MAGAZINE #1 2016
NORWEGIAN FILMS 3
WELCOME TO NORWAY! An uncannily well timed comedy about a slightly racist man who converts his rundown mountain hotel into a reception centre for asylum seekers
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NORWAY’S NEW INCENTIVE SCHEME 2016 saw the introduction of the Norwegian incentive scheme, and the first application arrived while the New Year's fireworks still lit up the skies
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MAGNUS In the autumn of 2016 a new documentary will give a close-up portrait of the world chess champion Magnus Carlsen
THE COMMITTEE A black comedy short film about democratic decision making, and a production that broke new ground by opening for minority co-productions of short film
MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 1
NORWEGIAN FILMS MAGAZINE #1/2016 PUBLISHED BY: Norwegian Film Institute CHIEF EDITOR: Stine Helgeland CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Vibeke Rydland, Tommy Gjerald CONTRIBUTORS: Stine Oppegaard, Jørn Rossing Jensen, Toril Simonsen, Astri Dehli Blindheim Mia Lindrup, Jakob Berg & Live Nermoen TRANSLATION: Bjørn Giertsen, Dag Sødholt COVER: Jakob Oftebro. Photo: Anders Heinrichsen DESIGN: Lise Kihle Designstudio AS PRINT: Oslo Digitaltrykk CEO NORWEGIAN FILM INSTITUTE: Sindre Guldvog ISBN: 978-82-8025-041-4
STINE HELGELAND
Executive Director Promotion and International Relations +47 957 44 173 stine.helgeland@nfi.no
STINE OPPEGAARD
Head of International Relations Feature films +47 908 59 638 stine.oppegaard@nfi.no
TORIL SIMONSEN
Head of International Relations Short and documentaries +47 900 38 086 toril.simonsen@nfi.no
MIA LINDRUP
Senior Advisor Promotion and International Relations +47 922 26 978 Mia.Lindrup@nfi.no
JAKOB BERG
Information Officer +47 971 977 66 jakob.berg@nfi.no
WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE the new Norwegian incentive scheme. Norway launched a 25% tax rebate for international feature films and tv-drama, 1st of January this year. We have received applications from four major productions and will now start to validate. The announcement will take place 2nd of March. So far the possibilities of the new tax rebate have reached the awareness of the international film industry. We strongly believe international collaboration is vital for developing both national and international film industries. The products evolved by the industry are all global and need to be treated likewise. Norwegian films and film workers have been recognized abroad for many years and Norway has, through co-production support from The Norwegian Film Institute, a long list of films co-produced with foreign film workers. As a national film institute we will continue to support all efforts that will contribute to a positive development across borders. To those of you who plan to film in our beautiful country, Welcome to Norway. Sindre Guldvog CEO, Norwegian Film Institute
3. Welcome to Norway! 5. Jacob Oftebro, A Historical Face 6. New Incentive Scheme Introduced in Norway 8. A Close-up Portrait of the World Chess Champion 9. Cinematographer Anna Myking 10. Flåklypa Still Lives – Now in Berlin 12. Life Is Beautiful – and it hasn’t changed 16. Shooting Ourselves 18. The Committee 19. The Shooting of Kings Bay has Started 19. FilmBIB 20. Norway's New Minister of Culture 22. Norwegian TV Drama
Welcome to Norway! Photo: Motlys AS
WELCOME TO NORWAY!
- A COMEDY FROM A MOUNTAIN RECEPTION CENTRE FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS The Norwegian film in this year's main competition at the Gothenburg Film Festival is uncannily well timed: a comedy about a slightly racist man who converts his run-down mountain hotel into a reception centre for asylum seekers.
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efore director and screenplay writer Rune Denstad Langlo started making feature films, he was a documentary filmmaker, and a visit to a reception centre for asylum seekers more than ten years ago made a strong impression on him. In high spirits in spite of his miserable life – At a bleak reception centre in Northern Norway, I met a young boy from Libya with a horrible life story. But he
was in incredibly high spirits. And for many years, I was wondering how he could be in such a good mood, Rune Denstad Langlo tells us. Three years ago, these thoughts led to the idea of making a comedy about Primus, a slightly racist owner of a ramshackle mountain hotel who converts it into a reception centre for asylum seekers in order to make a profit. He regards them as numbers, but this changes completely when the
50 asylum seekers move in, and the differences between nations, genders and religions become apparent. 50 cold asylum seekers, an enthusiastic African, the Directorate of Immigration, a depressed wife and a teenage daughter, soon prove to be too much to juggle for Primus, who is played by Anders Baasmo Christiansen. The relationship between Primus and the young, enthusiastic refugee Abedi is the heart of the film, as Abedi is the MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 3
