\n\tAfter the World Cup where Norway made a splash with its wealth of soccer talent \u2013 led by Erling Haaland and Martin \u00d8degaard \u2013 the Nordic nation will be showcasing some of its biggest film talents at the 54th\u00a0edition of the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, running Aug. 22-28.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tOut of 84 feature length and 20 short films in the program, 22 Norwegian features and 15 shorts made the cut, including \u201cBeloved<\/a>\u201d (\u201cKj\u00e6rast\u201d) by acclaimed Oscar-shortlisted\u00a0Erik Poppe<\/a> (\u201cThe Kings Choice,\u201d\u00a0\u201cA Thousand Times Goodnight,\u201d\u00a0\u201cThe Emigrants<\/a>\u201d). The drama, repped internationally by Reinvent Yellow<\/a>, will have its world premiere in\u00a0the picturesque Norwegian\u00a0coast town\u00a0Aug. 23,\u00a0as its opening film.\u00a0<\/p>\n Based on the only original screenplay by Nobel Prize-winning author Jon Fosse, the film stars Leo Magnus de la Nuez (\u201cBeforeigners\u201d) and Kristi-Helene Gi\u00e6ver Engeberg (\u201cWar Sailor\u201d) as Asle and Gerd, who live an idyllic life with their son in\u00a0a small Norwegian coastal town. But soon\u00a0their perfect love is put to test, as Asle, a sailor, is inexorably drawn by the call of the sea.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFestival director Tonje Hardersen said \u201cBeloved\u2019 is the perfect opener. \u201cPoppe opened the festival two years ago with \u201cQuisling \u2013 The Final Days<\/a>;\u201d he\u2019s a true Haugesund regular, and Jon Fosse was actually born in Haugesund, so we\u2019re thrilled to have them with us with a powerful film,\u00a0set in the dazzlingly beautiful Western Norwegian landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBeloved\u201d is a love story full of the unspoken, tenderness, and mystery, unmistakably Jon Fosse,\u201d said Poppe before adding: \u201cWe live in a time where much of what we see on film and series depicts cynicism and human distance. Perhaps the most radical thing we can do now is to tell stories about closeness and hope.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe pic is produced by Poppe\u2019s regular\u00a0partner Finn Gjerdrum of SF Studios<\/a>\u2019 banner Paradox. \n\tRepped by TrustNordisk<\/a>, the drama is helmed by Ingvild S\u00f8derlind, credited for Netflix\u2019 \u201cRoyalteen: Princess Margrethe\u201d and \u201cBattle: Frestyle.\u201d Seasoned Thomas Robsahm (\u201cThe Worst Person in the World,\u201d \u201cLovable\u201d) produces for Nordisk Film Production Norway.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a strong film that follows the dramatic racially-motivated murder that happened 25 years ago. For me it was yesterday, but the younger generation doesn\u2019t know about it which is why it\u2019s key to highlight it at Haugesund,\u201d said Hardersen.<\/p>\n \n\tCracks in Norwegian society<\/p>\n \n\tThe festival chief noted that cracks in Norwegian society is a predominant theme this year, tackled as well in J\u00f8rgen Nordby\u2019s Norwegian doc-feature \u201cThe Voice That Vanished,\u201d a world premiere. The pic follows local artist Helene B\u00f8ksle and the traumatic experience of having her vocals from the game\u00a0\u201cAge of Conan\u201d used by the July 22, 2011 mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik in his propaganda videos.\u00a0 \n\t\u201cI\u2019m really curious to see how the film will go down at the very first screening with a national audience,\u201d said Hardersen. Mungiu will walk the Haugesund red carpet Aug. 25, when his Cannes winner opens New Nordic Films, the festival\u2019s industry sidebar and biggest Nordic Film Market of the year, together with the twin event Nordic Film Market at G\u00f6teborg.<\/p>\n \n\tAs underscored by the fest honcho, \u201cFjord\u201d stars Renate Reinsve who toplines Haugesund\u2019s other local pick \u201cButterfly<\/a>\u201d by Itonje S\u00f8imer Guttormsen, and the Oscar winner \u201cSentimental Value.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tScreening at the Amanda Nominees sidebar, Joachim Trier\u2019s family drama has a chance to make history at the Norway\u2019s Amanda national film awards if he coverts all its 12 nods into wins Aug. 22 at Haugesund\u2019s Festiviteten Concert Hall.<\/p>\n \n\tBesides Mungiu, A-list talent expected take in \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d\u2019 Nikolaj Coster-Waldau<\/a>, a producer together with Norway\u2019s Kristian Landmark on the Greenlandic-set documentary \u201cQajaq Man,\u201d and local household name Anders Danielsen Lie<\/a> (\u201cThe Worst Person in the World\u201d), whose performance as jazz legend Bill Evans in the Berlin Silver Bear winner \u201cEverybody Digs Bill Evans<\/a>\u201d enthused critics, including Variety\u2019s.<\/p>\n \n\tDanielsen Lie will be honored at Haugesund alongside film and theatre actress Anne Marie Ottesen, when their names will be added to the festival\u2019s Walk of Fame at a ceremony Aug. 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another hotly anticipated new Norwegian film, picked for the closing gala, is \u201cThe Murder of Benjamin,\u201d based on the real-life murder of Benjamin Hermansen, a 15-year-old boy of mixed Norwegian and Malian heritage, who was brutally murdered by a neo-Nazi in 2001.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then in Cristian Mungiu<\/a>\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or winner \u201cFjord,\u201d one of a handful Cannes competition entries secured by Hardersen (with \u201cFatherland,\u201d \u201cParallel Tales\u201d and \u201cThe Beloved\u201d), it\u2019s the turn of Norway\u2019s child protection system to come in for scrutiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n