04/08/2015 - Roar Uthaug’s The Wave and Joachim Trier’s Louder Than Bombs respectively open and close the festival, respectively, between 16-21 August

Local cinema is in focus at the 43^rd Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, which runs between 16-21 August. Both the opening and the closing films are Norwegian, accompanied by more local films in the main programme and Cinemagi-The Children’s Film Festival, and Norwegian director Anja Breien will be a special guest.

Norwegian director Roar Uthaug’s The Wave [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roar Uthaug
film profile], the first Nordic disaster movie- set at Norway’s Tafjord on 7 April, 1934, when two million cubic metres of rock fell into the water, triggering an 85-metre-tall wave that left 40 people dead – will launch the festival at the Edda Cinema, where Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon will do the honors for the official commencement.

Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s Louder Than Bombs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] - Norway’s first contender for the Golden Palm at Cannes in 36 years, where it did not win any prizes but was licensed to 92 countries and is now heading for the Toronto International Film Festival – will wrap the event. The English-language feature stars Gabriel Byrne, Isabelle Huppert, Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid.

Norwegian director Kari Anne Moe’s Rebels - “a documentary and a raw portrait of long-term unemployed youngsters who get a second chance” – will also screen in the main programme, while Norwegian director Arne Lindtner Næss’ fourth installment in the Casper and Emma franchise – they are now On Safari [+see also:
trailer
film profile] -is among the seven entries for the Cinemagi section.

Norwegian director Anja Breien, who recently celebrated both her 75^th birthday and the 40^th anniversary of Part 1 in her Wives trilogy(1975-1996) – will be the festival’s special guest for the Norwegian National Library’s introduction of a new DVD box set of Witch Hunt (1981), Next of Kin (1979) and Games of Love and Loneliness (1977), of which the latter will be on show.

In addition to the main selection, the Nordic Focus and other sidebars, assembled by programme director Håkan Skogrand, almost 300 Nordic and international film professionals have registered for New Nordic Films, the industry side of the festival, which takes place between 18-21 August. This includes the film market, the works-in-progress and the no-production and finance sessions.