one who helps Primus handle all the controversies arising. Abedi is played by the debutant Olivier Mukuta, who himself came to Norway as an asylum seeker. Mukuta speaks five languages, and makes use of them all in the film. French-Algerian Slimane Dazi known from, for instance, A Prophet (2009), plays one of the asylum seekers who oppose Primus the most. – The extras in the film are also former refugees, for instance from Syria, and many of them have experienced inconceivable atrocities. And yet they all found it a brilliant idea to make a comedy about a reception centre for asylum seekers. Their experiences were invaluable, and several of them also got speaking parts in the film, relates director Rune Denstad Langlo. Long-term co-operation The Petter Primus role was especially written for Anders Baasmo Christiansen. He and director Langlo have collaborated before in, among other films, North, which won the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film in the Panorama programme at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009, as well as the award for Best New Narrative Filmmaker at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. When Langlo wrote the screenplay, he had no idea how much his work of art would resemble reality. And even during the shooting of the film in the spring of 2015, the refugee crisis had still not exploded in full force. But then last summer's extreme flow of refugees hit Europe and Norway. All you can do is sit down and laugh – The entire refugee flow situation is terrible, of course. And it brings out both the best and the worst in Norwegians. In the film, as well as in reality, the situation is really horrific. But it's also like, when tragedy becomes awful enough, all you can do is sit down and laugh. Particularly in times of dark4 NORWEGIAN FILMS | MAGAZINE #1 2016
ness in our lives, humour is essential. This is the kind of comedy I have made, director and screenplay writer Rune Denstad Langlo tells us. And so a comedy about the flow of refugees will compete for the Nordic Dragon Award at the Gothenburg Film Festival, an award of SEK 1,000,000, making it one of the world's biggest film awards. H Jakob Berg
Welcome to Norway! Photo: Motlys AS
FACTS ABOUT WELCOME TO NORWAY Director and Screenplay: Rune Denstad Langlo Actors: Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Henriette Steenstrup, Olivier Mukuta, Slimane Dazi, Nini Bakke Kristiansen, Elisar Sayegh Genre: Drama/comedy Nationality: Norwegian Languages: Arabic/English/French/Norwegian/ Swahili Producer: Sigve Endresen Production company: Motlys AS Total budget: NOK 16,900,000 (1.87 million euro/1 euro = NOK 9) Production year: 2016 International sales: Beta Cinema The film has so far been sold to: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, as well as to Swedish and Finnish television
and a Norwegian TV drama project, Monster. Both are set in present time, and will open in 2017, Oftebro reveals. Mongolian style During the winter of 2015, Oftebro spent a lot of time in a ski resort in Oslo to learn the ski technique Telemark skiing before the shooting of The Last King. However, when the shooting started, it turned out this ski technique was not historically correct. They should rather ski "Mongolian style," meaning they should just ski straight downhill at full speed. – We did most of the ski stunts ourselves, Oftebro claims.
Jakob Oftebro from The Last King. Photo: Paradox AS
JAKOB OFTEBRO
A HISTORICAL FACE
What's with Jakob Oftebro and historical dramas?
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orwegian actor Jakob Oftebro (30) is having a busy winter, with the launching of three historical dramas, one after the other: The Gold Coast, Satisfaction 1720, and The Last King. He thinks all the history is sheer coincidence, but he loves to read up on the historical periods of the films.
Haakon Haakonsson, from a premature death by making a strenuous escape on skis across the mountains. Oftebro and his co-star Kristofer Hivju, known from Game of Thrones, are the two Birkebeiners, in a historical thriller directed by Nils Gaup, formerly nominated for an Oscar for his "Sami on skis" film Pathfinder.
Saving the royal heir by escaping on skis – For instance, consider The Last King. The film takes place in Norway during the 1200s, just before the country became a great power in Northern Europe. The little royal child we save in the film, became a crucial figure in the building of Norway as a nation, Jakob Oftebro states, and refers to the true story about the two Norwegian viking warriors, also known as the Birkebeiners, who save the heir to the throne,
Looks like 200 years ago You have also acted in historical films like Kon-Tiki and Victoria, and in TV dramas like The Heavy Water War and 1864. How come you take part in so many historical dramas? – Maybe because I look like I lived two hundred years ago? Actually, I think it's purely coincidental. Right now I'm busy with the shooting of an artistically ambitious Danish-Norwegian contemporary drama, The Master,
Outside Scandinavia we are Scandinavian After graduating from the Norwegian Academy of Performing Arts, he settled in Copenhagen, and now acts equally much in Danish and Norwegian productions. – Outside Scandinavia, actors from these countries are regarded as exactly that; Scandinavian. Few people care which country we are from. Scandinavian has become a brand, just like Nordic Noir. And we have similar ambitions, Jakob Oftebro states. He himself was named a Shooting Star in Berlin in 2014. He comes from a family of actors. His father, Nils Ole Oftebro, is currently seen in the TV drama Mammon 2, his kid brother Jonas Hoff Oftebro played in the Norwegian blockbuster The Wave, and Jonas' mother, Anette Hoff, stars in Norway's longest running TV series. And last but not least, his girlfriend Iben Akerlie also plays in the TV drama Mammon 2. Is acting the main topic around the table when you are all gathered for dinner? – No, we try to avoid talking about our work. Our conversations are often about politics, Jakob Oftebro says. H Jakob Berg MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 5
Tor Arne Øvrebø, Service Producer for The Snowman. Photo: Jakob Berg
NEW INCENTIVE SCHEME INTRODUCED IN NORWAY The new year saw the introduction of the Norwegian incentive scheme, which with its 25% is intended to attract major international film and TV productions. The first application arrived while the New Year's fireworks still lit up the skies over Norway.
