Discoveries from Norway World Cinema

Øyvind Sandberg turns his camera on his mother and father's lifelong passion for the film medium.

It's 2050. Six years old Mia lives in the city of Bergen, under a glass dome, 537 meters under the sea level.

Søren Brandsnes experienced World War II as a sailor in the merchant fleet. For five years, everyday life consisted of anxiety, nightmares and attacks. When he returned to Norway in 1946, he was asked about his national standings. Where was he when Norway was at war?

Two brothers live on a remote yard in Telemark. That's where the pretty girl Hild comes to work in the shed. A quiet fight between the brothers begins. Who dares to take the decisive step? Who will get her heart?

A young girl perishes in a life of drug use

A captivating short film about Thea, a 12-year-old Norwegian girl whose life is conditioned by epileptic seizures.

And the Oscar goes to - Kurt Olav Helle. Make sure you remember the name. He will become a big star in Hollywood and make films full of raw action and hot chicks. But before the dream becomes reality the 51-year-old lonely man lives in Lonevåg, where he collects movies and old Donald Duck magazines. He sings karaoke, writes screenplays and sends out hopeful applications to fund his projects. Even though Kurt suffers from Parkinson's syndrome, he never gives up his dream of one day becoming a movie star.

"Firelight Flickering on the Ceiling of the World". The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is one of nature's most wonderful phenomena. The Northern Lights occur in late autumn, all winter and early spring all around the Arctic regions. For thousands of years, the Northern Lights have captivated and excited people under the polar sky. NRK's experienced photographers have selected a collection of spectacular Northern Lights, and with new technology they have managed to capture the Northern Lights in the natural landscape. The radio orchestra has chosen music and performs classical works with beautiful and magical light.

A woman is attempting to write a script about the district where she lives, but she is frustrated and unable to focus.

While preparing for a prestigious concert, a troubled pianist discovers that he is composing a spectacular masterpiece in his sleep.

The boy who talks to everyone and knows everything, but don't really know anyone.

A family tries to hide their smoking habits from each other until it becomes a problem they can’t ignore.

A woman born with sirenomelia, a mythological posthuman being takes us on the journey to the Cold War submarine base above the arctic circle. She exposes a future liberated from the military and economic structures that oppress the present, a future in which relations between humans and nonhumans have been transfigured, a future in which the cosmic dimension of an earthly coexistence is interlaced within the texture of the social. Sirenomelia explores questions of the beginning of the universe in relation to the geological ungrounding processes, invisible structures, geo-traumas and deep time. It is a fictional visual meditation about contemporary science and a cross sections of the larger systems of power and the politics of desire. By performing in Sirenomelia herself, Škarnulytė becomes a measure for biosphere, magnetic fields, photons, minerals and gravity waves.

"Mardøla Blues" - A small group of non-violent protesters try to save the river environment around development of a hydroelectric power plant in 1970.

Businessman Alan Fenlon ( 47 ) is on the run from authorities. Exhausted , frightened and hunted by his own anxiety, he decides to take in at a hotel to rest and gather your thoughts . Well ensconced inside the hotel , he meets himself in the door ? literally! This is the beginning of a battle with inner demons where the distinction between right and wrong, moral and immoral has been incised out .

It can happen at any time. Don't waste your life!

A satirical, surreal short about a woman that struggles to find her place in a futuristic society where work and productivity are all that matters. Emotions are banned and people that fail to live up to the standards set by the government are captured by officials dressed in yellow, never to be seen again. The film uses a combination of surveillance cameras and subjective shots to show the last day in the life of this woman, as she fails to live up to the norms of this society.

A South African student attends a Norwegian university back in the days when this was unusual. Norwegian TV-drama starring Earle Hyman (grandpa from Cosby Show) as something as rare as an African in Oslo (1960's).

Drama Series in four sections that tell a serious story in a humorous way. 15 year old Maja ( Idun Krøvel ) discovers that she has a father no one has told her about . She travels halfway across the country to get in touch with him . But she is as secretive as their guardians , and she will not tell anyone about what plans she has . A movies about the search for identity , love, friendship , jealousy and generational contrasts - universal problems in a typical Norwegian coastal environment of our time.

