The annual Berlin International Film Festival opened last week, with the Norwegian movie "North" ("Nord" in Norwegian) opening the Panorama Special Program. This is an official part of the festival, which is known to discover new talents in the film industry. The Berlin International Film Festival is world famous, with 19.000 participants from 120 countries competing this year.
Beautiful Norwegian mountain landscape is portrayed in the movie "North". Photo: The Norwegian Film Institute
"Anxiety, moonshine and snow mobiles"
Despite being the only matinee from Norway invited to the festival, they took home the award for best film in the Panorama Special Program and also the Europe Cinemas Label award. The first one is awarded by the international film critics association (FIPRESCI), while the second one has been created in order to help European films increase their distribution and raise their profile with audiences and media.
The movie is based on a script written by the famous Norwegian author Erlend Loe. It tells the story of Jomar (Anders Baasmo Christiansen), who's trying to find his own son, and also the man he once were. According to director Rune Denstad Langlo he hadn´t expected this kind of focus on a film that is, according to himself, a combination of "anxiety, moonshine and snow mobiles".
The film has from the first moment on been showered with compliments from the participants at the festival, and got fantastic reviews from the film magazines "Variety" and "Screen". During the intense ten day period the festival lasted, it was clear that "North" will be redistributed to ten European countries in the near future. In addition to this the film has been the object of great interest from other film festivals.
It seems that 2009 can be a very good year for Norwegian film, with the continuing success of the big hit "Max Manus", and now also international recognition for the new and promising film "North".