Sovereign is proud to announce that award-winning Mexican director Amat Escalante’s powerful thriller Lost In The Night received its UK premiere at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival, as part of the ‘Thrill’ section, and now the film is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
From acclaimed Mexican director Amat Escalante, following Heli, for which he won Best Director at Cannes in 2013, and The Untamed, which won him the Best Director prize at Venice in 2016, comes Lost In The Night, a taut, engrossing thriller that blends traditional elements of Latin American cinema with astute social commentary on Mexican society and contemporary influencer culture.
The film, which premiered at Cannes this year, stars Juan Daniel García Treviño (Narcos México), and Latin American influencer superstar Ester Expósito, who has 27 million followers, and features a superb score by Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.
The film...
From acclaimed Mexican director Amat Escalante, following Heli, for which he won Best Director at Cannes in 2013, and The Untamed, which won him the Best Director prize at Venice in 2016, comes Lost In The Night, a taut, engrossing thriller that blends traditional elements of Latin American cinema with astute social commentary on Mexican society and contemporary influencer culture.
The film, which premiered at Cannes this year, stars Juan Daniel García Treviño (Narcos México), and Latin American influencer superstar Ester Expósito, who has 27 million followers, and features a superb score by Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.
The film...
- 4/11/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Prime Video is diving into genre in the Nordics with a new slate of shows, including the Swedish mystery crime series “Blind Spot” starring Ida Engvoll (“Love & Anarchy”) and Pål Sverre Hagen (“Furia”), and Henrik Georgsson (“The Bridge”)’s dystopian thriller “Vaka,” starring Emmy-award nominated Jonas Karlsson and Aliette Opheim.
Based on Anne Holt’s best-selling novel “1222” which revolves around the character of Hanne Wilhelmsen, a sharp and dark-minded police officer. The series, penned by celebrated author Sara Heldt (“Sandhamn Murders”) together with Erik Skjoldberg (“Occupied”), follows Hanne who finds herself sheltered in an isolated mountain hotel after a train crash and starts investigating on mysterious murders even though she’s been temporarily suspended from the police.
“Blind Spot” is co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Nordic Drama Queens, in association with Fifth Season which represents the show outside of the Nordic region. Skjoldberg is directing all four episodes of the series.
Based on Anne Holt’s best-selling novel “1222” which revolves around the character of Hanne Wilhelmsen, a sharp and dark-minded police officer. The series, penned by celebrated author Sara Heldt (“Sandhamn Murders”) together with Erik Skjoldberg (“Occupied”), follows Hanne who finds herself sheltered in an isolated mountain hotel after a train crash and starts investigating on mysterious murders even though she’s been temporarily suspended from the police.
“Blind Spot” is co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Nordic Drama Queens, in association with Fifth Season which represents the show outside of the Nordic region. Skjoldberg is directing all four episodes of the series.
- 3/14/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle’s Norwegian banner Monster, behind hit TV shows “Exit,” “Furia” and “Pørni, will be bringing to Series Mania Forum’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions ‘The Odesa Wrestlers’, which has received development coin from Norwegian pubcaster Nrk.
Celebrated Norwegian podcaster Joachim Førsund and star actor Thorbjørn Harr are making their debut as co-creators, with Førsund also serving as screenwriter and Harr as episodic director.
“We’re in discussions with Thorbjørn to play one of the main roles, but nothing is confirmed,” said producer and Monster head of scripted Cathrine Simonsen.
Set in small town Elverum in rural Norway, the story turns on two young Ukrainian refugees and brothers Andriy and Mago as they join a local wrestling team, with the hope to shape a brighter future for themselves. Their remarkable skills and unorthodox methods quickly disrupt the social hierarchy in the club – headed by former world champion Willy – as well as the local youth community.
Celebrated Norwegian podcaster Joachim Førsund and star actor Thorbjørn Harr are making their debut as co-creators, with Førsund also serving as screenwriter and Harr as episodic director.
“We’re in discussions with Thorbjørn to play one of the main roles, but nothing is confirmed,” said producer and Monster head of scripted Cathrine Simonsen.
Set in small town Elverum in rural Norway, the story turns on two young Ukrainian refugees and brothers Andriy and Mago as they join a local wrestling team, with the hope to shape a brighter future for themselves. Their remarkable skills and unorthodox methods quickly disrupt the social hierarchy in the club – headed by former world champion Willy – as well as the local youth community.
- 2/23/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Sofie Gråbøl in the Danish TV hospital drama “The Shift.” Courtesy of MHz Choice
The Danish TV hospital drama “The Shift (originally Dag & Nat)”offers some interesting contrasts with our domestic fare. Ella (Sofie Grabol) stars as the chief midwife for the highest-rated maternity ward in the city. She’s single, in her 40s and besieged by problems on all fronts. The worst of them is the hospital’s money guy who consistently ignores her pleas and arguments to add staff for the sake of her overburdened crew and their patients. Several of the midwives and aides present an assortment of personal and professional issues to manage. She’s boinking a married doctor (Pal Sverre Hagen) on the down-low, and constantly worried about her public facility that serves the underclass losing colleagues to upscale private hospitals and clinics catering to the wealthy. Those places can pay more while working them less.
The Danish TV hospital drama “The Shift (originally Dag & Nat)”offers some interesting contrasts with our domestic fare. Ella (Sofie Grabol) stars as the chief midwife for the highest-rated maternity ward in the city. She’s single, in her 40s and besieged by problems on all fronts. The worst of them is the hospital’s money guy who consistently ignores her pleas and arguments to add staff for the sake of her overburdened crew and their patients. Several of the midwives and aides present an assortment of personal and professional issues to manage. She’s boinking a married doctor (Pal Sverre Hagen) on the down-low, and constantly worried about her public facility that serves the underclass losing colleagues to upscale private hospitals and clinics catering to the wealthy. Those places can pay more while working them less.
- 1/17/2024
- by Mark Glass
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The World War Two drama War Sailor — which debuted at last year’s Toronto Film Festival — swept Norway’s Amanda Awards last night, taking four main awards.
The War Sailor haul included best actor for Pål Sverre Hagen. This is his third Amanda and second consecutive win. Ine Marie Wilmann won the best supporting actress award for portraying Cecilia in the pic.
The film, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Gunnar Vikene, centers on Alfred Garnes, a working-class sailor who has recently become the father of a third child. He and his childhood friend Sigbjørn Kvalen are working on a merchant ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out. They are unarmed civilians on the front lines of a war they never asked to join. The two men struggle for survival in a spiral of violence and death, where German submarines may attack their valuable vessels at any moment.
The War Sailor haul included best actor for Pål Sverre Hagen. This is his third Amanda and second consecutive win. Ine Marie Wilmann won the best supporting actress award for portraying Cecilia in the pic.
The film, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Gunnar Vikene, centers on Alfred Garnes, a working-class sailor who has recently become the father of a third child. He and his childhood friend Sigbjørn Kvalen are working on a merchant ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out. They are unarmed civilians on the front lines of a war they never asked to join. The two men struggle for survival in a spiral of violence and death, where German submarines may attack their valuable vessels at any moment.
- 8/20/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
War Sailor (Krigsseileren) is a series set in World War II, a Norwegian production that returns to the war theme, as was done with Narvik. A great series written and directed by Gunnar Vikene starring Kristoffer Joner, Pål Sverre Hagen and Ine Marie Wilmann.
The tale of a few men who, onboard ship, suddenly find themselves facing the outbreak of World War II, on the high seas and without weapons.
If you like epic stories, ones which have strength and style and, above all, human stories of overcoming obstacles, War Sailor plunges us into this three-hour story divided into three episodes that completely immerse us in a tale which is, above all, well narrated.
As already happened in Narvik, it is a film very close to the human side rather than to the events themselves, a series that tries to get closer to the human suffering than to any political or sociological key aspects.
The tale of a few men who, onboard ship, suddenly find themselves facing the outbreak of World War II, on the high seas and without weapons.
If you like epic stories, ones which have strength and style and, above all, human stories of overcoming obstacles, War Sailor plunges us into this three-hour story divided into three episodes that completely immerse us in a tale which is, above all, well narrated.
As already happened in Narvik, it is a film very close to the human side rather than to the events themselves, a series that tries to get closer to the human suffering than to any political or sociological key aspects.
- 4/4/2023
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
The brutality of war tormented the common people of Norway with the outbreak of World War II. But a major victory against Hitler was achieved when many Norwegian merchant seamen were conscripted to help the British Allies during WWII. The Norwegian drama “War Sailor,” which is now available on Netflix, depicts how the war destroyed the lives of those merchant seamen and their families.
The story of “War Sailor” revolves around a sailor, Alfred Garnes (Kristoffer Joner), and his comrade Sigbjorn (Pål Sverre Hagen) as they travel aboard a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. While Alfred and Sigbjorn struggled as unarmed citizens who had never joined the army, Alfred’s wife and three children were anxiously awaiting their return. The plight of Alfred’s family and the merchant seamen who were torpedoed at sea by the Germans became the show’s highlight. Meanwhile, when the Brits attempted...
The story of “War Sailor” revolves around a sailor, Alfred Garnes (Kristoffer Joner), and his comrade Sigbjorn (Pål Sverre Hagen) as they travel aboard a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. While Alfred and Sigbjorn struggled as unarmed citizens who had never joined the army, Alfred’s wife and three children were anxiously awaiting their return. The plight of Alfred’s family and the merchant seamen who were torpedoed at sea by the Germans became the show’s highlight. Meanwhile, when the Brits attempted...
- 4/2/2023
- by Poulami Nanda
- Film Fugitives
Viaplay’s newly launched U.S. streaming service has unveiled the trailer for its anticipated original crime series “Cell 8” which will premiere exclusively in North America on the platform on April 13.
The 6-episode series shot in both Swedish and English, and revolves around the justice system and death penalty.
“Cell 8” tells the story of a man presumed dead who is arrested on a ferry between Sweden and Finland. Detectives Mariana Hermansson (Mimosa Willamo) and Ewert Grens (Leonard Terfelt) who proceed to the arrest are thrown into a mysterious and increasingly dark series of events. The case soon reveals a personal connection not only to Hermansson herself, but to a Death Row prisoner in the U.S. and a grieving parent consumed by the quest for revenge.
Viaplay’s U.S. platform bowed on Feb 22 with a large offering of new Nordic series ranging from the Danish crime drama “Trom” starring...
The 6-episode series shot in both Swedish and English, and revolves around the justice system and death penalty.
“Cell 8” tells the story of a man presumed dead who is arrested on a ferry between Sweden and Finland. Detectives Mariana Hermansson (Mimosa Willamo) and Ewert Grens (Leonard Terfelt) who proceed to the arrest are thrown into a mysterious and increasingly dark series of events. The case soon reveals a personal connection not only to Hermansson herself, but to a Death Row prisoner in the U.S. and a grieving parent consumed by the quest for revenge.
Viaplay’s U.S. platform bowed on Feb 22 with a large offering of new Nordic series ranging from the Danish crime drama “Trom” starring...