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ust a few minutes past midnight on the 1st of January, the application from Universal Pictures ticked in. The company is making a film based on Jo Nesbø's crime novel The Snowman. In total, four projects have applied for the new Norwegian incentive scheme, with The Snowman being one of them. The decision on which projects who will receive grants will be ready in early March. These days Oscar nominated Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson and Charlotte Gainsbourg are strolling around in Oslo, Bergen and Rju6 NORWEGIAN FILMS | MAGAZINE #1 2016
kan as central characters in the first filming of one of Jo Nesbø's novels about police detective Harry Hole, in which Fassbender is set to star as Hole. The Snowman (2007) is one of Nesbø's ten books about Hole, who lives and works as a police detective in Oslo. Nesbø has stated that Oslo is an important character in his books about Harry Hole. For many years, the film industry and the travel business have sought an incentive scheme, and now, with the scheme in place, Film Commission Norway is hard at work to attract major international productions.
Service-producing The Snowman The Norwegian Service Producer for The Snowman is Tor Arne Øvrebø. He has earlier facilitated the shooting of films like Ex Machina in Norway, as well as countless major American and Japanese commercials. What is your role in the production of The Snowman? As owner of the company Living Daylights Productions AS, I'm the Service Producer. In addition, I work as a Line Producer, and take part in the daily planning and implementation of the shooting.
«–We obviously hope to see more international productions in Norway, which will further market the country as a film location, and increase the competence of Norwegian film workers - there has already been a strong international interest in the financial scheme» Stine Helgeland, Executive Director of Promotion and International Relations at the Norwegian Film Institute.
What are Norwegian film workers like, compared with international ones? The nature of the work is the same. In a more extensive industry you find more specialized workers, Norwegians have to carry out functions which internationally are split up between several persons. We still have a community based on trust, while foreign conditions call for more documentation and more paragraphs in the contracts. International conditions also call for much longer work days, and many more hours go into the production than what is common in Norwegian productions.
trate on one part of the country only. The high quality infrastructure and our high level of technology are great assets. Norwegians are quick at adapting to new technology, and even in the deep forests of Telemark, you will have 4G coverage. Generally, it's important to listen carefully to Norwegian line producers concerning how things are done in Norway, in order to facilitate smooth film shooting, according to Service Producer Tor Arne Øvrebø. H
FACTS ABOUT THE INCENTIVE SCHEME The newly introduced incentive scheme with a budget of NOK 45 million a year (approximately 5 million euro, at the rate of NOK 9 to 1 euro) may provide a return of up to 25% of approved costs of films and series entirely or partly produced in Norway. In order to be eligible for the incentive scheme, the film must have a total budget of NOK 25 million for feature films NOK 10 million for documentary films NOK 10 million per episode for drama series NOK 5 million for documentary series All productions must have a minimum of NOK 2 million approved costs spent in Norway, at least 30% of the total funding must be international, and international distribution must be documented. The objective of the incentive scheme is “to increase the number of international films and series produced in Norway to promote Norwegian culture, history and nature” and “improve the experience and skills of the Norwegian film industry, stimulate growth, promote a sustainable Norwegian film industry and support international cooperation”
Jakob Berg Oslo Town Hall features in The Snowman. Photo: Jakob Berg.
What will be the effect of the incentive scheme concerning the influx of international productions to Norway? So far there has been a lot of commercials, and this will continue. However, now that the incentive scheme is in place, a great amount of feature film producers will consider Norway an option. The major production companies only shoot films where they find tax refunds, and now Norway is on the radar of the major studios. Have you got any useful tips for producers wanting to shoot films in Norway? Nearly all of them have misconceptions about how large Norway is in area. It may not look that way on the world map, but when they arrive here and explore sites along our roads, they realize they have to concenMAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 7
Magnus. Photo: Moskusfilm AS
A CLOSE-UP PORTRAIT OF THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPION
The world's greatest chess genius is a Norwegian. In the autumn of 2016, the documentary film Magnus will be released, about the current chess world champion Magnus Carlsen. The documentary is supported by the Norwegian Film Institute in co-production with the web TV channel VGTV, which since 2007 has concentrated on the production of video contents as an extension of its editorial contents.
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GTV followed the chess genius Magnus Carlsen over time during the World Chess Championship 2013, and the footage was made into a short documentary. After the completion, it was obvious to VGTV that the story could not end there, and they shifted focus toward cinema. – After the short documentary was completed, we realized there was a greater and longer story here with the potential of becoming a film with international ambitions. That's when we hooked up with Moskusfilm, which, together with director Benjamin Ree, has done a fantastic job to realize this ambition, says VGTV Strategy Director Thomas Manus Hønningstad. Moskusfilm producer Sigurd Mikal Karoliussen relates
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that it was exactly the contrast in backgrounds - VGTV with its short formats and Karoliussen with the cinema format - which provided for a successful combination. – VGTV director Benjamin Ree contacted me in 2013 with the aim of making a feature length documentary, since I mostly have experience with feature films. As soon as VGTV was ready, we applied for funding from the Norwegian Film Institute, and consultant Even Benestad supported us from the start, and has been an important collaborator for the film, he relates. For a media house focusing on shorter video formats connected to editorial and journalistic contents, to decide to co-finance a cinema film is not daily fare. Not for VGTV either, Hønningstad reveals.
