It has been an honor and a pleasure to see all the Norwegian short films and short documentaries that were submitted to the Short Film Festival this year.
It is an intense period, during which we get an insight into what Norwegian filmmakers are concerned with in today’s world. The first thing that must be said is that the overall level of quality is very high, both in terms of production and content. The stories that are told are varied, but as always there is a lot of human relational drama. About love, feelings and relationships, partners, marriages, siblings, and animals. Friendships in all forms and sizes. And also, about broken hearts and dreams, about young people trying to find their place in life.
At the same time there is a lot of humor in the films. Could it be that having emerged on the other side of the pandemic, we are rejoicing in the possibility of human contact again? In many films, the humor is absurd, liberating, and smart, both dark and light-hearted. There were also quite a few genre films, and to our great delight they were often not lacking in amounts of blood, madness, nor mystery.
The documentaries paint beautiful visual and artistic stories about life as poor, about life decisions, the end of life, and about life and art. There are strong documentaries about climate change and about a world in crisis.
The film schools are well represented. It is a joy to see that so many film school films made it into the competition program. The student films are simply very impressive, and we are looking forward to following these directors in the future.
Films are getting longer and this year we had a record number of submissions to the festival. It is a double-sided pleasure to watch so many good films, because the final rounds in the pre-selection committee, when we each have to fight for our film choices, are challenging. It is painful to see that some films don’t make the cut, and that these directors will receive a disappointing message from the festival. Because one of the most important things that we do, is to lift up new films and directors, cheer on and introduce filmmakers and film workers to both the Norwegian and the international industry, and to facilitate viable individual careers and an industry as a whole.
So, we want to encourage the filmmakers and film workers who didn’t make it into the final line-up this time, to still make the trip to Grimstad and be a part of the industry gathering.
And finally, we want to say congratulations to those that made it into the competition program! We look forward to seeing you in Grimstad.
Marina D. Richter is a Vienna-based film critic, script consultant and a writer. Since 2005, foreign correspondent for film and art for the Serbian newspaper Politika. She is a regular film columnist for the Montenegrian film magazine Objektiv and writer for Asian Movie Pulse. Her film reviews and interviews have been published in Cineuropa, in Estonia’s cultural weekly Sirp, Serbia’s weekly Vreme, Austria’s Celluloid Magazine, EFA’s newsletters, VICE, and the Slovak Film.sk. She also contributes to the online daily Lupiga. Marina is a member of Serbian Fipresci, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and the European Film Academy.
Website: ubiquarian.net
Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning producer, interactive producer and editor of feature-length documentaries. She started her career as an editor and has 20 years experience. In 2014, she founded her production company, Ten Thousand Images AS, based in Norway. Through TTI, she has produced and edited the award-winning documentary No Word for Worry (2014), and produced the critically acclaimed Nowhere to Hide (2016), which won over 20 international awards, including the main prize at IDFA and Amanda for Best Documentary.
More recently, Munthe-Kaas co-produced Hidden Letters (2022), about the secret Chinese written language Nushu, developed by women. It screened at many international festivals, and was shortlisted for the Oscars in 2023.
Website: tenthousandimages.no
Egil Pedersen has a degree in directing from The Norwegian Film School, has made numerous music videos and short films, including the award-winning Indigenous Police, (screened at the Norwegian Short Film Festival in 2021), which has been the source of much engagement and debate.
Egil is making his feature film directorial and screenwriting debut in 2024 with the Sami drama Biru Unjárga, to be released later this year.
Website: egilpedersen.com
Anita Svingen has been with the Norwegian Short Film Festival since 2006, and became the Festival manager in 2012. She has a bachelor’s degree in Film and Television Studies from the University of Westminster in London, and has experience as producer and program manager at SBS Radio.
She has worked in Norwegian television production for over a decade, including for companies such as Rubicon and Dinamo. Anita is involved in several organizations and festivals, such as Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival, where she is on the board of directors.
The Norwegian Short Film Festival / kortfilm@kortfilmfestivalen.no
Kortfilmfestivalen i Grimstad
kortfilm@kortfilmfestivalen.no