- 3/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The town of Karmack, somewhere in the US Midwest, rivals Hot Fuzz’s Sandford as an accident blackspot. Here, however, it’s not so much a consequence of murder as of a desperately depressed economic state which has left some people suicidal, others careless, and has allowed vital infrastructure to corrode. Nobody now seems to have the will to do anything about this, but what they are willing to invest in is a middle man – somebody who will stand in for the sheriff (Paul Gross), doctor (Don McKellar) and pastor (Nicolas Bro) when it comes to the breaking of bad news.
Taking on this thankless job is the personable but naïve Frank (Pål Sverre Hagen), a mild mannered man who actually seems to believe, at the outset, that he can do some good. The bulk of the film unfolds as a series of vignettes in which he is confronted with one absurdly.
Taking on this thankless job is the personable but naïve Frank (Pål Sverre Hagen), a mild mannered man who actually seems to believe, at the outset, that he can do some good. The bulk of the film unfolds as a series of vignettes in which he is confronted with one absurdly.
- 3/9/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Bent Hamer’s films are known for their deadpan humour but nothing funny – nor sad, nor plausible – happens in this film about a man whose job is to break the news to those whose relations have been killed
Bent Hamer is a Norwegian film-maker who began his career with quirky absurdist movies in the 00s such as Kitchen Stories and O’Horten, and also his rather tougher film Factotum from 2005 – a fictionalised study of Charles Bukowski starring Matt Dillon. Perhaps Hamer’s career benefited a good deal from international festival juries having a soft spot for his kind of goofy deadpan humour, but I was never entirely sure exactly how funny or meaningful his creations ultimately were. However, his film-making had a certain rigour and poise.
The same, sadly, can’t be said for his new film, set in some featureless anytown in North America, in which a bland young guy...
Bent Hamer is a Norwegian film-maker who began his career with quirky absurdist movies in the 00s such as Kitchen Stories and O’Horten, and also his rather tougher film Factotum from 2005 – a fictionalised study of Charles Bukowski starring Matt Dillon. Perhaps Hamer’s career benefited a good deal from international festival juries having a soft spot for his kind of goofy deadpan humour, but I was never entirely sure exactly how funny or meaningful his creations ultimately were. However, his film-making had a certain rigour and poise.
The same, sadly, can’t be said for his new film, set in some featureless anytown in North America, in which a bland young guy...
- 3/7/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
To celebrate the release of Furia, we spoke with lead actors Ine Marie Wilmann and Pal Sverre Hagen about the show.
Furia revolves around Asgier and Ragna, two cops who are investigating the rise of far-right violence that is spreading across their small town.
We spoke with Ine about the difficulties of researching such extremism and we also spoke with Pal about developing the core father and daughter relationship.
Viaplay arrives in the US on the 22nd of February, 2023.
The post Furia Interview – Ine Marie Wilmann & Pål Sverre Hagen on a thrilling new series & their working partnership appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Furia revolves around Asgier and Ragna, two cops who are investigating the rise of far-right violence that is spreading across their small town.
We spoke with Ine about the difficulties of researching such extremism and we also spoke with Pal about developing the core father and daughter relationship.
Viaplay arrives in the US on the 22nd of February, 2023.
The post Furia Interview – Ine Marie Wilmann & Pål Sverre Hagen on a thrilling new series & their working partnership appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 2/23/2023
- by Sarah Cook
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Norway’s Oscar© 2023 Submission for Best International Feature: ‘War Sailor’ by Gunnar VikeneThis is a saga of war but it is not a war story. We do not see the slaughter so vividly depicted in ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. The center stage is not the bonding of men under the duress of war. Instead we see a love story fold, unfold, refold and in its midst, we see the bond between the two men who love the same woman.
Surely this film will make the Oscar Shortlist and I predict the Nomination as well if not the Oscar itself.
Starring Kristoffer Joner, Pål Sverre Hagen, Ine Marie Wilmann
The story begins at a party with a loving family Alfred, Cecilia, their three children and his best friend Wally who is a professional sailor. He persuades Alfred to join him as a cook on the merchant ship. When World War II breaks out in 1939, Norway declares itself neutral. On April 9, 1940, German troops invade the country and quickly occupy Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Narvik. The Norwegian government rejects the German ultimatum regarding immediate capitulation and it orders its merchant ships to continue delivering goods among the Allies. The sea is the most dangerous place with its unseen torpedos and bombs. Their ships take in survivors from other wreckages including underage youths, both male and female, who must also serve with these sailors. Alfred and Wally struggle for survival in a spiral of violence and death, where at any moment German submarines may attack their valuable vessels. The war sailors have one goal: to survive — and to return home. They are the unarmed civilians on the front lines of a war they never asked to join.
Life at home under the Nazis is also difficult and Alfred’s wife Cecilia, back home in Bergen, has to raise three kids on her own not knowing if her husband is alive or dead. So many years go by as the husband and friend try to survive and the woman with her three children also try to survive.
When British aircrafts attempt to bomb the German submarine bunker in Bergen, they instead hit the primary school at Laksevåg and civilian homes at Nøstet, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths. When the news reaches Alfred and Wally in Canada, they wonder if they have anything left at home to return to.
War as the most Destructive Force on Earth is felt and witnessed through a very different lens from the typical war film and packs a greater anti-war whallop than those films where the woman and children are largely ignored as if war were between male forces and women were left to pick up the pieces when it was over. War Sailor spans the years 1939 to 1972 looking at the long-term consequences of what happened during the war years.
A discussion with writer/director Gunnar Vikene and producer Maria Ekerhovd about the making of War Sailor
writer/director Gunnar Vikene
Gunnar Vikene had been thinking about the true stories of the “war sailors” ever since he first heard about them when he was a young boy. Vikene’s father used to paint houses with a man who seemed to have no fears — Vikene found out this man had survived three torpedo attacks during World War II despite never enlisting in the military.
“There were 30,000 of these Norwegian sailors in the war. And there were similar Canadian merchant fleets, and British, and America,” Vikene explains. “They’re all the unsung heroes of that war — they were caught up in it and they couldn’t decide for themselves if they wanted to enlist. Then after the war, they didn’t fit into the idea of the war hero because they had no uniform and had no guns, no medals or anything.”
Vikene explains he wanted to avoid the usual war film cliches. “Yes, we have action scenes when it’s necessary for the story, but it comes down to the human factor. It’s not about the explosion, it’s about the consequences of the explosion.”
He discovered the true story of the real Alfred, Wally and Cecilia back in the early 1990s “and I never forgot it.” He researched their stories and similar stories of the time period and the legacy of war for decades later. Vikene doesn’t call this film a biography because it is a fictionalized version of their lives — “Alfred is not here anymore to explain anything, so I consider these fictional versions of the characters. But they are based on real people,” he says. “What I can say is that every war-related incident in the film actually happened. I read everything that I have come across.”
Another devastating true story in the film is when British aircrafts trying to bomb the German submarine bunkers in Bergen accidentally bomb the primary school at Laksevåg and civilian homes at Nøstet, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths. Vikene grew up knowing the story because one of his mother’s second cousins was killed that day, at only age 8, and another of her cousins survived.
What finally inspired him to make the film was a talk a few years ago with his then-12-year-old daughter, looking at images of a wounded child in Syria. He recalls, “My daughter said, ‘I’m so glad we don’t live in a country where we experience that.’ And I pointed out the window and said, ‘relatives of your grandmother were killed right over there.’ And my daughter didn’t know. It was the idea that we need to remind ourselves that we have been through it.”
The story then burst out of him onto the page. “I had been thinking about the story for so long that when I tried to just sit down and get the first draft of the script out, I finished it in a month.”
He dreamed of telling this story for decades “but I never thought I was going to be in a position where I was actually able to make it.” His longtime collaboration with Maria Ekerhovd at Mer Film made it possible, working together on their third feature (after their past collaborations Here is Harloldand Vegas).
Producer Maria Ekerhovd
At first, Ekerhovd wasn’t keen on any story related to World War II. “I gave her the script, and told her that it takes place during the war but also after the war. She called me after she read the script and said, ‘This isn’t really a war movie, so I’d love to produce it.’”
Ekerhovd knew the production would be her biggest ever. “It’s a big production and I never actually had the ambition that I would do that kind of big film, that was never a goal I had. But Gunnar came to me in 2016 with the script, and he’d already been thinking of this story for 20 years.”
She was fascinated by this story which hadn’t been told in film before: “Gunnar told me that during the Second World War, Norway had the fifth-biggest merchant fleet in the world. When the war started, the Norwegian government decided that all these normal Norwegian sailors had to sail throughout the war, and they didn’t have a choice. These ships had such an important job to get the supplies to the Allies. Their contribution to the war was never recognized. They were traumatized. The government never even paid them for the job they did during the war until the 1970s. This is a big scandal and it hasn’t been dealt with. This isn’t the kind of black-and-white story we usually see on the big screen. There is more complexity.”
Vikene adds, “All my films before were small arthouse movies, and I knew this would take more money and more resources, and Maria made it happen, she got all the right partners on board quickly.”
Ekerhovd put together the largest budget ever for Norwegian production, at 11m Euros, bringing on co-producers Rohfilm Factory, Studio Hamburg and Falkun Films.
She was excited to continue their 15-year-collaboration in new ways. The producer says, “I think it’s super important to really get to know the people you work with, in order to really know the strengths and weaknesses of each other and be open and honest and trust the process. It’s not going to be easy all the time, and we will have our ups and downs, but we can be together in all of those circumstances.”
Vikene is always impressed that Ekerhovd is brilliant both on the creative and the logistical sides of producing: “She’s a great reader and such a good analyst. And she can be compassionate about a project’s issues. She also doesn’t take no for an answer!”
Assembling the perfect cast
A trio of established Norwegian talents play the leads — Kristoffer Joner (The Wave) plays family man Alfred; Pal Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki) is his old friend Wally; and Ine Marie Wilmann (Sonia: The White Swan) plays Alfred’s wife Cecilia.
Vikene had made his first feature, 2002’s Falling Sky, with Joner and they have become good friends over the years. “He’s a fantastic actor and human being and I had written the script with him in mind, I was so lucky he said yes,” Vikene says.
Despite being two of the most acclaimed contemporary actors in Norway, Joner and Hagen had never met before. “It’s strange that in little Norway they hadn’t met each other. But after two minutes in the room together, I just felt that they really respected and liked each other. They became great friends during the shoot and I think you see that on screen,” the director says.
He had also worked with Wilmann before, and had a special challenge for her in this role of the wife left home in Bergen. He remembers, “I told her, ‘The trick this time was that you have to learn the local dialect.’ This is really difficult and very different from her own. I told her, ‘You have to learn it — not only learning the lines, you have to speak fluidly so we can improvise.’ And she spent a year learning it and was brilliant.”
“The process of working with the actors was very nice,” Vikene continues. “I told the actors that you need to own your characters. Because this is something that I need you to take responsibility for. And they did so in such a fantastic way.”
He also tried not to rehearse each scene too much. “We talked about the characters and scenes a lot but I do very few rehearsals. I was afraid if we rehearsed it too much they were going to drain it emotionally.”
An epic production
The film was originally scheduled to shoot in 2020 but had to pause for a year due to the pandemic. They eventually shot it during March to October 2021, in Norway, Malta and Germany, with just over 60 shooting days.
They worked with a mostly Maltese crew in Malta and again with German crews in Germany, and Vikene praises them as “great professionals,” but he was still glad to get back to the Norwegian part of the shoot “working with a lot of people I’ve worked with before, with so many people pitching in because my film family is here.”
