Nordland College of Art and Film

Nordland College of Art and Film, Kabelvåg

The students at Nordland College of Art and Film work with
various modes of expression: fiction, animation, documentary
and video art. The College is the only public education
institution in Norway where the visual/aesthetic disciplines
of art and film are so closely connected. During the autumn
of their second year the students make a film in the auteur
tradition, followed by another film in the spring semester in
a style of their choice: fiction, documentary or animation.
Practicing filmmakers from all over Europe are employed
as guest lecturers on both the art and film courses. Virginie
Surdej, best known for her work with the Dardenne brothers,
teaches cinematography; sisters Kathrine and Sissel
Haugen, the original writers behind the series Himmelblå,
teach script writing; Director of Studies Samir Zedan has
a background in directing from the Film School in Lodz,
Poland. Amar Kanwar, Jannicke Langballe and Mattias
Harenstam all work as supervisors for video art-students.
Well-known Norwegian actors and actresses such as
Bjørn Sundquist, Jørgen Langballe, Rebekka Karijord and
Per Kjerstad also willingly contribute their time to assist
the students.

Kabelvåg has a distinctively international profile – students
come from all over Scandinavia, the rest of Europe
and the US. The Nordland College of Art and Film was
founded in 1997, growing out of The Nordland Video
Workshop and Kabelvåg Art College. The College currently
collaborates with The University College in Bodø on
a Bachelor’s degree in film, and also with the Academy of
Fine Arts in Poznan on various art-film projects.
The films presented in this programme range in topic from
politics and resource management, to poetic and thoughtprovoking
reflections on the lives of young, vulnerable
people. We hear tell of longing and pain, love, alcohol and
madness. Some of the films take place in Lofoten’s unique
nature, with mythical backdrops; others are filmed inside the
region’s venerable historic buildings.
Rector Siri Kvitvik and Director of Studies Samir Zedan will
present the programme.

The College is also represented in the Short Film Festival’s
competition programme with the following films: Fireball
by Jørgen Wetaas Bull, The Little Little Death by Nevena
Ekimova and As Father As Son by Martin Klim Kyllingmark.