A short documentary about the construction of Oslo City Hall. The process is followed from the laying of the first stone in 1931. An entire small neighborhood had to be demolished to make room for Oslo’s new civic landmark. The demolition and construction are thoroughly documented, and we also see the extensive work devoted to both exterior and interior decoration. The City Hall was completed and officially opened in 1950. ***** Oslofilm was a series of public information films about life in and around Oslo, produced between 1940 and 1980. Funded by the state, the films offer valuable insight into postwar Norwegian society. A wide range of Norwegian filmmakers contributed to the productions, resulting in a rich variety of styles and expressions. Several of the films also possess notable cinematic qualities, standing out as more than just informational material. The Oslofilms represent a unique and important chapter in Norwegian film history.

A Documentary about the Norwegian cult classic "Flåklypa Grand Prix"

liberty is an installation with a silent 16mm film running in a loop. This film is displayed on a monitor which the viewer sees through a pair of peek holes drilled trough a wooden door or a wall. Approaching the holes, most viewers will need to bow down to look through them. On the other side one glimpses a moving image of an Antarctic iceberg whose shape resembles the Statue of Liberty. The iceberg floats majestically on its own with nothing else on the horizon. Bright sun illuminates both the sea and the surface of this immense mass of artic ice, creating a dazzling vista almost entirely in shades of white and blue. As the piece is filmed from the deck of a boat, the camera movement follows the rhythmic rocking of the waves giving the viewer a curious sense of being present where the film was shot.

A family vacation goes awry when the ship sinks.

Documentary about Knut Sigve and his mother. He has to move out when she turns 80.

Experimental short

Two social media influncers go camping in the woods, before realising they're being watched by something.

From the time the island of Langåra was a summer home for Oslo's population. ***** Oslofilm was a series of public information films about life in and around Oslo, produced between 1940 and 1980. Funded by the state, the films offer valuable insight into postwar Norwegian society. A wide range of Norwegian filmmakers contributed to the productions, resulting in a rich variety of styles and expressions. Several of the films also possess notable cinematic qualities, standing out as more than just informational material. The Oslofilms represent a unique and important chapter in Norwegian film history.

About Oslo’s transformation from a small-town idyll into a modern and bustling metropolis in the early 1950s. The film presents numerous scenes from both the old and the new city center of Oslo. ***** Oslofilm was a series of public information films about life in and around Oslo, produced between 1940 and 1980. Funded by the state, the films offer valuable insight into postwar Norwegian society. A wide range of Norwegian filmmakers contributed to the productions, resulting in a rich variety of styles and expressions. Several of the films also possess notable cinematic qualities, standing out as more than just informational material. The Oslofilms represent a unique and important chapter in Norwegian film history.

Four Studies of Oslo and New York was produced for the solo show The Rich Should Be Richer at Kunsthall Oslo. The Rich Should Be Richer raised the question of the ownership of sunlight in the late-capitalist metropolis and the association, both metaphorical and real, between poverty and darkness. The exhibition consisted of a series of screenprints, a proposal for a public art work, a parallel exhibition of Gustave Dorés engravings from London, and the 15 min video Four studies of Oslo and New York. The film placed discussions of new development in Oslo alongside Diego Rivera's painting of Manhattan, 'Frozen Assets' (1931), and scenes from the film 'The Fountainhead' (dir. King Vidor, 1949).

"We find a treasure inside the artist. What's it like to have a treasure inside of you? What is this popular idea that we all harbor beautiful things 'deep inside' that only needs to be fished out? Shouldn’t it then be fished out? What ideological purpose does such inward-looking and searching serve?"

A high school student goes about his seemingly normal day, while something sinister awaits.

A portrait of the painter Hedda Gjerpen.

"Life is the time it takes to die" is a documentary film about Lars Saabye Christensen's more than thirty-year life as a musician. A more unknown part of Saabye Christensen, but which has shaped and inspired his view both on life and his entire writing.