The scale of the project was a step up for Ekerhovd. “It was super exciting…it was a new challenge that it was such a big film, you can’t just wing it. It was fun because it was learning new skills and working with new partners and seeing how that side of the business works.”
Because Vikene has also worked in big budget TV like Occupied, he found working a bigger-budget film wasn’t a shock to the system. “The process is basically the same thing as with a lower-budget film, it just involves a lot more people.”
One key collaborator was acclaimed DoP Sturla Brandth. “Sturla is one of the best cinematographers on the planet and he’s also such a great human being — that was one of the most inspiring collaborations I’ve had in my career,” the director says.
They didn’t use typical war films for visual inspiration, instead watching documentary footage from the era or even more recent documentary films like The White Helmets.
“We wanted that documentary feel when it comes to closeness to the character,” Vikene adds. The team shot digitally — and Vikene praises colourist William Kjarval for giving it “a filmic look” in the grading process.
The big set pieces were very carefully planned. “We prepared really well for all the technical sequences, so that was storyboarded in detail in advance,” Vikene explains.
And as much as possible was shot in camera, not added in post later. He adds, “I see so many films where you have 10 seconds of a CGI ship in an establishing shot. We weren’t interested in that. We only wanted the CGI to enhance what we already shot, to make the story better.”
Scenes of the ships and raft on the ocean are actually shot in the sea, not in a water tank. They thought the authenticity was worth going the extra mile. As Vikene recalls, “Sturla thought we would be able to detect the distinction where the real water ends, and maybe it would feel not quite right. The real thing is always better.”
They also didn’t just use spectacle for spectacle’s sake. “The explosions and actions are there because they have real consequences for human beings. There are a lot of very romantic films made about war and the great heroes, and we tried to stay away from that. It was a film about survival to make it home to your loved ones, not about heroism in action. I hope you can see on screen the fear and the panic in the those war scenes.”
Ekerhovd adds, “I think what Gunnar has achieved with the film is to actually give us a feeling of how it was for them to be out on the boats and also how it really played out for the families at home.”
Vikene also praises the authentic work across so many members of the crew — such as by costume designer Stefanie Bieker (“she gave it a texture that feels really believable and not like a typical costume drama”; makeup designer Jens Bartram and his team (“they nailed it for this documentary feel we were going for”) production designer Tamo Kunz. The director adds that editors Peter Brandt and Anders Albjerg Kristiansen “were so enthusiastic and brave during the process, and challenged me and the material in a great and constructive way.”
Honoring the legacy of the war sailors
Vikene hopes this film will personally touch people who still live with the legacy of the war sailors. “People remember being children and not knowing if their beloved father is coming home. I’ve spoken to so many children of those kinds of families. That’s an important part of the story. It is so much about what happens with families after the war.”
He felt the importance of the story today when the team were shooting in his hometown of Bergen. “We were shooting in places that were so close to the school that was bombed, and there are so many people in Bergen who had families impacted by that, so that felt very special. People stopped to tell us their stories. It felt so close in a way that was inspiring, we were dealing with real people’s stories and that’s a big responsibility.”
The cast and crew were away from their families for four and a half months while making the film, and while that’s not as extreme as the story of the sailors — Vikene wanted the cast and crew to draw on that feeling. He told them, “Take this emotion that you come home to your children and they have grown five centimeters since last time you saw them. And then multiply that emotion by a million. That’s how they felt.”
Sadly, this kind of war story still feels relevant today. “This story about the civilians, the working-class perspective hasn’t been told,” Vikene says. “90% of people dying in war today are civilians. They aren’t wearing uniforms. You just have to look at Ukraine.”
He continues, “I haven’t lived through war. If you live long enough, you have things in your life that you cannot fix for ourselves. Things that we can’t control and has sent our life in a different direction. I hope everyone can relate to that feeling. I hope we can all relate to having a father that you don’t know if you will ever see again, or relate to being a wife who doesn’t know if her husband is alive when she wakes up in the morning. I think on a basic human level, people can relate to that. I hope the audience can identify with the characters, there is something universal about the feelings they have towards each other.”
The Crew
Gunnar Vikene — The Director
Gunnar Vikene directed his first feature film, Falling Sky (Himmelfall) in 2002. His following feature films — Trigger(2007), Vegas (2009), and Here is Harold (2014) — have all received both critical acclaim and a number of international prizes.
In 2017 he directed the TV-series Borderline, which earned him a best director-prize at Gullruten (Norwegian Emmys). He also directed several episodes of the acclaimed show Occupied (2020) and was in 2022 again nominated for a best director-prize for his work in the TV-series Pørni (2021).
Gunnar lives in Bergen, on the west coast of Norway. Before starting to work with films he was a submarine officer for several years.
Sturla Brandth GRØVLEN — Director Of Photography
Sturla Brandth Grøvlen is a Norwegian cinematographer based in Denmark. He won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for his work on Victoria (2015) and has since worked on films such as Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Eskil Vogt’s The Innocents, Benh Zeitlin’s Wendy and Josephine Decker’s Shirley.
Volker Bertelmann — Composer
Volker Bertelmann is a German composer. He won an Oscar for his work on Lion (2016), together with Dustin O’Halloran. He has composed scores for such films as Ammonite (2020), The Old Guard (2020) and All Quiet On The Western Front (2022).
The Main Cast
Kristoffer Joner — Alfred
Kristoffer Joner has starred in Norwegian and International films as The Wave, The Quake, Mission: Impossible — Fallout and The Revenant. He has won the Norwegian Film Award Amanda for Best Male Actor three times and starred in Gunnar Vikene’s first feature film Falling Sky in 2002.
Ine Marie Wilmann — Cecilia
Ine Marie Wilmann has starred in Norwegian films and TV-series as Sonja: The White Swan (Sundance 2018), Homesick (Sundance 2015), Exit (2021-) and Furia (2021-). She has won the Amanda Award for Best Female Lead and the Norwegian Emmy for her work in the TV-series The Third Eye, directed by Gunnar Vikene.
PÅL Sverre Hagen — SIGBJØRN
Pål Sverre Hagen has starred in Norwegian films such as Kon-Tiki, Troubled Water, Amundsen and Out Stealing Horses. He has won the Amanda Award for Best Actor two times — most recently for his performance in The Middle Man(Toronto, 2021).
International Sales Agent Beta Films has licensed the film to
Norway, Germany, Malta 2022
Length 151 min
Screen Ratio 1:1.85
Format Digital 3.2K
Sound 7.1 Dolby Digital
Languages Norwegian, English, German...
Surely this film will make the Oscar Shortlist and I predict the Nomination as well if not the Oscar itself.
Starring Kristoffer Joner, Pål Sverre Hagen, Ine Marie Wilmann
The story begins at a party with a loving family Alfred, Cecilia, their three children and his best friend Wally who is a professional sailor. He persuades Alfred to join him as a cook on the merchant ship. When World War II breaks out in 1939, Norway declares itself neutral. On April 9, 1940, German troops invade the country and quickly occupy Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Narvik. The Norwegian government rejects the German ultimatum regarding immediate capitulation and it orders its merchant ships to continue delivering goods among the Allies. The sea is the most dangerous place with its unseen torpedos and bombs. Their ships take in survivors from other wreckages including underage youths, both male and female, who must also serve with these sailors. Alfred and Wally struggle for survival in a spiral of violence and death, where at any moment German submarines may attack their valuable vessels. The war sailors have one goal: to survive — and to return home. They are the unarmed civilians on the front lines of a war they never asked to join.
Life at home under the Nazis is also difficult and Alfred’s wife Cecilia, back home in Bergen, has to raise three kids on her own not knowing if her husband is alive or dead. So many years go by as the husband and friend try to survive and the woman with her three children also try to survive.
When British aircrafts attempt to bomb the German submarine bunker in Bergen, they instead hit the primary school at Laksevåg and civilian homes at Nøstet, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths. When the news reaches Alfred and Wally in Canada, they wonder if they have anything left at home to return to.
War as the most Destructive Force on Earth is felt and witnessed through a very different lens from the typical war film and packs a greater anti-war whallop than those films where the woman and children are largely ignored as if war were between male forces and women were left to pick up the pieces when it was over. War Sailor spans the years 1939 to 1972 looking at the long-term consequences of what happened during the war years.
A discussion with writer/director Gunnar Vikene and producer Maria Ekerhovd about the making of War Sailor
writer/director Gunnar Vikene
Gunnar Vikene had been thinking about the true stories of the “war sailors” ever since he first heard about them when he was a young boy. Vikene’s father used to paint houses with a man who seemed to have no fears — Vikene found out this man had survived three torpedo attacks during World War II despite never enlisting in the military.
“There were 30,000 of these Norwegian sailors in the war. And there were similar Canadian merchant fleets, and British, and America,” Vikene explains. “They’re all the unsung heroes of that war — they were caught up in it and they couldn’t decide for themselves if they wanted to enlist. Then after the war, they didn’t fit into the idea of the war hero because they had no uniform and had no guns, no medals or anything.”
Vikene explains he wanted to avoid the usual war film cliches. “Yes, we have action scenes when it’s necessary for the story, but it comes down to the human factor. It’s not about the explosion, it’s about the consequences of the explosion.”
He discovered the true story of the real Alfred, Wally and Cecilia back in the early 1990s “and I never forgot it.” He researched their stories and similar stories of the time period and the legacy of war for decades later. Vikene doesn’t call this film a biography because it is a fictionalized version of their lives — “Alfred is not here anymore to explain anything, so I consider these fictional versions of the characters. But they are based on real people,” he says. “What I can say is that every war-related incident in the film actually happened. I read everything that I have come across.”
Another devastating true story in the film is when British aircrafts trying to bomb the German submarine bunkers in Bergen accidentally bomb the primary school at Laksevåg and civilian homes at Nøstet, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths. Vikene grew up knowing the story because one of his mother’s second cousins was killed that day, at only age 8, and another of her cousins survived.
What finally inspired him to make the film was a talk a few years ago with his then-12-year-old daughter, looking at images of a wounded child in Syria. He recalls, “My daughter said, ‘I’m so glad we don’t live in a country where we experience that.’ And I pointed out the window and said, ‘relatives of your grandmother were killed right over there.’ And my daughter didn’t know. It was the idea that we need to remind ourselves that we have been through it.”
The story then burst out of him onto the page. “I had been thinking about the story for so long that when I tried to just sit down and get the first draft of the script out, I finished it in a month.”
He dreamed of telling this story for decades “but I never thought I was going to be in a position where I was actually able to make it.” His longtime collaboration with Maria Ekerhovd at Mer Film made it possible, working together on their third feature (after their past collaborations Here is Harloldand Vegas).
Producer Maria Ekerhovd
At first, Ekerhovd wasn’t keen on any story related to World War II. “I gave her the script, and told her that it takes place during the war but also after the war. She called me after she read the script and said, ‘This isn’t really a war movie, so I’d love to produce it.’”
Ekerhovd knew the production would be her biggest ever. “It’s a big production and I never actually had the ambition that I would do that kind of big film, that was never a goal I had. But Gunnar came to me in 2016 with the script, and he’d already been thinking of this story for 20 years.”
