After the World Cup where Norway made a splash with its wealth of soccer talent – led by Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard – the Nordic nation will be showcasing some of its biggest film talents at the 54th edition of the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, running Aug. 22-28.
Out of 84 feature length and 20 short films in the program, 22 Norwegian features and 15 shorts made the cut, including “Beloved” (“Kjærast”) by acclaimed Oscar-shortlisted Erik Poppe (“The Kings Choice,” “A Thousand Times Goodnight,” “The Emigrants”). The drama, repped internationally by Reinvent Yellow, will have its world premiere in the picturesque Norwegian coast town Aug. 23, as its opening film.
Based on the only original screenplay by Nobel Prize-winning author Jon Fosse, the film stars Leo Magnus de la Nuez (“Beforeigners”) and Kristi-Helene Giæver Engeberg (“War Sailor”) as Asle and Gerd, who live an idyllic life with their son in a small Norwegian coastal town. But soon their perfect love is put to test, as Asle, a sailor, is inexorably drawn by the call of the sea.
Festival director Tonje Hardersen said “Beloved’ is the perfect opener. “Poppe opened the festival two years ago with “Quisling – The Final Days;” he’s a true Haugesund regular, and Jon Fosse was actually born in Haugesund, so we’re thrilled to have them with us with a powerful film, set in the dazzlingly beautiful Western Norwegian landscape.”
“Beloved” is a love story full of the unspoken, tenderness, and mystery, unmistakably Jon Fosse,” said Poppe before adding: “We live in a time where much of what we see on film and series depicts cynicism and human distance. Perhaps the most radical thing we can do now is to tell stories about closeness and hope.”
The pic is produced by Poppe’s regular partner Finn Gjerdrum of SF Studios’ banner Paradox.
Another hotly anticipated new Norwegian film, picked for the closing gala, is “The Murder of Benjamin,” based on the real-life murder of Benjamin Hermansen, a 15-year-old boy of mixed Norwegian and Malian heritage, who was brutally murdered by a neo-Nazi in 2001.
Repped by TrustNordisk, the drama is helmed by Ingvild Søderlind, credited for Netflix’ “Royalteen: Princess Margrethe” and “Battle: Frestyle.” Seasoned Thomas Robsahm (“The Worst Person in the World,” “Lovable”) produces for Nordisk Film Production Norway.
“It’s a strong film that follows the dramatic racially-motivated murder that happened 25 years ago. For me it was yesterday, but the younger generation doesn’t know about it which is why it’s key to highlight it at Haugesund,” said Hardersen.
Cracks in Norwegian society
The festival chief noted that cracks in Norwegian society is a predominant theme this year, tackled as well in Jørgen Nordby’s Norwegian doc-feature “The Voice That Vanished,” a world premiere. The pic follows local artist Helene Bøksle and the traumatic experience of having her vocals from the game “Age of Conan” used by the July 22, 2011 mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik in his propaganda videos.
Then in Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner “Fjord,” one of a handful Cannes competition entries secured by Hardersen (with “Fatherland,” “Parallel Tales” and “The Beloved”), it’s the turn of Norway’s child protection system to come in for scrutiny.
“I’m really curious to see how the film will go down at the very first screening with a national audience,” said Hardersen. Mungiu will walk the Haugesund red carpet Aug. 25, when his Cannes winner opens New Nordic Films, the festival’s industry sidebar and biggest Nordic Film Market of the year, together with the twin event Nordic Film Market at Göteborg.
As underscored by the fest honcho, “Fjord” stars Renate Reinsve who toplines Haugesund’s other local pick “Butterfly” by Itonje Søimer Guttormsen, and the Oscar winner “Sentimental Value.”
Screening at the Amanda Nominees sidebar, Joachim Trier’s family drama has a chance to make history at the Norway’s Amanda national film awards if he coverts all its 12 nods into wins Aug. 22 at Haugesund’s Festiviteten Concert Hall.
Besides Mungiu, A-list talent expected take in “Game of Thrones”’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, a producer together with Norway’s Kristian Landmark on the Greenlandic-set documentary “Qajaq Man,” and local household name Anders Danielsen Lie (“The Worst Person in the World”), whose performance as jazz legend Bill Evans in the Berlin Silver Bear winner “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” enthused critics, including Variety’s.
Danielsen Lie will be honored at Haugesund alongside film and theatre actress Anne Marie Ottesen, when their names will be added to the festival’s Walk of Fame at a ceremony Aug. 22.
Among the festival’s top non-competitive sections, the Nordic Focus will screen 10 new titles including Finnish chiller “Nightborn” and Danish gothic gay romance “No Rest for the Wicked” which scooped two top awards each at the recent Fantasia Film Fest; Haugesund’s parallel children’s festival Cinemagi will open with the Norwegian kids movie “Back To Tottori,” sequel to Silje Salomonsen and Arild Østin Ommundsen’s 2021 Amanda winner “Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers.”
All Eyes on Norway
“Our cinema is strong, and after the World Cup, all eyes are on Norway. We’re enjoying a unique momentum with which to further boost our films and country as a film nation. However, our audiovisual sector as a whole is still struggling, with many people losing their jobs,” commented Hardersen, who said the topic of how to strengthen the Norwegian industry in the next decade will be one of the main themes of Haugesund’s Film Policy Conference on Aug. 23. “We’re not part of the E.U. and don’t want to be left out when the E.U. launches its flagship [2028-2034] AgoraEU program,” she said.
As for the Norwegian International Film Festival which she has headed since 2015, Hardersen is pleased to announce that it has consolidated its brand in 2026 by expanding its footprint to Stavanger, the Rogaland region’s largest city and Norway’s oil capital.
The Stavanger Festival’s soft launch last March sold more than 10,000 tickets and boosted the Norwegian International Film Festival’s overall visitors by 30%. “As Stavanger’s first film festival, we tapped into the large expat community working in the oil business and university students. It was a great experience,” said Hardersen. “Government support to our festival is based on our ability to renew ourselves, and the Stavanger film event was also a way to give back to our key backer, the Rogaland County.”
Would she be tempted in the future to move the must-attend industry showcase New Nordic Films to Stavanger, four times the size of Haugesund? “No”, she said. “The beauty and uniqueness of Haugesund is its small size. You run into everyone. This two-city Norwegian film festival allows us to keep cinemas active in our region, to build new audiences and for our staff to be employed all-year round.”