Odd Nordstoga invites you to an intimate and beautiful Christmas concert. With him is the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Frida Ånnevik and Mathias Eick.

A mysterious evil ravages a couple and takes refuge in a cellar.

"Ethereal Cascades" is a captivating black and white film that unveils the timeless beauty of waterfalls in exquisite slow motion. Set to a backdrop of serene piano melodies, this cinematic experience offers a meditative journey into nature's gentle embrace.

"Morild" is a music video/short film hybrid about a mystical book made out of solid rock. Made in collaboration with the Norwegian heavy metal band Kvelertak, and directed by Fredrik S. Hana.

Two strangers are trying to understand each other after they just had sex.

The film is a tribute to an architectural gem that has housed Oslo with books since 1933 - the Deichmansk main library. In a playful mix with the movement of light and the detail of the room, we travel around the whole house. With quiet movements we take a walk through the library's familiar and unfamiliar rooms from basement to loft. The film is a tribute to the library as a meeting place for everyone.

Eahpáraš is about a paranormal phenomenon in Sápmi, the land of the Sámi people. An eahpáraš is a dangerous spirit of a dead newborn child that haunts people.

A boy is taken to the big city by his mother and experiences the world as an open place full of impressions. At the end of the journey, he is about to enter a world where he does not belong.

Three happy musicians in today's Trondheim are confusingly similar to Trondheim's own Tre Små Kinesere, and the songs they sing are actually identical.

Straight out of the sewers in the south, Sørsia Gerilja established itself as something truly unique in the Trøndelag rap scene. With raw lyrics and an even rougher attitude, the group clashed with police, producers, and at times even themselves. You couldn’t ask for better breeding ground for hip-hop. But 20 years have passed, and now they are reuniting for the very first time — on stage at the Pstereo-Festival.

In a small fishing village in the Lofoten Islands, three figures from local folklore - a Draugr, a Huldra, and a mountain troll - emerge from the landscape as if they had always been there.

Sofia is an insecure teenage pianist, and next Sunday she will have the opportunity to perform a concert where talent scouts from her dream school will be. On Friday, Sofia's absent and authoritarian mother Anne arrives, with a surprise weekend trip to her grandmother Margot. The fate of the concert and the school place become uncertain.

Oslo has its own sanitation. This film shows what tasks workers in the sanitation have. **** Oslofilm was a series of public information films about life in and around Oslo, produced between 1940 and 1980. Funded by the state, the films offer valuable insight into postwar Norwegian society. A wide range of Norwegian filmmakers contributed to the productions, resulting in a rich variety of styles and expressions. Several of the films also possess notable cinematic qualities, standing out as more than just informational material. The Oslofilms represent a unique and important chapter in Norwegian film history.

Documentary about the Scandinavian Star catastrophy. April 7, 1990 the ferry located between Oslo in Norway and Frederikshavn in Denmark burst into flames and 158 passengers died. The documentary explores the connection between the catastrophy and tax issues.

A four-year-old observes the world while reflecting on what it means to be alive.

REVOLUTIONENS DATTER starred Danish boxer Waldemar Holberg. Holberg held a version (Australian) of the welterweight title for a month in 1914. From what I could see he made two films, in Norway in 1918, while fighting there from 1917 to 1919. So his film's survival rate is 50%. Billed as a 'folke komedie' in 4 acts (I saw no comedy), it does end with the obligatory boxing match. An interesting note is that the actor playing his opponent is Fred Boston. Waldemar Holberg knocked out a boxer named Fred Boston in Oslo in 1918, but it is Boston's only recorded match. Makes one wonder.....

A filming of and around a Chat Noir show revue from 1972.

A group of teenage boys at a sleepover begin an ordinary night together — but when one of them wakes up, he discovers something far beyond reality, and the night slowly unravels into a conscious nightmare.

Poetic documentary highlighting the contrast between forestry using machines and horses.

A visual short film showing the Laestadian trance.