She was fascinated by this story which hadn’t been told in film before: “Gunnar told me that during the Second World War, Norway had the fifth-biggest merchant fleet in the world. When the war started, the Norwegian government decided that all these normal Norwegian sailors had to sail throughout the war, and they didn’t have a choice. These ships had such an important job to get the supplies to the Allies. Their contribution to the war was never recognized. They were traumatized. The government never even paid them for the job they did during the war until the 1970s. This is a big scandal and it hasn’t been dealt with. This isn’t the kind of black-and-white story we usually see on the big screen. There is more complexity.”
Vikene adds, “All my films before were small arthouse movies, and I knew this would take more money and more resources, and Maria made it happen, she got all the right partners on board quickly.”
Ekerhovd put together the largest budget ever for Norwegian production, at 11m Euros, bringing on co-producers Rohfilm Factory, Studio Hamburg and Falkun Films.
She was excited to continue their 15-year-collaboration in new ways. The producer says, “I think it’s super important to really get to know the people you work with, in order to really know the strengths and weaknesses of each other and be open and honest and trust the process. It’s not going to be easy all the time, and we will have our ups and downs, but we can be together in all of those circumstances.”
Vikene is always impressed that Ekerhovd is brilliant both on the creative and the logistical sides of producing: “She’s a great reader and such a good analyst. And she can be compassionate about a project’s issues. She also doesn’t take no for an answer!”
Assembling the perfect cast
A trio of established Norwegian talents play the leads — Kristoffer Joner (The Wave) plays family man Alfred; Pal Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki) is his old friend Wally; and Ine Marie Wilmann (Sonia: The White Swan) plays Alfred’s wife Cecilia.
Vikene had made his first feature, 2002’s Falling Sky, with Joner and they have become good friends over the years. “He’s a fantastic actor and human being and I had written the script with him in mind, I was so lucky he said yes,” Vikene says.
Despite being two of the most acclaimed contemporary actors in Norway, Joner and Hagen had never met before. “It’s strange that in little Norway they hadn’t met each other. But after two minutes in the room together, I just felt that they really respected and liked each other. They became great friends during the shoot and I think you see that on screen,” the director says.
He had also worked with Wilmann before, and had a special challenge for her in this role of the wife left home in Bergen. He remembers, “I told her, ‘The trick this time was that you have to learn the local dialect.’ This is really difficult and very different from her own. I told her, ‘You have to learn it — not only learning the lines, you have to speak fluidly so we can improvise.’ And she spent a year learning it and was brilliant.”
“The process of working with the actors was very nice,” Vikene continues. “I told the actors that you need to own your characters. Because this is something that I need you to take responsibility for. And they did so in such a fantastic way.”
He also tried not to rehearse each scene too much. “We talked about the characters and scenes a lot but I do very few rehearsals. I was afraid if we rehearsed it too much they were going to drain it emotionally.”
An epic production
The film was originally scheduled to shoot in 2020 but had to pause for a year due to the pandemic. They eventually shot it during March to October 2021, in Norway, Malta and Germany, with just over 60 shooting days.
They worked with a mostly Maltese crew in Malta and again with German crews in Germany, and Vikene praises them as “great professionals,” but he was still glad to get back to the Norwegian part of the shoot “working with a lot of people I’ve worked with before, with so many people pitching in because my film family is here.”
The scale of the project was a step up for Ekerhovd. “It was super exciting…it was a new challenge that it was such a big film, you can’t just wing it. It was fun because it was learning new skills and working with new partners and seeing how that side of the business works.”
Because Vikene has also worked in big budget TV like Occupied, he found working a bigger-budget film wasn’t a shock to the system. “The process is basically the same thing as with a lower-budget film, it just involves a lot more people.”
One key collaborator was acclaimed DoP Sturla Brandth. “Sturla is one of the best cinematographers on the planet and he’s also such a great human being — that was one of the most inspiring collaborations I’ve had in my career,” the director says.
They didn’t use typical war films for visual inspiration, instead watching documentary footage from the era or even more recent documentary films like The White Helmets.
“We wanted that documentary feel when it comes to closeness to the character,” Vikene adds. The team shot digitally — and Vikene praises colourist William Kjarval for giving it “a filmic look” in the grading process.
The big set pieces were very carefully planned. “We prepared really well for all the technical sequences, so that was storyboarded in detail in advance,” Vikene explains.
And as much as possible was shot in camera, not added in post later. He adds, “I see so many films where you have 10 seconds of a CGI ship in an establishing shot. We weren’t interested in that. We only wanted the CGI to enhance what we already shot, to make the story better.”
Scenes of the ships and raft on the ocean are actually shot in the sea, not in a water tank. They thought the authenticity was worth going the extra mile. As Vikene recalls, “Sturla thought we would be able to detect the distinction where the real water ends, and maybe it would feel not quite right. The real thing is always better.”
They also didn’t just use spectacle for spectacle’s sake. “The explosions and actions are there because they have real consequences for human beings. There are a lot of very romantic films made about war and the great heroes, and we tried to stay away from that. It was a film about survival to make it home to your loved ones, not about heroism in action. I hope you can see on screen the fear and the panic in the those war scenes.”
Ekerhovd adds, “I think what Gunnar has achieved with the film is to actually give us a feeling of how it was for them to be out on the boats and also how it really played out for the families at home.”
Vikene also praises the authentic work across so many members of the crew — such as by costume designer Stefanie Bieker (“she gave it a texture that feels really believable and not like a typical costume drama”; makeup designer Jens Bartram and his team (“they nailed it for this documentary feel we were going for”) production designer Tamo Kunz. The director adds that editors Peter Brandt and Anders Albjerg Kristiansen “were so enthusiastic and brave during the process, and challenged me and the material in a great and constructive way.”
Honoring the legacy of the war sailors
Vikene hopes this film will personally touch people who still live with the legacy of the war sailors. “People remember being children and not knowing if their beloved father is coming home. I’ve spoken to so many children of those kinds of families. That’s an important part of the story. It is so much about what happens with families after the war.”
He felt the importance of the story today when the team were shooting in his hometown of Bergen. “We were shooting in places that were so close to the school that was bombed, and there are so many people in Bergen who had families impacted by that, so that felt very special. People stopped to tell us their stories. It felt so close in a way that was inspiring, we were dealing with real people’s stories and that’s a big responsibility.”
The cast and crew were away from their families for four and a half months while making the film, and while that’s not as extreme as the story of the sailors — Vikene wanted the cast and crew to draw on that feeling. He told them, “Take this emotion that you come home to your children and they have grown five centimeters since last time you saw them. And then multiply that emotion by a million. That’s how they felt.”
Sadly, this kind of war story still feels relevant today. “This story about the civilians, the working-class perspective hasn’t been told,” Vikene says. “90% of people dying in war today are civilians. They aren’t wearing uniforms. You just have to look at Ukraine.”
He continues, “I haven’t lived through war. If you live long enough, you have things in your life that you cannot fix for ourselves. Things that we can’t control and has sent our life in a different direction. I hope everyone can relate to that feeling. I hope we can all relate to having a father that you don’t know if you will ever see again, or relate to being a wife who doesn’t know if her husband is alive when she wakes up in the morning. I think on a basic human level, people can relate to that. I hope the audience can identify with the characters, there is something universal about the feelings they have towards each other.”
The Crew
Gunnar Vikene — The Director
Gunnar Vikene directed his first feature film, Falling Sky (Himmelfall) in 2002. His following feature films — Trigger(2007), Vegas (2009), and Here is Harold (2014) — have all received both critical acclaim and a number of international prizes.
In 2017 he directed the TV-series Borderline, which earned him a best director-prize at Gullruten (Norwegian Emmys). He also directed several episodes of the acclaimed show Occupied (2020) and was in 2022 again nominated for a best director-prize for his work in the TV-series Pørni (2021).
Gunnar lives in Bergen, on the west coast of Norway. Before starting to work with films he was a submarine officer for several years.
Sturla Brandth GRØVLEN — Director Of Photography
Sturla Brandth Grøvlen is a Norwegian cinematographer based in Denmark. He won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for his work on Victoria (2015) and has since worked on films such as Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Eskil Vogt’s The Innocents, Benh Zeitlin’s Wendy and Josephine Decker’s Shirley.
Volker Bertelmann — Composer
Volker Bertelmann is a German composer. He won an Oscar for his work on Lion (2016), together with Dustin O’Halloran. He has composed scores for such films as Ammonite (2020), The Old Guard (2020) and All Quiet On The Western Front (2022).
The Main Cast
Kristoffer Joner — Alfred
Kristoffer Joner has starred in Norwegian and International films as The Wave, The Quake, Mission: Impossible — Fallout and The Revenant. He has won the Norwegian Film Award Amanda for Best Male Actor three times and starred in Gunnar Vikene’s first feature film Falling Sky in 2002.
Ine Marie Wilmann — Cecilia
Ine Marie Wilmann has starred in Norwegian films and TV-series as Sonja: The White Swan (Sundance 2018), Homesick (Sundance 2015), Exit (2021-) and Furia (2021-). She has won the Amanda Award for Best Female Lead and the Norwegian Emmy for her work in the TV-series The Third Eye, directed by Gunnar Vikene.
PÅL Sverre Hagen — SIGBJØRN
Pål Sverre Hagen has starred in Norwegian films such as Kon-Tiki, Troubled Water, Amundsen and Out Stealing Horses. He has won the Amanda Award for Best Actor two times — most recently for his performance in The Middle Man(Toronto, 2021).
International Sales Agent Beta Films has licensed the film to
Norway, Germany, Malta 2022
Length 151 min
Screen Ratio 1:1.85
Format Digital 3.2K
Sound 7.1 Dolby Digital
Languages Norwegian, English, German...
- 12/20/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
From Bergen to Malta, Liverpool, New York and Halifax: Norwegian merchant seamen Alfred (Kristoffer Joner) and Sigbjorn (Pal Sverre Hagen) sometimes seem to be competing for screen time with datelines in Gunnar Vikene’s epic War Sailor, Norway’s Oscar submission. Sprawling, packed with anecdote and surging from one dramatic peak to the next, War Sailor sets out to tell the stories of the ordinary but unsung heroes who helped defeat Germany in 1945. It has the best of intentions.
Perhaps if it had focused on fewer of those horror stories and cut that plot in half, it might not have also felt quite so much like a whistle-stop tour. As it is, director Gunnar Vikene takes us speeding through death, injuries and emotional trauma, the difficulties of post-war peace and onward to the farthest reaches of post-war Ptsd, three decades later. As a conscientious guide, he is determined we won’t miss a thing.
Perhaps if it had focused on fewer of those horror stories and cut that plot in half, it might not have also felt quite so much like a whistle-stop tour. As it is, director Gunnar Vikene takes us speeding through death, injuries and emotional trauma, the difficulties of post-war peace and onward to the farthest reaches of post-war Ptsd, three decades later. As a conscientious guide, he is determined we won’t miss a thing.
- 12/18/2022
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Gunnar Vikene’s War Sailor tells the forgotten story of the 30,000 Norwegian civilian sailors who were conscripted at the beginning of World War II to serve on convoys keeping Allied supply chains open.
Conditions were treacherous with a high risk of being torpedoed by German U-boats or attacked from the air. When ships went down, it was too dangerous for other vessels to stop or turn back to pluck sailors from the water, a fact that would haunt survivors.
