our co-operati-on, Trier thinks.

In other words, their co-operation is built upon a close friendship, but how does this influence their working to-gether? Trier and Vogt emphasise that they have a scriptwriting and directing co-operation that is considerably more


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dynamic than usual between these dis-ciplines.

– The writing process is very different each time. It is very obvious that Es-kil is much better than me at putting things into words – he is much more talented in this area and more creatively stimulated by the actual writing. Perso-nally I desire to direct films more often, but we use a long time – maybe a year – to develop ideas, Trier explains.

– Even though I also direct films, th-ere is a clear demarcation of roles on the films we write together: Joachim is the director. But what is inspiring about our collaborative writing is that Joachim never vetoes anything, he ne-ver demands that this or that must be in a certain way because he is going to direct. We discuss everything and chal-lenge each other, until we have a script both of us are totally behind. Joachim is such a capable and confident director that he is not afraid of losing control by listening to others. When he takes our ideas and elaborates on them with ot-

hers while shooting or editing, he still allows me to chime in from the sideli-nes, Vogt says.

Vogt goes on to explain the reason for the extensive periods of idea develop-ment: their films seldom begin with a clear and defined story they want to tell, but rather develop through a number of fragments they want to realise.

– We start with visual concepts, images we want to create, characters, situations, themes – the story often comes towards the end. We gather a lot of material and then try to link it together – the goal is to include as much as possible of what we like, in a way that makes it as effe-ctive as possible.

Trier further explains that they are not so concerned with film as a plot machi-ne, and recollects a story about an expe-riment where kindergarten kids were challenged to make a film.

– If you asked the children what they wanted to tell in the film, everything

stopped in its tracks and the kids lost interest. But if they were asked, «what do you want to show me?», strange and funny stories poured out. I don’t know if this means that Eskil and I are very childish, or if it means that there is so-mething true and inherent in the film medium that is about show, not tell. I think there should be a childlike stri-ving for new narrative techniques and different stories, and we have to try cul-tivating that in ourselves as filmmakers and creative people. It is important that we have this openness – film as an art form has to develop.

As filmmakers Trier and Vogt work in a peculiar way, and they tell us that it has been very important to have the oppor-tunity to work undisturbed, to allow the development process to unfold in a na-tural way. They point to the public fun-ding schemes under which they have worked as decisive for the realisation of Louder Than Bombs.

– It would probably have been impos-sible to do Louder Than Bombs without support from the package financing deal from the Norwegian Film Institute. It has made it possible for us to for-mulate a long-term plan for our work. The ones who start the projects, in our case films of a more personal nature, are the screenwriter and director in co-ope-ration with a producer. To realise such a co-operation, often over several years, it is a great advantage to have the space to work undisturbed, which the package financing deal has given us, Trier thinks.

– The difficulty with our projects, when the story comes in last, is that it is not so easy to pitch the project in early stages. You really must have a finished script before you can start showing things to people. We are dependent on people’s trust that what we are doing will result in something exciting, Vogt elaborates.

Their previous feature films as writing

JOACHIM TRIER & ESKIL VOGT

Isabelle Huppert and Gabriel Byrne in Louder Than Bombs. Photo: Jakob Ihre.


partners and directed by Trier, Repri-se and Oslo, August 31st, drew a lot of attention abroad. The same goes for Vogt’s 2014 directorial debut Blind, with Trier as one of the producers. And with Louder Than Bombs in the Cannes main competition, international atten-tion has reached new heights. Answe-ring our question of how this feels, they confidently respond that this is a goal they have been working towards since the beginning.

– In fact, we were very international from the outset: Joachim attended The National Film & TV School in Lon-don, and I went to Paris to La Fémis. In the beginning we thought that we never would make any films in Norway, and we were writing an English-lan-guage project when Joachim finished in London. But then we had so many ide-as and thoughts that didn’t fit in, they were so inherently Norwegian. So we went back and made Reprise. It came as an incredible surprise that it did so well abroad, Vogt says.

– We have always regarded film as an international language – regardless of the spoken language it would transcend national borders. It has always been our dream and desire to join the international discussion on film storytelling. Ironically enough, with Reprise we had a desire to tell something very specific about Nor-wegian culture: issues of young identity and ambition, which are characteristic of a great number of young people in Nor-way. It turned out to be a more universal human issue, and we saw that people all around the world recognised themsel-ves in this. The film was distributed to more than 30 countries and was a great international success. That made us very happy, Trier adds.

Also with the second film, Oslo, August 31st, Trier and Vogt touched a universal nerve: the story about existential crisis resonated in a number of countries.

In Louder Than Bombs they continue exploring issues that are easily identifi-able from experiences in their own lives.

– This is a film about the conflict bet-ween individuality and togetherness in a modern family. It is about parents, children and sibling relationships, and how we deal with memories and iden-tity. When the film starts, the mother in the family, who was a famous photo-grapher, has been dead for three years. The father is left with his two sons and they all have to find a way to live on, coping with all the unanswered questi-ons about their mother and wife, while trying to figure out who they are. We are dealing with universal issues, family themes, Trier explains.