– The fact that we ended up co-financing a film intended for the big screen was definitely coincidental. We do not have a stated strategy to get involved in cinema films – we made an exception this time because there is great power in the story of Magnus Carlsen. We are primarily looking for films with a potential for our platforms, but if they have an additional potential for being screened in theatres, this is just a great and interesting bonus, according to Hønningstad. With co-financing in collaboration with a web-TV channel, the film will be available on streaming services after the theatrical window. Karoliussen thinks today's media landscape may appear to be confusing, with increasingly more possibilities for screening, but he also considers this an advantage. Not all films can use the same model, he states. – I think this is an advantage for us contents producers; we have many more places to take our projects today compared to the past. As producers, this gives us more freedom. And you cannot apply the same financing and distribution model to every film any longer - we have to treat every single project more individually than we used to. And the documentary Magnus is exactly the kind of production which has the potential of attracting a vast audience across a wide spectrum of platforms. – Our film is about the world's greatest chess genius – the highest rated player ever – and with more than 600 million chess players around the world, the potential for a broad distribution is definitely there. And in November, the World Chess Championship takes place in the US. This championship will be decisive for when we will start the first window, and for how long it will last. Our wish is of course that as many as possible of the people featured in this film will be able to make use of their windows before the World Chess Championship is over, Karoliussen says. H Tommy Gjerald Magnus. Photo: Moskusfilm AS
CINEMATOGRAPHER
ANNA MYKING Selected filmography: HEVN (Revenge, 2015), Drone (2014), Good Girl (2014), Totally True Love (2011), Happy Happy (2011), Reunion (2011). You were awarded the Nordisk Film Award. What does it mean to you? It came at a good time. I am at the intersection point between family and a freelance career, and the fact that someone thought I had delivered was welcome input at this time. What are you most proud of in your work as a cinematographer? That's a hard one. I am most proud of Drone and Reunion because these are films that have had an impact internationally. But you leave a deeper fingerprint when shooting fiction films. In a variety of ways, I am proud of all the fiction films I have worked on, but I think it is Totally True Love that stands out. We were taking some chances there that in my view turned out well – and it was fun. What are you working on now? Now I'm doing the grading on the third season of Next Summer which we shot last summer. In the coming spring I will do some smaller jobs, and then I think something big will turn up in late summer and autumn. As a cinematographer, what is your distinctive gaze? Here it's easy to get on thin ice. I hope I don't have just one gaze, but I try my best to be faithful to the screenplay and hopefully find ways to lift it up. Are there some genres you like better than others – or are you open to everything? There is no genre that I refuse to touch, rather the opposite. But I would like to see a move away from the introspectiveness and self-contemplation we have been doing for a couple of decades now, and over to more socially engaged films. It would be high time. MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 9
Louis & Nolan - The Big Cheese Race. Photo: Maipo Film AS
FLÅKLYPA STILL LIVES – NOW IN BERLIN A result of Norwegian production company Maipo Films strategy for investing in up-market, ambitious, high-quality children’s films, Norwegian director Rasmus A Sivertsen’s Louis & Nolan - The Big Cheese Race is now competing at the Berlinale
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orwegian audiences know Solan and Ludvig – the main characters in Norwegian director Rasmus A Sivertsen’s Louis & Nolan - The Big Cheese Race (Solan og Ludvig - Herfra til Flåklypa) – extremely well, and have for a long time. Created more than 60 years ago by Norwegian author-artist Kjell Aukrust, their screen 1973 debut – in Norwegian director Ivo Caprino’s Pinchcliff Grand Prix (Flåklypa Grand Prix/1975) – was Norway’s first fully-animated feature, which has taken an all-time record of 4.3 million admissions (in a country with 5 million
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population). Sivertsen’s first interpretation of Aukrust’s universe (with Nolan, the bird, Louis, the hedgehog, Reodor Felgen, bikemender and inventor), The Christmas of Louis & Nolan (Solan og Ludvig - Jul i Flåklypa/2013), sold almost 900,000 tickets domestically, and was named Best Norwegian Film for Children and Youth Audiences to win an Amanda, Norway’s national film prize. It was also seen by 150,000 cinema-goers in France – unusual for Norwegian animation. Also produced by Cornelia Boysen and Synnøve Hørdal for Maipo Film, Louis & Nolan -The
Big Cheese Race has so far reached 411,000 domestic audiences, before unspooling in the Generation Kplus competition for the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival (1121 February). But why so popular – for so long? “I think Aukrust’s characters have hit something in the Norwegian national soul,” explained Cornelia Boysen, producer at Maipo Film since 2012. “We recognise and laugh a little at ourselves, when we see them on the screen. In Norway his universe is gripping young and old, between 5-95, which has very much to do with
