The Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund has unveiled the full program of its 53rd edition running over Aug.16-22.
Ahead of Venice where she will be in the running for the Golden Lion with her third pic as a helmer, “The Testament of Ann Lee,” the Norwegian-born writer-director Mona Fastvold will bring her star power to the picturesque coastal town of Haugesund, where she will present the Oscar-winning “The Brutalist,” for which she earned an Oscar nod for best screenplay, shared with her partner, helmer Brady Corbet.
“The Brutalist” will both screen at Haugesund’s architecture-led Norwegian Archfest sidebar and compete for best foreign language film at Norway’s annual Amanda Awards, due to unspool Aug. 16 as a preamble to the Norwegian Film Festival. The national film awards, administered by the Norwegian International Film festival, will be transmitted live that day by NKR1.
“We are thrilled that Mona Fastvold will attend the Amanda Awards, and present the magnificent ‘The Brutalist,’ which opens the festival’s Norwegian ArchFest section,” said festival honcho Tonje Hardersen. “Her presence brings a touch of Hollywood glamour while also enriching the festival with a bold, artistically ambitious work that engages deeply with architecture, identity and cinematic form.”
More glitz and glamour will shine on Haugesund, as most Amanda nominees are due to attend, such as best acting candidates Renate Reinsve (“Armand”), Andrea Bræin Hovig (“Love”), Ella Øverbye (“Dreams”), Gard B. Eidsvold (“Quisling – The Final Days”) and Helga Guren (“Loveable”).
“We have an amazingly strong Amanda year with major films competing for best film [Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s “Loveable,” Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s “Armand,” and Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams”], titles that have enjoyed a phenomenon international festival run and reflect the strong year for Norwegian cinema,” said Hardersen who also chairs the Amanda committee.
Other stars expected on the red carpet include actors Line Sjeldstad (“Exit,” “So Long Marianne”) and Thorbjørn Harr (“Vikings,” “Sex”), set to make history on Haugesund’s own Walk of Fame. Meanwhile this year’s Festival Honoree, production mogul John M. Jacobsen (“Troll Hunter”, “Max Manus”) will deliver a masterclass on Aug. 17. The same day, the festival will officially kick-start with the screening of the Norwegian event movie “The Battle of Oslo” (“Blücher”) starring Bjørn Sundquist (“Handling the Undead,” “Here is Harold”).
Based on a true story, the historical thriller is set on April 9, 1940, when Norway is under siege. As German warships close in on Oslo, Colonel Birger Eriksen, commander of the Oscarsborg Fortress, a stronghold in the Oslo Fjord, is forced to act on his own judgment. His decision proves vital for the course of the war in Norway, states the official synopsis.
Besides Sundquist, the solid Norwegian cast takes in Jon Øigarden (“Requiem for Selina,” “22 July”), Fridtjov Såheim (“Troll,” “The Wave”), and Øystein Røger (“Armand”). The WWII drama, handled by Vuelta Group’s Global Constellation, marks the first venture into fiction film for the multi-awarded TV helmer Daniel Fahre (“Rebound,” “Rod Knock”) and his regular producers at Fenomen Studios.
“We’re extremely proud to launch the film at Norway’s biggest film festival and industry event and to collaborate for the first time with Global Constellation,” said Knut Inge Solbu who produces with Tom Marius Kittilsen and Aurora Huseth Bjørnhaug.
“The film is a very well-known story in Norway. It’s an intense drama about civil preparedness, and standing up for what’s right, which feels deeply relevant today,” added Hardersen who chosen another politically-charged pic to close the festival: Tarik Saleh’s Cannes-selected “Eagles of the Republic.” “With striking visuals, powerful performances, and razor-sharp direction, Saleh delivers a story that feels both urgently contemporary and deeply reflective of bigger questions surrounding freedom of speech, control and the role of art in society, said the festival programmer and director.
A handful of other Cannes film entries will screen at Haugesund’s 21-title strong main program, such as the Dardenne Brothers’ best screenplay winner “Young Mothers,” Jodie Foster starrer “A Private Life,” “Nouvelle Vague” and “Alpha”. “Julie Ducournau’s film sent shock waves in Cannes and I’m really curious to see how our audience will react to it,” Hardersen said.
Two Nordic low-budget pics will make their world premiere in the Nordic Focus. Danish newcomer Åske Bang, 2017 Oscar-nominated for his short live action “Silent Night”, will showcase his debut feature “Welcome to the Moon.” In his quirky take on the Danish film industry, Bang has a starring role as helmer Bo, invited by actor Martin (Stanislav Sevcik) to his own bachelor party. Bo has promised him the lead role in his next feature film, without telling him that he has already given the role to the celebrated Mads Mikkelsen, reads the logline.
From Sweden, “Cat Kingdom” (“Kattriket”) is co-directed and produced by first-timers John Hellberg and Bernhard Rasmusson. The story turns on the unemployed Kenneth who spends all his time building models. On his way to a job interview, he meets marine scientist Sten, who offers him a job at the shipyard, but what seems like a simple painting job soon develops into an unexpected investigative labor.
Nordic excellence will also be celebrated with the announcement in Haugesund Aug. 18, of the five contenders for the prestigious Nordic Council Film Prize, coordinated in conjunction with Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
75 Features
A total of 75 feature films and 18 shorts will be showcased in Haugesund, which boasts a unique position in the Norwegian film landscape as a festival for a general audience and an essential meeting place for the Norwegian and Nordic film industry via the New Nordic Films, a parallel market attended annually by more than 250 international guests.
“We are an industry festival. We are majority owned by Film & Kino [the local film association organisation] and coordinate the film selection with local distributors,” pointed out Harversen, who will celebrate this year her tenth anniversary at the head of the festival.
Sharing with Variety some of her best memories, she said: “The 2022 edition was our 50th anniversary and that festival is perhaps my favorite year. It was the first ‘normal’ festival post-COVID, after two years with major cinema restrictions. We celebrated a record number of guests and visitors. It was just fantastic.
Before COVID, there was a lot of talk about cinema being dead, streamers taking over, then during the pandemic, we saw that people missed the feeling of togetherness that the silver screen brings about. We realised how vital it is. Today, cinemas are still struggling post-COVID, but there is optimism. At Haugesund, we can see how our audience –including many kids – love the big screen experience, but we need to transform this into an everyday cinemagoing experience,” she insisted.
The topic of reaching out and finding audiences will be one of the issues at the various panels to be held as part of Haugesund’s New Nordic Films market, running Aug. 19-22. Watch out on Variety for the New Nordic Films’ full program.