Related: The Contenders International – Deadline’s Full Coverage
Spanning the years 1939-72 and drawing on true stories, the drama follows the fate of friends and civilian sailors Alfred and Sigbjørn as they face endless perils at sea, buffeted by a war in which they are not playing a combat role.
Back home in Bergen, Alfred’s wife struggles to survive with their three children as the port becomes a target for British bombing raids,...
Conditions were treacherous with a high risk of being torpedoed by German U-boats or attacked from the air. When ships went down, it was too dangerous for other vessels to stop or turn back to pluck sailors from the water, a fact that would haunt survivors.
Related: The Contenders International – Deadline’s Full Coverage
Spanning the years 1939-72 and drawing on true stories, the drama follows the fate of friends and civilian sailors Alfred and Sigbjørn as they face endless perils at sea, buffeted by a war in which they are not playing a combat role.
Back home in Bergen, Alfred’s wife struggles to survive with their three children as the port becomes a target for British bombing raids,...
- 12/3/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The first calendar year to see the physical return of almost every major film festival since the pandemic, 2022 has been a huge morale booster for filmmakers from all around the globe. And now, with the third edition of Deadline’s Contenders Film: International kicking off Saturday at 8 a.m. Pt, that outreach expands even further: leaving a carbon-free footprint, our online event will showcase the myriad films that soared at Sundance, beguiled Berlin, captivated Cannes, thrilled Telluride, vitalized Venice and touched Toronto, all the while shining a spotlight on the must-see movies that might have flown under your radar.
Click her to register for and watch today’s Contenders livestream.
Since submissions accepted for the Best International Feature Film Oscar category continue to grow — up by something like 30 from just 10 years ago, buoyed no doubt by the boundary-breaking success of 2019’s Parasite — it is harder than ever before to see...
Click her to register for and watch today’s Contenders livestream.
Since submissions accepted for the Best International Feature Film Oscar category continue to grow — up by something like 30 from just 10 years ago, buoyed no doubt by the boundary-breaking success of 2019’s Parasite — it is harder than ever before to see...
- 12/3/2022
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Winston Churchill acknowledged that the 30,000 Norwegian merchant sailors signed up by their government to aid England and the Allies during World War II were instrumental in the victory against Hitler. But the story of these men and women, who never enlisted in the armed forces, remains a footnote, generally overshadowed by accounts of more traditional military heroes. Writer-director Gunnar Vikene pays stirring tribute to them in War Sailor (Krigsseileren), an impressively crafted chronicle of male friendship, courage and trauma that folds together intense action and intimate psychological observation with a moving portrait of the enduring after-effects on one family.
Norway’s Oscar submission in the best international feature race doesn’t have the Netflix visibility or classic source material of Germany’s war-themed entry, All Quiet on the Western Front. But this is an experience both visceral and emotional, distinguished by well-drawn characters...
Winston Churchill acknowledged that the 30,000 Norwegian merchant sailors signed up by their government to aid England and the Allies during World War II were instrumental in the victory against Hitler. But the story of these men and women, who never enlisted in the armed forces, remains a footnote, generally overshadowed by accounts of more traditional military heroes. Writer-director Gunnar Vikene pays stirring tribute to them in War Sailor (Krigsseileren), an impressively crafted chronicle of male friendship, courage and trauma that folds together intense action and intimate psychological observation with a moving portrait of the enduring after-effects on one family.
Norway’s Oscar submission in the best international feature race doesn’t have the Netflix visibility or classic source material of Germany’s war-themed entry, All Quiet on the Western Front. But this is an experience both visceral and emotional, distinguished by well-drawn characters...
- 11/18/2022
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
War Sailor TIFF Contemporary World Cinema Section Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: Gunnar Vikene Writer: Gunnar Vikene Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Pål Sverre Hagen, Ine Marie Wilmann Screened at: Critics’ link, NY, 9/20/22 Opens: September 9th, 2022 (Toronto International Film Festival) There are many facets to war, and one person’s experience of living through […]
The post TIFF 2022: War Sailor Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post TIFF 2022: War Sailor Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 9/23/2022
- by Abe Friedtanzer
- ShockYa
Co-Production Market’s best project award goes to ‘The Love Pill’ from Sweden.
Gunnar Vikene’s War Sailor has won the audience award at the 50th Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund.
Inspired by a true story, War Sailor follows two Norwegian civilian merchant sailors who find themselves thrust into danger when World War II breaks out; it also explores the legacy of war on their lives decades later.
War Sailor, which opened the festival, will have its international premiere in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section. Beta Cinema handles sales and Maria Ekerhovd produces for Mer Film. The cast features Kristoffer Joner,...
Gunnar Vikene’s War Sailor has won the audience award at the 50th Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund.
Inspired by a true story, War Sailor follows two Norwegian civilian merchant sailors who find themselves thrust into danger when World War II breaks out; it also explores the legacy of war on their lives decades later.
War Sailor, which opened the festival, will have its international premiere in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section. Beta Cinema handles sales and Maria Ekerhovd produces for Mer Film. The cast features Kristoffer Joner,...
- 8/26/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated smash “The Worst Person in the World,” about a young woman trying to figure out what – and who – she really wants in her life, won big at Norway’s Amanda Awards on Saturday night, scooping five statuettes, including one for best film.
Trier, who now holds the title for most Amanda Awards, also won for best screenplay with his long-time collaborator Eksil Vogt. The film’s breakout star Renate Reinsve, already awarded at Cannes, picked up her first Amanda for her portrayal of Julie, with Anders Danielsen Lie named best supporting actor.
Back in February, Reinsve – who will be next seen in “A Different Man” alongside Sebastian Stan – opened up about her work with Trier, which started in 2011 on “Oslo, August 31st,” her very first feature film.
“I was an extra with one line. I had nothing to compare it to – it was my first movie set.
Trier, who now holds the title for most Amanda Awards, also won for best screenplay with his long-time collaborator Eksil Vogt. The film’s breakout star Renate Reinsve, already awarded at Cannes, picked up her first Amanda for her portrayal of Julie, with Anders Danielsen Lie named best supporting actor.
Back in February, Reinsve – who will be next seen in “A Different Man” alongside Sebastian Stan – opened up about her work with Trier, which started in 2011 on “Oslo, August 31st,” her very first feature film.
“I was an extra with one line. I had nothing to compare it to – it was my first movie set.
- 8/21/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
For its 50th edition unspooling Aug. 20-26, Norway’s top film event, the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, will be treating its 400-plus international guests and local audiences with a beefed-up onsite program of 72 feature length films and 19 shorts.
“We’ve had more films to choose from than ever before, “says festival honcho Tonje Hardersen about her non-competitive program, put together in close collaboration with local distributors and exhibitors. “We can still see the post-covid effects on distribution as many titles were delayed. We have therefore slightly older films – from 2020 up to 2022 – which is unusual. But this makes for an exceptional program, hopefully for all tastes,” she adds.
World premieres take in the blockbuster Norwegian opener ‘War Sailor’ by Gunnar Vikene starring Kristoffer Joner (‘The Revenant’), Pål Sverre Hagen (‘Kon-Tiki’), and Ine Marie Wilmann (‘Homesick’), about Norwegian war sailors’ heroic efforts during WWII. Prolific outfit Mer Film (‘The Innocents’) is producing,...
“We’ve had more films to choose from than ever before, “says festival honcho Tonje Hardersen about her non-competitive program, put together in close collaboration with local distributors and exhibitors. “We can still see the post-covid effects on distribution as many titles were delayed. We have therefore slightly older films – from 2020 up to 2022 – which is unusual. But this makes for an exceptional program, hopefully for all tastes,” she adds.
World premieres take in the blockbuster Norwegian opener ‘War Sailor’ by Gunnar Vikene starring Kristoffer Joner (‘The Revenant’), Pål Sverre Hagen (‘Kon-Tiki’), and Ine Marie Wilmann (‘Homesick’), about Norwegian war sailors’ heroic efforts during WWII. Prolific outfit Mer Film (‘The Innocents’) is producing,...
- 8/5/2022
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
"Death is a hard way to make a living." LevelFilm has revealed an official trailer for the indie dark comedy The Middle Man, the latest film made by an award-winning Norwegian filmmaker named Bent Hamer - one of his biggest hits was the indie Factotum from 2005 with Matt Dillon. This new one already premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, but it hasn't made its way down to the US yet despite taking place in the US. The film is set in Karmack, a small town in the American Midwest that is so economically depressed that it hires Frank Farrelli as a middle man to deliver bad news to people because none of the residents can bear to do it themselves anymore. Norwegian actor Pål Sverre Hagen stars as Frank, with a cast including Don McKellar, Kenneth Welsh, Paul Gross, Trond Fausa, Aksel Hennie, and Bill Lake. This looks like a very strange,...
- 5/18/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Danish helmer Lone Scherfig is already developing the second season of “The Shift[/link]”, she revealed on Monday during an online Berlinale Series Market talk “From Film to Series.”
Set in a maternity ward and starring Sofie Gråbøl and Pål Sverre Hagen, it’s the first series as a showrunner for Scherfig, who in 2019 opened Berlinale with “The Kindness of Strangers” and won a Silver Bear for “Italian for Beginners.”
“It’s a tribute to the people who work in the healthcare system under extreme pressure, to the care and the love they show, even despite tough working conditions,” she said. “The Shift” is produced by Creative Alliance, with Beta Film handling the sales.
Scherfig was joined by another Silver Bear winner, Argentine director Daniel Burman, back in Berlin with Amazon Prime Video’s “Yosi, the Regretful Spy” – the story of a secret agent infiltrating the Jewish community in Buenos Aires,...
Set in a maternity ward and starring Sofie Gråbøl and Pål Sverre Hagen, it’s the first series as a showrunner for Scherfig, who in 2019 opened Berlinale with “The Kindness of Strangers” and won a Silver Bear for “Italian for Beginners.”
“It’s a tribute to the people who work in the healthcare system under extreme pressure, to the care and the love they show, even despite tough working conditions,” she said. “The Shift” is produced by Creative Alliance, with Beta Film handling the sales.
Scherfig was joined by another Silver Bear winner, Argentine director Daniel Burman, back in Berlin with Amazon Prime Video’s “Yosi, the Regretful Spy” – the story of a secret agent infiltrating the Jewish community in Buenos Aires,...
- 2/15/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Since her Sundance hit An Education in 2009, Denmark’s Lone Scherfig has become something of an honorary Brit, specializing in prestige adaptations of best-selling English novels. Surprisingly, none of these ever quite tipped in the way An Education did, and after a mixed reaction to One Day (2011), which mostly rounded on Anne Hathaway’s Yorkshire accent rather than her performance, Scherfig’s first real attempt to tap into the American market — 2019’s The Kindness Of Strangers — was an uncharacteristic misfire and pretty much vanished into the ether after opening the Berlinale that year.
It would be tempting, then, to see The Shift, Scherfig’s debut as a series showrunner, as a palate cleanser. True, the series, which is screening in the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Series strand, is closer to her 2000 breakout ensemble comedy-drama Italian For Beginners,...
It would be tempting, then, to see The Shift, Scherfig’s debut as a series showrunner, as a palate cleanser. True, the series, which is screening in the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Series strand, is closer to her 2000 breakout ensemble comedy-drama Italian For Beginners,...