he humour and satire, which we still work a lot to preserve. “Sivertsen is very good at the wellknown subjects and making them his own. He has a lot of respect for the original material, still he is not afraid of using it his way, which is probably one of the reasons it still seems relevant.” “Aukrusts characters live in Flåklypa "..a village where time has stood still." But the description of society and the satire are aimed at audiences of today, not 60 years ago. Frimand Pløsen uses both mobile phone and computer in his daily work as a journalist and newspaper editor.” “In 2009 we took option on Harald Sommerin Simonnæs’ book Christmas in Flåklypa, which had commissioned on the Kari and Kjell Aukrust Foundation. We brought it to Sivertsen and screenwriter Karsten Fullu, and together we developed the first film in the series. Fullu wrote Louis & Nolan -The Big Cheese Race, and he will also deliver the script for the third and final film, Nolan & Louis – The Moon Race (Solan og Ludvig – Månelyst i Flåklypa).” Maipo Film has since 2001 produced 30 features, including Norwegian directors Bård Breiens The Art
Cornelia Boysen. Photo: Maipo Film AS
Doctor Proctor Bubble in the Bathtub. Photo: Maipo Film AS
of Negative Thinking (Kunsten å tenke negativt/2006), which took top prize at Karlovy Vary; Anne Sewitsky’s Sundance winner, Happy, Happy (Sykt lykkelig/2010) and Liv Ullmann’s Strindberg interpretation, Miss Julie (Frøken Julie/2014), starring Jessica Chastain and Colin Farrell. ”In 2010 we made a strategic decision to invest in up-market, ambitious, high-quality projects for children’s films – we believe it is important to produce good stories for children growing up in Norway today; the first productions were Torill Kove’s Hocus Pocus, Alfie Atkin (Hokus pokus, Albert Åberg/2013), Arild Fröhlich’s Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder (Doktor Proktors prompepulver/2014) and The Christmas of Louis & Nolan,” Boysen concluded. ”Norwegian director Mikkel B. Sandemose has just started our first film about The Ash Lad (Askeladden), from a Krikwood Brown/Enger script inspired by Norwegian authors Asbjørnsen and Moe’s Norwegian Folk
Tales (1841-1844) - The Ash Lad in the Hall of the Mountain King (Askeladden i Dovregubbens Hall); we have met a lot of interest for the project, also international. We choose our projects from what we want to watch ourselves, and what we want to produce – I am sure it is very important for the final result,” concluded Boysen. Maipo Film has other projects on the 2016 schedule: Hanne Larsen’s feature debut Gilbert’s Revenge (Gilberts grusomme hevn) will be ready for a September premiere; Eirik Svensson is shooting his third feature, after One Night in Oslo (Natt til 17./2014) and Must have been Love (En som deg/2013); Sivertsen will start his third Flåklypa film, and Anne Sewitsky will be ready with the cameras for Queen of Ice (Sonja), the biopic of Norwegian skater athlete-turned-Hollywood star Sonja Henie, with Ine Marie Wilmann in the lead. H Jørn Rossing Jensen MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 11
Late Summer. Photo: FilmBros AS
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
– AND IT HASN’T CHANGED
Norwegian director Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken made his first film when he was eight – now he is ready with his second feature, and his short Thanks for Dancing is on show in competition at Clermont-Ferrand in France
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inema came early into the life of Norwegian 26-yearold writer-director Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken. “I remember seeing Italian director Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful – it was after bedtime, so I was hiding behind the sofa while my parents was watching it on TV. It had a huge impact on me – I was nine years old – and I think I somewhat discovered the emotional impact of film that night,” Dahlsbakken recalled. But already then he was also active making films. ”My best friend's father had a video camera, which we
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used to make slap-stick comedies and horror thrillers. We took it very seriously, and spent a lot of work on it.” Launched last year at Rome’s Alice in the City Festival, Dahlsbakken’s feature debut, Returning Home (Å vende tilbake) won the top NDR Promotion Prize at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck; his follow-up, Late Summer (Sensommer), will open in Norway on 3 June, and meanwhile his latest short, Thanks for Dancing (Takk for turen), has been selected for competition at France’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (5-13 February).
”My best films have always been the most difficult productions, but Thanks for Dancing was just a bed of roses. We had a magnificent crew – good friends I've been working with for nearly ten years now,” he said. “With Norwegian stage director Stein Winge and Swedish actor Jan Malmsjö in the leading roles, I will remember it for the rest of my life.” The film follows two elderly men and former athletes during the last winter they live together, as a lifelong relationship is coming to an end. ”It is a bittersweet dramedy about love against all odds, and the
FILMOGRAPHY
