15/05/2005

Yesterday the Norwegian Film Institute launched in Cannes the book ‘Cool & Crazy, Modern Norwegian Cinema’ by writer/journalist and Scandinavian specialist Peter Cowie.
As Norway is celebrating 100 years of independence from neighboring Sweden, Cowie told Cineuropa that Norwegian cinema can also be proud today to be assessed in its own right alongside Swedish and Danish cinema.

C: Why make a book only about the last two decades of Norwegian cinema?
P.C.: Norway has a very strong literary tradition with Knut Hamsun and Henrik Ibsen just to name those two, but it has never had the heavy shadow of film masters such as Carl Dreyer for Denmark or Ingmar Bergman for Sweden. There has been many good literary adaptations, but it’s only recently, over the last 12-15 years or so that Norway finally has a cinema appealing to international festivals and audiences with films filled with humanity and compassion for others.

Can you name the key filmmakers that have contributed to putting Norwegian cinema on the map of world cinema again?
To name just a few, you have Bent Hamer of course whose film Factotum [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is screening at The Directors Fortnight this year, but also Erik Popper (Hawaii, Oslo [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Hans Petter Moland (Aberdeen), Berit Nesheim (The Other Side of Sunday), Thomas Robsham (SOS), Knut Erik Jensen (Cool & Crazy, after whom we named the book), Petter Naess (Elling [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), and Erik Gustavson (Sophie’s World) still to look after.

Why is it that Norwegian cinema isn’t still quite as ‘sexy’ as Swedish or Danish cinema?
Perhaps because there is a lack of stars in Norway, which is also why Norwegian filmmakers tend to use other Scandinavian actors in their films. But somebody to watch is Aksel Hennie, last year’s Shooting star who is also starting to direct himself.