- 2/13/2022
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Showrun by “An Education” director Lone Scherfig and anchored by the performance of “The Killing” star Sofie Gråbøl playing opposite “Kon-Tiki” lead Pål Sverre Hagen, “The Shift’s” key talent credentials mark it out immediately as one of potential standout Scandinavian series of 2022.
Selection for both Berlinale Series and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, announced Feb. 2, merely confirms that promise.
Sales company Beta Film shared a trailer with Variety just before the series’ presentation at the Göteborg Festival’s TV Drama Vision on Feb. 2.
In “The Shift,” Gråbøl plays Ella, a head midwife at Denmark’s best maternity ward who secretly yearning for her own.
She’s also having an affair with Norwegian paediatrician Jerry (Sverre Hagen) whose marriage is falling apart, a fact his religious community is not supposed to know.
But work goes on, mercilessly for a short-staffed unit. Ella delivers nine children in one day in Ep.
Selection for both Berlinale Series and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, announced Feb. 2, merely confirms that promise.
Sales company Beta Film shared a trailer with Variety just before the series’ presentation at the Göteborg Festival’s TV Drama Vision on Feb. 2.
In “The Shift,” Gråbøl plays Ella, a head midwife at Denmark’s best maternity ward who secretly yearning for her own.
She’s also having an affair with Norwegian paediatrician Jerry (Sverre Hagen) whose marriage is falling apart, a fact his religious community is not supposed to know.
But work goes on, mercilessly for a short-staffed unit. Ella delivers nine children in one day in Ep.
- 2/1/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The program announcements continue for this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, with the Series and Generation strands both unveiling today, as well as the line-up for the Co-Production Market. Scroll down for the lists of titles.
The Berlinale Series selection, which is increasingly becoming a more high-profile part of the festival, again boasts several buzzy titles.
Premiering in Berlin will be Amazon Prime Video’s Argentinian series Yosi, The Regretful Spy, the Swedish show Lust from HBO Max, Sky’s UK series The Rising, and Lone Scherfig Danish show The Shift, which comes from local broadcaster TV2.
The Generation strand, which features youth-focused cinema, includes 14 features this year. The selection marks the last of long-time Generation head Maryanne Redpath.
Elsewhere, the European Film Market has confirmed titles for its Co-Production Market, which like the rest of the industry activity will take place virtually this year.
The Berlinale runs February 10-20 this year,...
The Berlinale Series selection, which is increasingly becoming a more high-profile part of the festival, again boasts several buzzy titles.
Premiering in Berlin will be Amazon Prime Video’s Argentinian series Yosi, The Regretful Spy, the Swedish show Lust from HBO Max, Sky’s UK series The Rising, and Lone Scherfig Danish show The Shift, which comes from local broadcaster TV2.
The Generation strand, which features youth-focused cinema, includes 14 features this year. The selection marks the last of long-time Generation head Maryanne Redpath.
Elsewhere, the European Film Market has confirmed titles for its Co-Production Market, which like the rest of the industry activity will take place virtually this year.
The Berlinale runs February 10-20 this year,...
- 1/14/2022
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Frank Farelli (Pål Sverre Hagen) has been unemployed in a dying town for quite some time. The area used to attract visitors in the past—not many, but enough to staff a hotel that’s now been closed for years. So too has the local movie theater. As the so-called “Commission” explains it, they may not be able to keep the streetlights going thanks to a dwindling budget caused by a lack of taxpayers. Not only has most of the town left, but those who inexplicably remain are currently suffering from a rash of accidental tragedies. And since Town Hall consists of those three men and a secretary (Tuva Novotny’s Brenda), someone is needed to break the bad news.
Enter a newly formed government position: The Middle Man. It won’t be easy, but Frank used to work a train station window before it also shut down and left...
Enter a newly formed government position: The Middle Man. It won’t be easy, but Frank used to work a train station window before it also shut down and left...
- 9/13/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
With a full year of creative pauses and improvisational workflow behind them, Canadian producers hit the 2021 Toronto festival bullish that in-person screenings and heightened fall fest excitement will focus critics and sales buzz to connect their films with audiences beyond their home turf.
Luc Dery and Kim McCraw of Montreal’s micro_scope, who introduced Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies” and Philippe Falardeau’s “Monsieur Lazhar” to North American audiences at TIFF, return with Ivan Grbovic’s “Drunken Birds” (pictured), one of eight titles screening in Platform, the festival’s juried competition program.
Jorge Antonio Guerrero (“Roma”) stars as a Mexican drug-cartel worker who falls in love with his boss’s wife and whose pursuit of her lands him in rural Quebec, where he gets mixed up in his host family’s troubles. The film is exec produced by Nicolas Celis (“Roma”), with Wazabi Films selling.
“The marketplace is quite brutal right now,...
Luc Dery and Kim McCraw of Montreal’s micro_scope, who introduced Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies” and Philippe Falardeau’s “Monsieur Lazhar” to North American audiences at TIFF, return with Ivan Grbovic’s “Drunken Birds” (pictured), one of eight titles screening in Platform, the festival’s juried competition program.
Jorge Antonio Guerrero (“Roma”) stars as a Mexican drug-cartel worker who falls in love with his boss’s wife and whose pursuit of her lands him in rural Quebec, where he gets mixed up in his host family’s troubles. The film is exec produced by Nicolas Celis (“Roma”), with Wazabi Films selling.
“The marketplace is quite brutal right now,...
- 9/10/2021
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Keshet International (Ki) has closed its first international pre-sale for Zdf and Viaplay’s upcoming nationalist domestic terrorism thriller “Furia” to Australian broadcaster Sbs, announcing the sale on the occasion of the show’s world premiere at Lille’s Series Mania.
“Furia (“The Furies”)” was inspired by, but not based on, real events of domestic terrorism in Norway and across Europe, most notably the 2011 attacks carried out by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik.
The series follows Ragna, played by Ine Marie Willmann (“Exit”), who crosses paths with Asgeir, played by Pål Sverre Hagen (“Beforeigners”), a former special ops officer who has started a new, tranquil life in Norway after escaping the Russian criminal underworld. After a tense meeting in which both are lucky to survive, the two must combine forces to prevent the right-wing group from committing their unthinkable act in Berlin, the heart of European government.
“Every now and then,...
“Furia (“The Furies”)” was inspired by, but not based on, real events of domestic terrorism in Norway and across Europe, most notably the 2011 attacks carried out by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik.
The series follows Ragna, played by Ine Marie Willmann (“Exit”), who crosses paths with Asgeir, played by Pål Sverre Hagen (“Beforeigners”), a former special ops officer who has started a new, tranquil life in Norway after escaping the Russian criminal underworld. After a tense meeting in which both are lucky to survive, the two must combine forces to prevent the right-wing group from committing their unthinkable act in Berlin, the heart of European government.
“Every now and then,...
- 9/1/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Keshet International is pitching Zdf and Viaplay’s upcoming domestic terrorism thriller “Furia (Fury)” to international buyers at MipTV, and series creator Gjermund S. Eriksen (“Mammon”) discussed his latest creation with Variety remotely from Norway as the Cannes-based event kicked off.
Co-produced by Monster Scripted and “Babylon Berlin” producers X Filme, the Norwegian-set episodes of “Furia (Fury)” are directed by Magnus Martens and the German episodes by Lars Kraume (“The People vs. Fritz Bauer”).
“Furia (Fury)” was inspired by, but not based on, real events of domestic terrorism in Norway and across Europe, most notably the 2011 attacks carried out by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik. The series follows Ragna, played by Ine Marie Willmann (“Exit”), an undercover operative who has penetrated a far-right extremist terror cell with designs on committing an attack the likes of which Europe has never seen.
Ragna crosses paths with Asgeir, played by Pål Sverre Hagen...
Co-produced by Monster Scripted and “Babylon Berlin” producers X Filme, the Norwegian-set episodes of “Furia (Fury)” are directed by Magnus Martens and the German episodes by Lars Kraume (“The People vs. Fritz Bauer”).
“Furia (Fury)” was inspired by, but not based on, real events of domestic terrorism in Norway and across Europe, most notably the 2011 attacks carried out by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik. The series follows Ragna, played by Ine Marie Willmann (“Exit”), an undercover operative who has penetrated a far-right extremist terror cell with designs on committing an attack the likes of which Europe has never seen.
Ragna crosses paths with Asgeir, played by Pål Sverre Hagen...
- 4/11/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led the first expedition to reach the South Pole, so when you watch “Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition,” you may think you’ve got a good idea of the movie you have in store: an adventure at once exciting and treacherous, set in the frozen wilderness, with a stoic Nordic hero at its center — the kind of man who might have been played a few decades ago by Max von Sydow. “Amundsen” has scattered moments of tense physical drama, set against glacial Arctic vistas of fantastic authenticity. You really feel like you’re there.
The movie opens with two men in a propeller plane conking out in the middle of the icy nowhere. One of them is the aging Roald Amundsen (Pål Sverre Hagen), who reveals a hawkish profile of calm, imperious, almost sneering indomitability; the other is a man who can no longer feel his feet.
The movie opens with two men in a propeller plane conking out in the middle of the icy nowhere. One of them is the aging Roald Amundsen (Pål Sverre Hagen), who reveals a hawkish profile of calm, imperious, almost sneering indomitability; the other is a man who can no longer feel his feet.
- 4/4/2021
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Photo: April Movies As vaccines continue to roll out, movies are beginning to land in theaters again--still, many continue to hit Ott streaming or VOD, including some of the month’s most anticipated movies like Netflix’s ‘Concrete Cowboy’, Prime Video’s ‘Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse’, and Warner Bros.’ ‘Mortal Kombat’ (the last of which will simultaneously release in theaters and on HBO Max). Here, we’ve compiled the most comprehensive and accurate list of every new film coming out in April, when they’ll be released, and where you can watch them--with live updates. Related article: The Complete List of 2021 Oscar Nominations – Celebrations, Surprises & Snubs | The Show Must Go On Related article: My Experience Going To Movie Theaters In Los Angeles, Reopening One Year Later April Movies Release Schedule - In Theaters and Digitally: ‘Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition’ Release Date: April 2 on VOD--click Here to watch Director: Espen Sandberg...
- 3/30/2021
- by Daniel Choi
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
"We may as well be on a foreign planet." Samuel Goldwyn Films has released a new official US trailer for the Norwegian adventure drama Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition, from director Espen Sandberg. This is finally arriving in the US on VOD in April after originally opening in Norway back in 2019 (we posted this teaser a few years back). Pål Sverre Hagen stars as the iconic Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who explored the North Pole in the early 1900s. Amundsen’s dream of reaching the North Pole haunts him throughout his life. He's obsessed with the idea of discovering the last unchartered lands of the world. While he wins the race against Robert Scott to becomes the first man ever to conquer the South Pole, Amundsen will sacrifice everything to be the first to explore the icy lands of the North Pole. Also starring Katherine Waterston, Jonas Strand Gravli, Trond Espen Seim,...
- 2/18/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to explorer biopic Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition about Norwegian adventurer Roald Amundsen’s epic journeys to the South and North Poles.
Directed by Espen Sandberg (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), starring are Pål Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki), Christian Rubeck (Genius) and Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).