HENRIK MARTIN DAHLSBAKKEN CAVE A group of former military elites set out to explore an uncharted abyss, not knowing their worst nightmare is waiting for them deep beneath the ground. Type: Feature | Production Year: 2016 LATE SUMMER An elderly woman has secluded herself in her remote home in the French countryside, when a young foreign couple on vacation suddenly intrudes on her isolated life. Type: Feature | Production Year: 2016 THANKS FOR DANCING A lifelong relationship is coming to an end, as we follow two elderly men and former athletes the last winter they are living together. Type: Short film | Production Year: 2015 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival – International Competition RETURNING HOME Two young brothers are forced to track down their absent father, having recently returned from service in Afghanistan, after he disappears during a reindeer hunt in the mountains. Type: Feature | Production Year: 2015 Nordic Film Days Lübeck: NDR Prize (Main Award)
Top: Cave Below: Thanks for Dancing. Photos: FilmBros As
sacrifices you make to live the life you believe in.” At 19 Dahlsbakken applied for the Norwegian Film School in Lillehammer, but was denied – ”too young”. ”In retrospect I couldn't agree more”. Taking courses in media science and film history, he continued as selftaught. But after his 2009 short, The Time in Between (Tiden imellom), he considered himself a filmmaker. “I see that
production as my film school, with everything I learned and all the mistakes I made during the three years, it took me to realise. It was a WW2 story about the forbidden relationship between a young Jew and the daughter of a Nazi, serious stuff, but I enjoyed all the troubles.” He has since signed five shorts, including Thanks for Dancing, always working with his younger brother Oskar Dahlsbakken, who – from actor, set decorator, key grip, camera
A STRANGER An unfortunate vagrant is found dead under mysterious circumstances by a group of children playing in the deep forest, although the grotesque sight evokes as much curiosity as disgust. Type: Short film | Production Year: 2014 THE DEVIL'S BALLROOM Along his strenuous journey to the North Pole, a chance encounter forces a fearless explorer to make an impossible decision. Type: Short film | Production Year: 2012 30 festivals 2012-2013 THE TIME IN BETWEEN The Time In Between tells the story of a forbidden relationship between two young girls - a relationship that is inevitably torn apart by the tension surrounding them. It’s a film about love and friendship abeam of cultural differences and the tragic consequences of prejudice and alienation. Type: Short film | Production Year: 2009
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assistant and focus puller – is now cinematographer, so far on four of his films. “He shot Returning Home, my first feature, which was partly based on my own childhood experiences. It was quite a challenge: we filmed 1,500 metres above sea level in September – a crew of eight, 15 shooting days, 40 rolls of expired 35mm film. Story was about two young brothers, trying to track down their father who has disappeared after returning from service in Afghanistan.” They also worked together on Late Summer, starring Bente Børsum, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Heidi Toini Øieren, Christian Bujeau, and produced by Dahlsbakken for his Hamar-based FilmBros production company. ”It is a classical crime and no-way-out drama á trois about an elderly Norwegian woman, who has secluded herself in the French countryside, when a young foreign couple on vacation suddenly intrudes on her isolated life. I was planning to shoot the film in Tuscany, until I found this perfect manoir in Loire-Atlantique – and as I don't speak French myself, it was interesting, to say at least.” The writer-director describes his third feature, Cave – which has been scheduled for a 9 September premiere – as a 180 degree turn for him as a filmmaker, and his so far most ambitious project. “It is an intense action thriller about a group of former military elites, who set out to explore an uncharted abyss, not knowing their worst nightmare is waiting for them deep beneath the ground. We will film everything on locations in Norway, except for some underwater scenes in Mexico –I think people will be utterly surprised when they see the result.” 14 NORWEGIAN FILMS | MAGAZINE #1 2016
Dahlsbakken, whose 2012 short The Devil’s Ballroom (Mannen fra isødet) toured 30 international film festivals to win, ao, for Best Short at Palm Springs, is currently casting his fourth feature, The Outlaws, which he describes as “a timeless Bonnie and Clyde story with several musical elements.” It is based on a real-life event in 1926, when two tramps kill two policemen after a failed train robbery and now are on the run. Top: The Devil's Ballrom Below: Late Summer. Photos: FilmBros AS
“19-year-old John (Åsmund Høeg) has been evicted from home and joined forces with an elderly vagrant, and the film centres on their relationship – it will be an extremely intense and brutal film, shot almost entirely in natural light,” concluded Dahlsbakken, who is preparing to make a Super16 prologue and epilogue in March, before starting production in June-July, for a 2017 premiere. H Jørn Rossing Jensen
LOOK TO NORWAY
– now with 25 % incentives
MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 15 POST@NORWEGIANFILMS.COM | WWW.NORWEGIANFILMS.COM
Shooting Ourselves. Photo: Øya Film
SHOOTING OURSELVES
– FROM CONFLICT STAGE PLAY TO DOCUMENTARY FILM The documentary film Shooting Ourselves is an experimental reflection on human experiences related to war and the arms industry, narrated through personal stories by victims, soldiers, arms producers, and activists.
