In the Next Nordic Generation programme at the Haugesund Film Festival, ten Nordic film-school students showcase their graduation work in front of both audiences and a jury. At this year’s ninth edition, the latter rewarded the “absurd manner” of the short film Free Men, “exploring class, social differences and a warm-hearted friendship” (see the news). Óskar Kristinn Vignisson, who premiered the film in the 2022 Cannes La Cinef section, sat down with us and looked both back and to the future.

Cineuropa: Who is Óskar Kristinn Vignisson?
Óskar Kristinn Vignisson: I’m 33 and from a small town in Iceland. My family comes from generations of hardworking people far removed from culture and art. Still, I was an adventurous teenager. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, I quit school mid-term and started working. I wanted to go back later, but the government changed the rules, and you weren’t let in again if you had quit. But there was a fine-arts school where they valued your creative ability over a diploma. I applied and got in, and later got into the arts academy and, in 2017, into the Danish Film School.

What was your impression of that school?
It was a culture shock. Denmark and Iceland have different blood in their veins regarding independent thinking. “If you go this way, I’ll go that way,” is the Icelandic mentality. With Danes, it’s more like: “We’re in this mess together, so let’s help each other out.” That mindset was a shock. But the school, for me, was kind of life-changing – to get accepted into this highly regarded place, to be able to explore and to fail. Today, I see myself as a product of the two countries: the foundation of my craftsmanship comes from Denmark, but I’ll always be a child of Iceland.

Free Men is your graduation work. Can you talk about the process of making it?
I’d spent four years in Denmark and was feeling a little homesick, so I did something totally different from what I was supposed to – not an artistic but a people-pleasing work. I did it not for the festivals, but for my parents. For the two main characters, I deliberately stole the Laurel and Hardy archetypes. My intention was to show my gratitude to my family, for supporting me emotionally when I was away. The homesickness came, I realise, from being in a world with “luxury problems”, whereas I come from a place where money and jobs are an issue. So I wanted to connect with this world and made a film about two best friends working in a fish factory and getting a moonlighting job offer to fix a clogged toilet at a housing development for illegal workers. At its heart, it’s a friendship story, but the brain, the theme, tackles social issues and the way people look, or don’t look, at an underprivileged group through the eyes of native Danes who are a little bit more privileged. They’re the titular free men, who get to question these degrees of freedom, or the lack thereof.

How was the shoot, and who did you work with?
I had a great cast: Nicolai Jørgensen and Anton Hjejle in the leads, and veterans like Henrik Birch, Tina Gylling Mortensen and Søren Malling. I was met with positivity, and they told me that it felt fresh and different. We had such a fun time on set.

Did you feel as though you had done something different from your classmates?
I think so. I was quite blind myself, focusing on my interests, but my classmates pointed out that I’d homed in on people not often shown. But again, part of being an artist is searching for a different path from the rest.

Haugesund presents this Nordic student line-up annually. How has the experience been?
It was joyful and humbling to get a spotlight like this. These platforms, and this one in particular with the other Nordic graduates, one of them a classmate, is a great experience. I met the audience, and they were intrigued and curious.

What are the next steps for you?
A feature, currently in development with New Danish Screen at the Danish Film Institute – it’s called Rigdom in Danish, like “riches” in English, as in “from rags to riches”. It has the same characters, with a focus on Daniel, the Oliver Hardy of the couple, who has just declared bankruptcy when we meet him, and he’s trying to resolve this situation. I am working with some of the same people from my student film, and Morten Kaufmann, who worked with Thomas Vinterberg on films like Festen and The Hunt [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Thomas Vinterberg
entrevista: Thomas Vinterberg
ficha de la película], will produce it.

When do you hope to show it?
I’m writing it now, pre-production will be next summer, and I’m hoping to be ready in 2024, perhaps for Cannes, where Free Men premiered in the La Cinef section – which can open some doors.