The Norwegian and English-language film charts Roald Amundsen’s dream of reaching the North Pole which haunts him throughout his life. He is obsessed with the idea of discovering the last unchartered lands of the world. While he wins the race against Robert Scott and becomes the first man ever to conquer the South Pole, Amundsen will sacrifice everything to be the first to explore the icy wastelands of the North Pole.
Pic is scripted by Ravn Lanesskog. Producers are Kristian Strand Sinkerud, Espen Horn and John M. Jacobsen.
Directed by Espen Sandberg (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), starring are Pål Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki), Christian Rubeck (Genius) and Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).
The Norwegian and English-language film charts Roald Amundsen’s dream of reaching the North Pole which haunts him throughout his life. He is obsessed with the idea of discovering the last unchartered lands of the world. While he wins the race against Robert Scott and becomes the first man ever to conquer the South Pole, Amundsen will sacrifice everything to be the first to explore the icy wastelands of the North Pole.
Pic is scripted by Ravn Lanesskog. Producers are Kristian Strand Sinkerud, Espen Horn and John M. Jacobsen.
- 2/16/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Nent Group, the Nordic region’s leading streaming company, has ordered “Furia,” an original drama series created by Gjermund Stenberg Eriksen (“Mammon”) exploring the underworld of right-wing extremism in Europe.
A co-production between Norway’s Monster Scripted and Germany’s X Filme Creative Pool Series and Zdf, “Furia” will premiere exclusively across the Nordics on Nent Group’s Viaplay streaming service in 2021.
Repped by Keshet International, the eight-part show is directed by Magnus Martens and Lars Kraume (“The People vs. Fritz Bauer”).
“Furia” stars Ine Marie Willmann (“Exit”), as Ragna, a fiercely courageous cop who infiltrates a nationalistic subculture following a shocking killing in an idyllic Norwegian town. Working with Asgeir, a police investigator, Ragna’s journey pulls her into a spiral of hatred while a terrorist plot targeting the heart of Europe is revealed.
“It’s uncommon to see a female lead character who appears to be driven by such extreme rage as Ragna,...
A co-production between Norway’s Monster Scripted and Germany’s X Filme Creative Pool Series and Zdf, “Furia” will premiere exclusively across the Nordics on Nent Group’s Viaplay streaming service in 2021.
Repped by Keshet International, the eight-part show is directed by Magnus Martens and Lars Kraume (“The People vs. Fritz Bauer”).
“Furia” stars Ine Marie Willmann (“Exit”), as Ragna, a fiercely courageous cop who infiltrates a nationalistic subculture following a shocking killing in an idyllic Norwegian town. Working with Asgeir, a police investigator, Ragna’s journey pulls her into a spiral of hatred while a terrorist plot targeting the heart of Europe is revealed.
“It’s uncommon to see a female lead character who appears to be driven by such extreme rage as Ragna,...
- 9/7/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Picture Tree Intl. has acquired international sales rights to the Norwegian romantic comedy “Diana’s Wedding,” directed by Charlotte Blom, and will selling the film at Cannes Market Online.
Nordisk Film will handle distribution in the Scandinavian territories, with a theatrical release in Norway scheduled for Sept. 25.
The film, described as a “bittersweet tribute to love,” tells the story of Liv and Terje, and the unconventional, stormy marriage they embark on the very same day as Diana Spencer and Prince Charles exchange vows in London. To their daughter, Diana, they are probably the worst parents in the world, they constantly fight yet are miraculously still in love by the time Diana is preparing for her own marriage 30 years later.
“Diana’s Wedding” is director Blom’s second feature after “Staying Alive” in 2015. She worked from a script she wrote with Mette M. Bølstad. The two leads are played by Marie Blokhus,...
Nordisk Film will handle distribution in the Scandinavian territories, with a theatrical release in Norway scheduled for Sept. 25.
The film, described as a “bittersweet tribute to love,” tells the story of Liv and Terje, and the unconventional, stormy marriage they embark on the very same day as Diana Spencer and Prince Charles exchange vows in London. To their daughter, Diana, they are probably the worst parents in the world, they constantly fight yet are miraculously still in love by the time Diana is preparing for her own marriage 30 years later.
“Diana’s Wedding” is director Blom’s second feature after “Staying Alive” in 2015. She worked from a script she wrote with Mette M. Bølstad. The two leads are played by Marie Blokhus,...
- 6/22/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The film launched at the 2019 Berlinale.
Norway has chosen Hans Petter Moland’s flashback drama Out Stealing Horses as its submission for the best international feature award at the 2020 Oscars.
The film launched in Competition at the 2019 Berlinale, where it won the Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution for Thomas Hardmeier and Rasmus Videbæk’s joint cinematography.
The story is split between 1999, where self-isolated Trond discovers a new neighbour from his past, and Trond’s memories of 1948, when he turned 15 and his father prepared him for his forthcoming disappearance.
It is an adaptation of Per Petterson’s acclaimed 2003 Norwegian novel of the same name,...
Norway has chosen Hans Petter Moland’s flashback drama Out Stealing Horses as its submission for the best international feature award at the 2020 Oscars.
The film launched in Competition at the 2019 Berlinale, where it won the Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution for Thomas Hardmeier and Rasmus Videbæk’s joint cinematography.
The story is split between 1999, where self-isolated Trond discovers a new neighbour from his past, and Trond’s memories of 1948, when he turned 15 and his father prepared him for his forthcoming disappearance.
It is an adaptation of Per Petterson’s acclaimed 2003 Norwegian novel of the same name,...
- 9/3/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Sundance 2019: ‘Sonja: The White Swan’Review by Peter BelsitoSonja Henie (8 April 1912–12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star.
She was a three-time Olympic Champion(1928, 1932, 1936) in Ladies’ Singles, a ten-time World Champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European Champion (1931–1936). Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies’ figure skater.
At the height of her acting career, Sonja Henie was one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood and starred in a series of box-office hits, including Thin Ice (1937), My Lucky Star (1938), Second Fiddle (1939) and Sun Valley Serenade (1941)
When the Norwegian figure skater arrived in Hollywood, she was a talent the industry had never seen before, or since — a three-time Olympic ladies’ singles champion (a record she continues to hold) whose chipper, if chilly romantic comedy hits kept Twentieth Century-Fox solvent in the build-up to World War II, in part because she phoned up her pal Joseph...
She was a three-time Olympic Champion(1928, 1932, 1936) in Ladies’ Singles, a ten-time World Champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European Champion (1931–1936). Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies’ figure skater.
At the height of her acting career, Sonja Henie was one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood and starred in a series of box-office hits, including Thin Ice (1937), My Lucky Star (1938), Second Fiddle (1939) and Sun Valley Serenade (1941)
When the Norwegian figure skater arrived in Hollywood, she was a talent the industry had never seen before, or since — a three-time Olympic ladies’ singles champion (a record she continues to hold) whose chipper, if chilly romantic comedy hits kept Twentieth Century-Fox solvent in the build-up to World War II, in part because she phoned up her pal Joseph...
- 2/19/2019
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Sf Studios has unveiled the international trailer for “Amundsen,” the high-profile Norwegian adventure and biopic drama about Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen which is directed by Espen Sandberg.
Now in post-production, “Amundsen” is headlined by Pål Sverre Hagen (“Kon-Tiki”) who stars as Amundsen, the legendary explorer who was the first to reach the South and the North Poles. Sverre Hagen stars in the film opposite “Fantastic Beasts” actress Katherine Waterston and Christian Rubeck (“What Happened to Monday”).
“Amundsen” will be distributed by Sf Studios in Norway on Feb. 15, and is expected to be the biggest Norwegian release of 2019, surpassing previous big releases such as “The Wave,” “Kon-Tiki” and “The 12th Man.” The movie is being produced by John M. Jacobsen, Kristian Strand Sinkerud and Espen Horn at Motion Blur Films.
Sf Studios will also distribute the film in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The company has already pre-sold the movie in a flurry of territories,...
Now in post-production, “Amundsen” is headlined by Pål Sverre Hagen (“Kon-Tiki”) who stars as Amundsen, the legendary explorer who was the first to reach the South and the North Poles. Sverre Hagen stars in the film opposite “Fantastic Beasts” actress Katherine Waterston and Christian Rubeck (“What Happened to Monday”).
“Amundsen” will be distributed by Sf Studios in Norway on Feb. 15, and is expected to be the biggest Norwegian release of 2019, surpassing previous big releases such as “The Wave,” “Kon-Tiki” and “The 12th Man.” The movie is being produced by John M. Jacobsen, Kristian Strand Sinkerud and Espen Horn at Motion Blur Films.
Sf Studios will also distribute the film in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The company has already pre-sold the movie in a flurry of territories,...
- 1/15/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
‘Kon-Tiki’ director Espen Sandberg reunites with Pål Sverre Hagen.
Screen can reveal the first English-subtitled teaser trailer for Amundsen, the biopic of Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen.
Amundsen was the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole in 1911, and the first person to reach both the North and South Poles in 1926.
The film will portray his all-consuming drive as a polar explorer, and reveal the tragedy he brought on himself and others by sacrificing everything in the icy wastelands to achieve his dream.
Amundsen re-teams Kon-Tiki director Espen Sandberg and lead actor Pål Sverre Hagen, with Katherine Waterston...
Screen can reveal the first English-subtitled teaser trailer for Amundsen, the biopic of Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen.
Amundsen was the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole in 1911, and the first person to reach both the North and South Poles in 1926.
The film will portray his all-consuming drive as a polar explorer, and reveal the tragedy he brought on himself and others by sacrificing everything in the icy wastelands to achieve his dream.
Amundsen re-teams Kon-Tiki director Espen Sandberg and lead actor Pål Sverre Hagen, with Katherine Waterston...
- 9/14/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
“Fantastic Beasts” star Katherine Waterston has joined the cast of “Amundsen,” a biopic of the Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen directed by Espen Sandberg, the hot Norwegian director of Golden Globe- and Oscar-nominated “Kon-Tiki” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.”
Sf Studios has come on board the project to represent it worldwide and will be kicking off pre-sales at Cannes. Sf Studios will also be distributing the movie across Scandinavia.
Pål Sverre Hagen (“Kon-Tiki”) will star as Amundsen, who was the first man to reach both the South and the North Poles. Christian Rubeck (“What Happened to Monday”) will play Roald’s brother. Waterston, the up-and-coming actress whose recent credits include “Alien: Covenant,””Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “Inherent Vice,” will portray Roald’s last love, who was known as Bess Magdis.
The movie will depict how Amundsen won his epic race to the South Pole,...
Sf Studios has come on board the project to represent it worldwide and will be kicking off pre-sales at Cannes. Sf Studios will also be distributing the movie across Scandinavia.
Pål Sverre Hagen (“Kon-Tiki”) will star as Amundsen, who was the first man to reach both the South and the North Poles. Christian Rubeck (“What Happened to Monday”) will play Roald’s brother. Waterston, the up-and-coming actress whose recent credits include “Alien: Covenant,””Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “Inherent Vice,” will portray Roald’s last love, who was known as Bess Magdis.
The movie will depict how Amundsen won his epic race to the South Pole,...
- 5/7/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Couple’s romantic sailing holiday disturbed by their rescue of a refugee.