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he director behind the experimental documentary film Shooting Ourselves is Christine Cynn, who was co-director of the Oscar nominated The Act of Killing. The film is produced by Kristian Mosvold and the company Øya Film. Shooting Ourselves is a completely regular documentary film format planned for cinema and TV, but it is based on a modern, experimental theatre play. Producer Mosvold explains:
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– The performance is dealing with 20 persons who in various ways have been, or are, affected by the arms industry – either on the side of the assailants or on the side of the victims. These are real persons, who met in Berlin in the course of two weeks in 2013 – where the German theatre group Rimini Protokolls directed them into the performance Situation Rooms. After the two weeks had passed, the "actors" all went back
home - and the audiences gain insight into their roles through the films, and the scenography they stroll around in. – So the film is all about the interaction between the participants, who will in all probability never meet again, at least not in the same way. Among other dialogues, we witness a conversation between a former child soldier from the Congo and a producer of bulletproof vests, and among a
Pakistani drone victim lawyer and an Indian military helicopter pilot. Basically Pakistan and India are in conflict, so the mere fact that these two are in dialogue is extremely interesting. The documentary film Shooting Ourselves is a mix of the iPad films and these behind-the-scene takes. The project is also transmedial, and Mosvold relates that they are developing a digital supplement to the film. The supplement will not accompany the cinema film, but is meant for the education sector, and will be completed when the film premieres on TV. – A documentary film of this kind speaks to those sympathetic to its point of view, but we would also like to reach persons who do not necessarily agree with us. For this purpose we will make a programme especially aimed at the education sector, in which we make use of sections of the film and construct an interactive experience. Shooting Ourselves. Photo: Øya Film
As usual, the distribution of the film is targeting the festival circuit, cinemas, and TV. But Mosvold emphasizes that such an unusual film requires new thinking around the distribution. – We have also established contact with an American company called Gathr.us, which is operating Theatrical On Demand. Gathr has landed an agreement with a cinema company in the US and Canada - so far - to the effect that if there are available screening possibilities, a private person may order the screening of a film at his local cinema theatre. Gathr then demands a minimum of for instance 20 prepaid tickets in order to break even, before they approve. The additional profit from all extra tickets sold is shared between Gathr and us. In time, we hope to initiate a similar arrangement in Europe, Mosvold concludes. H Tommy Gjerald
REVENGE ON STREAMING SERVICES Two weeks after being launched at streaming services, the Norwegian film Hevn (Revenge, 2015) directed by Kjersti Steinsbø, has been seen more than 7,000 times. This is about half of its total attendance figures after seven weeks in movie theatres. The distribution company Euforia launched the film digitally barely six weeks after its cinema premiere. Vibeke Skistad at Euforia is very satisfied with these figures. – It is important to distributors and producers to be on the offence about making revenue from other arenas than movie theatres when the industry is losing big money on the declining DVD and Blu-ray sales. The good results are clearly related to an early release. The film will not be released as a physical copy and with an early release on streaming services we avoid the period where the film is not legally available. Skistad maintains that the cinemas still are a prioritised screening platform, but reminds us that the market is in drastic change. – Films are not consumed only in movie theatres any more and we have to adapt to this new situation. Not all movies are equally successful in the cinemas, so it's important that we are thinking revenue at other platforms as well, she states. Hevn (Revenge) was also released on iTunes and Google Play on 18 January. MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 17
The Committee. Photo: Ape&Bjørn
THE COMMITTEE
– WHEN FICTION AND REALITY CONVERGE The short film The Committee is a black comedy about democratic decision making processes between the countries Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The film broke new ground by being the first short film which opened for minority co-productions of short film. Simultaneously this is a film which reflects its own creation.
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he film is about three delegates from Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The delegates gather in order to come to an agreement about a joint Nordic work of art to be placed by the landmark where Norway, Sweden, and Finland border on each other. When the hired artist presents a dance, it causes dissension among the delegates, as they had expected a more concrete, physical work of art. The film is directed by Norwegian Gunhild Enger and Finnish Jenni Tolvoniemi. Norwegian minority producer is Isak Eymundsson and the company Ape&Bjørn. Eymundsson relates that the directors teamed up
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at the DOX:LAB during CPH:DOX 2014. He adds that since the directors were Norwegian and Finnish, the idea of a Swedish main producer popped up. – Since the film thematized the three countries Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the directors figured that if it was made into a Swedish main production, the three countries would be involved in the project on an equal level. Consequently, Swedish main producer Marie Kjellson was hired - an experienced producer who, among another things, has produced Force Majeure (2014) for Ruben Östlund, Eymundsson says. For his own part, Eymundsson
was not inclined to turn down a project with so much talent and experience involved. – Gunhild Enger is a short film director who has received a lot of attention, and she has participated at a number of festivals with her projects. Gunhild and I have never worked together, but we know each other from various internal meeting places in the industry. The constellation of this project consists of some of the most talented directors and producers of my generation in the Nordic countries. In other words, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a part of this. – This was a ground-breaking short
film when it came to the funding it ended up with. As the first short film ever, it was granted support for minority co-production. Eymundsson reveals that the process was an elaborate one. It was only due to creative solutions that the project ended up being the first one with financial support under the new scheme from the Norwegian Film Institute. – Gunhild contacted me and told me that this is a Swedish-Finnish-Norwegian co-production, and that she knows there are some ongoing processes taking place at the Norwegian Film Institute in which they work with the possibility of support for minority co-production of short film. And I had it confirmed that at the time, the scheme was reviewed for approval by the Ministry of Culture. For several reasons, we had to get started before the scheme was established. The solution was to convert nearly all the support from Sweden into development support, and start shooting the film with those fundings - to buy time. – Finally, at the end of the summer of 2015, the scheme was in place, after I had called the Ministry of Culture and pushed them. We applied for a grant in September, and received it in October. It was in the nick of time, as the remaining shooting was planned for the beginning of November. Eymundsson agrees that the film has become a pioneer project. In his opinion, a more or less finished project was required in order to push the new scheme through. – If our project had not been in such a state of readiness, I think this would have been delayed for a much longer time. In many ways, this is a pioneer project, which we have also emphasized. It feels like an appropriate project to link the new scheme to, as it's really all about what the scheme is meant to support, Eymundsson concludes. H Tommy Gjerald
THE SHOOTING OF KINGS BAY HAS STARTED The shooting of Kings Bay has started. The film is investigating the real event of a mining accident in Ny-Ålesund at Svalbard in the fall of 1962. 21 people lost their lives in the accident that caused a cabinet crisis in Norway. In 1963 the Labour government had to resign as a direct result. Kings Bay is directed by Stig Svendsen, who is also behind the screenplay. He has earlier directed the films The Radio Pirates and
the thriller Elevator. It is produced by John M. Jacobsen and Marcus Brodersen for Filmkameratene AS. This is a fiction film inspired by the real event, asking questions about whether the accident really was an accident, as seen from the perspective of an investigating journalist. Kings Bay is shot at FilmCamp in Øvrebygd, in Bardufoss and in Tromsø, with a planned premiere in early 2017.