– The dynamics between family mem-bers is something everyone knows from their own lives, as parents or children or both. How to communicate across generations? How to take responsibi-lity for one’s own children while giving them enough freedom to live? We wan-ted to build on the now almost extinct tradition of US family dramas with well observed and identifiable characters, but at the same time we pushed even further the desire we have always had to take risks, to try to find new ways with which to enter the mind of our charac-

JOACHIM TRIER & ESKIL VOGT

ters, Vogt describes.

These internationally oriented and acclaimed filmmakers still have their origins in Norway. Do they have any thoughts about where Norway is today as a film nation?

– Norwegian cinema today has a broa-der range and a higher number of inte-resting ambitions than when we wan-ted to escape the country in the 1990s – something I hope the two of us are part of. Look at Ole Giæver in Out of Nature, where you see a filmmaker who dares to risk being personal, and there-fore develops a personal film language. I hope this is something that Norway as a film nation will continue to cultivate, Vogt thinks, and that we don’t throw all that over board to catch the Nordic Noir wave.

– I think that as a film nation we are now ready to look at filmmakers the way we look at our writers, where we don’t ask national questions, but rather who they are? And what do they tell us? We have to look at them as film story-tellers and not just as national examples. I think that we are heading in that di-rection now, and this is a great feeling, Trier concludes.

Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid in Louder Than Bombs. Photo: Jakob Ihre.


STINE HELGELANDExecutive DirectorPromotion and International Relations+47 957 44 [email protected]

ASTRI DEHLI BLINDHEIMHead of Cultural Events+47 930 44 [email protected]

STINE OPPEGAARDHead of International Relations Feature filmsC+47 908 59 [email protected]

TORIL SIMONSENHead of International Relations Short and documentaries+47 900 38 [email protected]

KNUT SKINNARMOSenior Advisor, InternationalRelations, Feature [email protected]

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www.norwegianfilms.noVisit Film Commission Norway

at International Village, Pantiereo no 217


First, may I congratulate you with beco-ming a Producer on the Move? – Thank you very much! It was fun, and a bit unexpected. I have always felt that a Producer on the Move is a more established producer than me, but per-haps I too finally have become one?

How would you describe yourself as a pro-ducer? – I hope and believe I’m a producer with an open door. A producer that va-lues the people I work with, and hope-fully I’m good at showing it. All on my own I probably don’t amount to much.

You are described as a man of the people, and this is reflected in your background as a producer concentrating on genre films. What was your motivation for applying to become a Producer on the Move?

– Without doubt, to get a wider network. Making films is an interna-tional exercise, for art films as well as genre movies. The audience is big if you add up the target groups from all of the world, and if you can also meet fellow professionals that can strengthen your project – nothing is better. I think gen-re films and artistically ambitious films behave quite similarly out in the world, even though saying so might be regar-ded as swearing in church.

You’re a producer who loves genre films and a self-described outsider. Now you’re going to participate in a recognised networking platform. Would you say that reflects a de-velopment in the Norwegian film industry towards supporting a wider range of talent? – You can always hope. I have to ad-mit that I don’t exactly feel like a mem-

5 Questions with Kjetil OmbergNorway’s Producer on the Move

ber of the “good society” at home yet, but we have been working internatio-nally for a good while, and it has obvio-usly made us better. We just have to hope that the industry attempts to em-brace all kinds of talented people and opportunities that present themselves, in a wider as well as narrower range.

What are your future plans as a producer? – My desire is to make films that do better, and, not least, feel better. It is a risky business, so my plan is simply to become a better producer in all areas – so I’ll sleep better at night and become a better person. I believe that this will be advantageous both to myself and the people I have around me every day and work with.

PRODUCER ON THE MOVE: KJETIL OMBERG

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Norwegian feature-length films Number of cinemas Admissions Norwegian films

Average cinema admissions per Norwegian is 2.2

Market share

Number of screens

Population of Norway, 5.1 million

Are you interested in information about the film market in Norway, and the performance of Norwegian films? We have gathered key statistics displaying theatrical releases, cinema

admissions, most viewed films, market share, gender equality and a lot more.

Pick up your paper copy of Facts & figures 2014 at the Scandinavian Terrace 55 la Croisette or download it from nfi.no/english/downloads.

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CANNES 2015 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 27Dronningens gate 16, P.O.Box 482 Sentrum, N-0105 OsloTel: +47 22 47 45 00 Mail: [email protected] www.norwegianfilms.no

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Norwegian feature-length films Number of cinemas Admissions Norwegian films

Average cinema admissions per Norwegian is 2.2

Market share

Number of screens

Population of Norway, 5.1 million

Are you interested in information about the film market in Norway, and the performance of Norwegian films? We have gathered key statistics displaying theatrical releases, cinema

admissions, most viewed films, market share, gender equality and a lot more.

Pick up your paper copy of Facts & figures 2014 at the Scandinavian Terrace 55 la Croisette or download it from nfi.no/english/downloads.

NORWEGIANFACTS & FIGURES 2014

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Documents

Norwegian Films Magazine #1 Cannes 2015