Danish producers Snowglobe, whose credits include festival hits such as Godless, Thelma and The Untamed, are now in post-production on Lifeboat (working title), the feature directorial debut of Josefine Kirkeskov.
Screen can unveil this first image of Sofia Helin (Saga in The Bridge), who stars as Iben, a woman on a romantic sailing holiday with her boyfriend (Kon-Tiki’s Pål Sverre Hagen) when they rescue a refugee woman (Sebnem Hassanisoughi of TV’s Wounded Love) who makes Iben confront her past.
Writer/director Kirkeskov, a graduate of the National Film School of Denmark, explains, “The idea for the film came as a reaction to the current refugee crisis in Europe. I’m interested in the space that results by the encounter between strangers, the space created when they are forced to relate to each other, and therefore also relate to themselves.”
Snowglobe producer and co-founder...
Danish producers Snowglobe, whose credits include festival hits such as Godless, Thelma and The Untamed, are now in post-production on Lifeboat (working title), the feature directorial debut of Josefine Kirkeskov.
Screen can unveil this first image of Sofia Helin (Saga in The Bridge), who stars as Iben, a woman on a romantic sailing holiday with her boyfriend (Kon-Tiki’s Pål Sverre Hagen) when they rescue a refugee woman (Sebnem Hassanisoughi of TV’s Wounded Love) who makes Iben confront her past.
Writer/director Kirkeskov, a graduate of the National Film School of Denmark, explains, “The idea for the film came as a reaction to the current refugee crisis in Europe. I’m interested in the space that results by the encounter between strangers, the space created when they are forced to relate to each other, and therefore also relate to themselves.”
Snowglobe producer and co-founder...
- 2/18/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The Scandinavians have made a name for themselves when it comes to TV shows. The latest is Norwegian drama Valkyrien which arrives on DVD 21st August 2017. To celebrate we have two copies to giveaway.
Doctor Ravn (Sven Nordin) is desperate to find a cure for his dying wife Vilma (Pia Halvorsen). When the hospital stops her treatment, he continues
to work in secret and is forced to compromise his ethics and join forces with corrupt civil defence worker and Doomsday prepper, Leif (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen), who has widespread knowledge of the city’s underground shelters and secret passages, as well as significant connections with the Oslo underworld.
Together they build an illegal clinic in an old bomb shelter deep underground Valkyrien Square, Oslo. As Ravn continues his research to save his wife, he must also care for criminals who need to avoid the authorities. Ravn believes he will find a miracle cure,...
Doctor Ravn (Sven Nordin) is desperate to find a cure for his dying wife Vilma (Pia Halvorsen). When the hospital stops her treatment, he continues
to work in secret and is forced to compromise his ethics and join forces with corrupt civil defence worker and Doomsday prepper, Leif (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen), who has widespread knowledge of the city’s underground shelters and secret passages, as well as significant connections with the Oslo underworld.
Together they build an illegal clinic in an old bomb shelter deep underground Valkyrien Square, Oslo. As Ravn continues his research to save his wife, he must also care for criminals who need to avoid the authorities. Ravn believes he will find a miracle cure,...
- 8/3/2017
- by Roobla Team
- The Cultural Post
"What are you waiting for?! Go get her!" Netflix has debuted a new official Us trailer for indie sci-fi film What Happened to Monday?, going by Seven Sisters in some countries (we posted another trailer for this film under this name a few months ago). This is set in the near future when governments have enacted a "One-Child Policy", but a family of seven sisters outwits the societal policy by existing in secrecy. Noomi Rapace plays all seven sisters, each with a different identity, and each named for the days of the week - Monday, Tuesday, etc. They go out one-by-one each day pretending they're the same person, and everything seems to be going fine until one day Monday doesn't come home. The cast includes Willem Dafoe, Glenn Close, Robert Wagner, Marwan Kenzari, and Pål Sverre Hagen. I actually saw this movie recently, and it's damn good. It gets a little weird,...
- 7/31/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"We've got to help her. We've got to go out there!" The first full trailer has debuted for a sci-fi thriller titled Seven Sisters, also going by the name What Happened to Monday?. The film is set in the near future when governments have enacted a One-Child Policy, but a family of seven sisters outwits the strict societal policy by existing in secrecy. Noomi Rapace plays all seven sisters, each with a different identity, and each named for the day of the week - Monday, Tuesday, etc. They go out one-by-one each day pretending they're the same person, and everything seems to be going fine until one day Monday doesn't come home. The cast includes Willem Dafoe, Glenn Close, Robert Wagner, Marwan Kenzari, and Pål Sverre Hagen. This actually looks damn good, with some cool sci-fi elements/ideas in it and an original story that takes the dual-performance concept to...
- 6/2/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
An international trailer has been released for an upcoming sci-fi thriller called Seven Sisters and it looks awesome! The film has a fascinating concept, the story of which is set in a future where governments have set a law where couples can only have one child. However, there's a family with seven identical sisters that are forced to live in secret.
The movie stars Willem Dafoe as the father of the sisters who are all played by Prometheus star Noomi Rapace. Each of the sisters are named after a day of the week and each one lives their life in the outside world one day at a time. For example, Monday goes out Monday, Tuesday goes out Tuesday, etc. So each one of them has to pretend and live the life of the same person. Then one day Monday is taken and she doesn't come home.
The absolutely love the...
The movie stars Willem Dafoe as the father of the sisters who are all played by Prometheus star Noomi Rapace. Each of the sisters are named after a day of the week and each one lives their life in the outside world one day at a time. For example, Monday goes out Monday, Tuesday goes out Tuesday, etc. So each one of them has to pretend and live the life of the same person. Then one day Monday is taken and she doesn't come home.
The absolutely love the...
- 6/2/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
You’ve probably never heard of Walter Iuzzolino, but if you crave new and exciting independent television, he might be your new best friend.
The “Walter” of Walter Presents is the key figure in curating what he determines to be the best television ever, worldwide, and as of today there’s a new streaming service available to American audiences that will let you discover his picks.
Read More: The TV Show You Need To Watch on Every Network, Right Now — A Running List
Walter Presents began as a series airing Saturday nights on UK’s Channel 4, featuring the foreign television that Iuzzolino became obsessed with as a child in Italy.
“There, TV is dubbed,” he told IndieWire. “And whilst that’s artistically quite terrible because it means all the actors speak with the same voice, it means that the influx of international drama is much more robust.”
Iuzzolino watched...
The “Walter” of Walter Presents is the key figure in curating what he determines to be the best television ever, worldwide, and as of today there’s a new streaming service available to American audiences that will let you discover his picks.
Read More: The TV Show You Need To Watch on Every Network, Right Now — A Running List
Walter Presents began as a series airing Saturday nights on UK’s Channel 4, featuring the foreign television that Iuzzolino became obsessed with as a child in Italy.
“There, TV is dubbed,” he told IndieWire. “And whilst that’s artistically quite terrible because it means all the actors speak with the same voice, it means that the influx of international drama is much more robust.”
Iuzzolino watched...
- 3/16/2017
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Lily Collins has joined the cast of Anthony Lucero’s next movie, which is based on his long poem The Clown. Set against the backdrop of a small traveling circus, the pic centers on a European clown and his 5-year-old daughter as they lead each other through the everyday mysteries of love, magic and loss. Pål Sverre Hagen, Holliday Grainger, Keti Mchedishvili, János Derzsi, Harry Treadaway, Stacy Martin, Nikola Djuricko, Nutsa Kukhianidze and Jean-Marc Barr…...
- 9/6/2016
- Deadline
I’m fairly certain I’d watch Stellan Skarsgård do anything. Train a puppy to roll over? Sounds amazing. Delicately cook a perfect Frittata? I’ll be in the front row. But Skarsgård is at his absolute best when brutal violence is involved, only because of his endearingly maniacal appreciation of a good genre role. Only a few months ago he was able to play a boisterous European mobster in Our Kind of Traitor, and luckily, Hans Petter Moland’s In Order Of Disappearance gives us another Skarsgård role to love with almost no wait in between. A less cartoonish, grief-driven turn this time around for Skarsgård, but more killer Skarsgårdian goodness nonetheless. I thought August was supposed to be filled with crap? Yet here’s another positive review coming out of what might be a record-breaking high for typical late-summer garbage.
Skarsgård plays Nils Dickman, a Norwegian snow-plower whose...
Skarsgård plays Nils Dickman, a Norwegian snow-plower whose...
- 8/27/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
“In Order of Disappearance” premiered at the Berlin Film Festival back in 2014, and is finally now arriving to Us theaters this year. Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Hans Petter Moland, the dark comedy stars Stellan Skarsgård as Nils, an introverted and hard-working snow plow driver who receives news that his son has died of a heroin overdose. Disbelieving of the official report, he soon uncovers that his son was killed by a drug cartel and begins his quest for revenge.
The movie was written by Kim Fupz Aakesonl and also stars Bruno Ganz, Pål Sverre Hagen, Jakob Oftebro and Kristofer Hivju. Upon its premiere, “In Order of Disappearance” received positive reviews.
Read More: Berlin Review: Stellan Skarsgard Is a Killing Machine In Enjoyable Dark Comedy ‘In Order Of Disappearance’
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn wrote in his review that it “cleverly magnifies the way each man is trapped in the mazes of...
The movie was written by Kim Fupz Aakesonl and also stars Bruno Ganz, Pål Sverre Hagen, Jakob Oftebro and Kristofer Hivju. Upon its premiere, “In Order of Disappearance” received positive reviews.
Read More: Berlin Review: Stellan Skarsgard Is a Killing Machine In Enjoyable Dark Comedy ‘In Order Of Disappearance’
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn wrote in his review that it “cleverly magnifies the way each man is trapped in the mazes of...
- 7/9/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Long before Liam Neeson will spearhead an English-language reboot, Hans Petter Moland’s Norwegian thriller In Order Of Disappearance will make its North American bow late next month, and today brings forth the chilling, darkly funny first trailer.
Placing Stellan Skarsgård in the icy shoes of snowplow driver Nils Dickman – an Average Joe amongst Average Joes – Moland’s intelligent, pulse-pounding feature has our unassuming hero uncover a devious crime ring whom he holds responsible for the devastating murder of his son.
First released in 2014, In Order of Disappearance has been doing the rounds across international circuits and will, finally, make its way onto these shores in August via Magnolia Pictures. Skarsgård headlines the drama, flanked by Bruno Ganz, Pål Sverre Hagen, Jakob Oftebro, and Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju.
Our exclusive poster reveal pegged Hans Petter Moland’s action-comedy as an unusual blend of Fargo and Death Wish. That...
Placing Stellan Skarsgård in the icy shoes of snowplow driver Nils Dickman – an Average Joe amongst Average Joes – Moland’s intelligent, pulse-pounding feature has our unassuming hero uncover a devious crime ring whom he holds responsible for the devastating murder of his son.
First released in 2014, In Order of Disappearance has been doing the rounds across international circuits and will, finally, make its way onto these shores in August via Magnolia Pictures. Skarsgård headlines the drama, flanked by Bruno Ganz, Pål Sverre Hagen, Jakob Oftebro, and Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju.
Our exclusive poster reveal pegged Hans Petter Moland’s action-comedy as an unusual blend of Fargo and Death Wish. That...
- 7/8/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.