FILMBIB
– INNOVATIVE STREAMING SERVICE TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES Filmbib is a new and innovative streaming service created to provide Norwegian audiences access to Norwegian shorts and documentaries via the public libraries. Anyone with a national library card will get access to the films – free of charge - on iOS, Android, PC and Mac. Each film will be available over a five-year period. At launch in November 2015, Filmbib contained almost 200 short and documentary films from the Norwegian film history, in addition to very recent film productions. Ap-
proximately 100 new films will be added to the service a year. The Ministry of Culture has set up a purchasing scheme to secure payment to the right-holders of the films and commissioned the Norwegian Film Institute to administer the scheme. The films in Filmbib have also been cleared for educational use, and can be streamed in all schools in Norway. An independent committee appointed by the industry organisations selects the films to be included in the service. MAGAZINE #1 2016 | NORWEGIAN FILMS 19
will seek innovation and work together to develop new business models that will ensure high quality Norwegian audiovisual content also in the years to come. Our grant schemes in the area of film should be as complementary as possible, meeting different objectives and covering different areas. I want Norwegian films to cover a broad variety of themes, expressions and voices, and reflect our society. Film can be an important platform for integration, both on the production side and the consumer side. The national and the regional film institutions together play a pivotal role in obtaining this.
NORWAY'S NEW MINISTER OF CULTURE:
LINDA HOFSTAD HELLELAND
In December 2015 Linda Hofstad Helleland became Norway's new Minister of Culture. We asked her four questions about her film policy and film experiences. What is most important to you as regards film policy? The Norwegian Government outlined its new film policy last year, and I am eager to implement this new policy in close cooperation with the Norwegian Film Institute and the Norwegian Film Industry itself. It is important to me that our regulations help build a sustainable film
industry. But it is equally important that the film industry itself is able to adjust to the new reality. Due to digitization, the business models in the film industry, both in Norway and globally, face challenges. I would however like to emphasize that this also represents a momentum and a great opportunity, and I have high hopes that both the "old" and new players in the film production and distribution industry
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What was your last Norwegian film experience? How was it? Louis & Nolan - The Big Cheese Race (Solan og Ludvig – herfra til Flåklypa), a wonderful animated film. I enjoyed it just as much as my children did. How is the Norwegian film industry going to notice that we have got you as Minister of Culture? I take great interest in film both as a cultural expression and entertainment. And although I cannot promise that I will be able to see all Norwegian film releases, I will be keeping a close eye on Norwegian films and series. Norway has just launched its own incentives initiative for films. What are your expectations for this initiative? I have high expectations for the incentive scheme. I think Norway has a lot to offer international producers such as professional filmmakers, an effective national film industry and exceptional film locations. Our hope is that the incentive scheme will promote Norway`s culture, history and nature and strengthen the national film industry. H Jakob Berg
FACTS & FIGURES 2015 Norwegian film and series in Norway Total admission
National market share
12 028 030
20,5 %
Admissions per citizen
Number of theatres
Number of screens
2,3
201
434
Number of Norwegian feature length films
Average ticket prices
23
€ 11,4
Cinema Top 3 English Title The Wave James Bond: Spectre Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Cinema Top 3 Norwegian Titles Admission 832 649 688 450 471 800
English Title The Wave Valley of Knights: Mira’s Magical Christmas Casper and Emma on Safari
Admission 832 649 271 389 251 265
Cinema Top 3 Norwegian Feature Length Documentaries English Title Admission Siblings Are Forever: The Grand Journey 31 432 Rebels 20 755 Brothers 11 815
Top 3 Norwegian TV Drama (Home TV) English Title Total Screen Rating* Heavy Water War 1 720 000 Aquitted 837 000 Occupied 661 000 *average per episode
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The Heavy Water War. Photo: Filmkameratene AS
NORWEGIAN TV-DRAMA BUILDS MOMENTUM
The numbers are in and the facts are clear; the top 3 Norwegian TV-drama receiving huge response from the home audience. The comparatively small Norwegian population is gathering around the latest national tv-drama productions. With a population barely exceeding 5.2 million, the numbers reveal that the quality of Norwegian national tv-drama productions have caught the attention of the Norwegians.
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The following numbers show total screen rating (average per episode) for the top 3 Norwegian TV-drama series: • The Heavy Water War (Kampen om tungvannet, 2015): 1.720.000 • Aquitted (Frikjent, 2015): 837.000 • Occupied (Okkupert, 2015): 661.000 Mammon 2 (season 2, 2016) is airing at the time of writing, and the premiere episode was seen by 692.000. Mammon season 1 (2014) had a total screen rating of 1.298.00
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The Norwegian Film Database Norwegian films and series in the palm of your hand.
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