Nils Gaup (born 12 April 1955) is a

Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Rus ...

film director from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Career

Mikkel Gaup and Nils Gaup at the 1988 Oscar ceremony 3

Gaup was born in

Kautokeino Kautokeino ( no, Kautokeino; se, Guovdageaidnu ; fkv, Koutokeino; fi, Koutokeino) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villages ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

County in

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

. He first intended to become an athlete but from 1974 to 1978 he went to drama school and studied at the Beaivváš Sámi Theatre in Kautokeino. He also founded the first

Sami language Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

theatre ensemble. After acting in several movies, he rose to international prominence in 1987 with his film ''Ofelaš'' (international English title ''

Pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ( ...

''). It was the first full-length movie with all of the dialogue in

Northern Sámi Northern or North Sámi ( ; se, davvisámegiella ; fi, pohjoissaame ; no, nordsamisk; sv, nordsamiska; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the ...

. This movie earned him an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for

Best Foreign language film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and the Grand Prize award at the 1990

Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fil ...

. After that he made the Disney-financed movie Haakon Haakonsen (Shipwrecked), based on the youth adventure novel ''Haakon Haakonsen. En norsk Robinson'' (''Haakon Haakonsen. A Norwegian Robinson'') by Norwegian author O. V. Falck-Ytter. In 1993 he shot his most successful film to date ''

Hodet over vannet ''Hodet over vannet'' is a Norwegian comedy thriller film by director Nils Gaup. It became a big success at the Norwegian box office. In 1993, it was one of the ten most seen films in Norwegian movie theaters. In the year after, 1994, it won the ...

'' ('' Head Above Water''). For this film, he won the Amanda Award (the most important Norwegian Film Award). It was remade as a 1996 American film with

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for ...

and

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

in the leading roles. His next movie was ''

Tashunga ''North Star'' is a 1996 American Western film starring James Caan, Christopher Lambert and Catherine McCormack. Directed by Nils Gaup, it was written by Sergio Donati and loosely based on Henry Wilson Allen's 1956 Western novel ''The North ...

'' (also known as ''North Star''), a project by

Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...

. This film was panned by both the box office and the critics. Gaup was previously scheduled as director for the

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

movie ''

Waterworld ''Waterworld'' is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charl ...

''. But due to exploding costs, he left the project. He directed the 2008 film ''

Kautokeino-opprøret ''The Kautokeino Rebellion'' ( no, Kautokeino-opprøret, se, Guovdageainnu Stuimmit) is a 2008 film based on the true story of the Kautokeino riots in Kautokeino, Norway in 1852 in response to the Norwegian exploitation of the Sami community a ...

'' about the

Kautokeino rebellion The Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu, also known as the Kautokeino uprising, was a revolt in the town of Kautokeino in northern Norway in 1852 by a group of Sami who attacked representatives of the Norwegian authorities. The rebels killed the local ...

of 1852 of the town of the same name in Norway. It is the true story of the riots of the Sami people against the church and state domination on alcohol sale.

Filmography

Director

*''

'' (1987) also writer *'' Shipwrecked'' (1990) also screenplay *''

'' (1993), remade as '' Head Above Water'' (1996) *''

Just Do It ''Just Do It '' or JDI for short is a trademark of shoe company Nike, and it is one of the core components of Nike's brand. The slogan was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting. The founder of the Wieden+Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden, cr ...

'' (1994) short film *''

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

'' (1996) *''

Misery Harbour ''Misery Harbour'' is a Norwegian drama by Nils Gaup. The film received mixed reviews with " die throws" of 5 in '' VG'', and ''Dagbladet''; 4 in ''Adresseavisen'' and in ''Bergensavisen'';"Ambisiøst og fengende", ''Bergensavisen'' 23 August 1999. ...

'' (1999) *''

Deadline Torp Deadline Torp, also known as Torp-Dramaet, is a TV miniseries co-written by crime author Jo Nesbø based on the true events of the 1994 Torp hostage crisis. It was produced for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. It tells the true story of ...

'' (2005) tv-series *''

The Kautokeino Rebellion ''The Kautokeino Rebellion'' ( no, Kautokeino-opprøret, se, Guovdageainnu Stuimmit) is a 2008 film based on the true story of the Kautokeino riots in Kautokeino, Norway in 1852 in response to the Norwegian exploitation of the Sami community a ...

'' (2008) also writer *'' Journey to the Christmas Star'' (2012) *''Glassdukkene'' (2014) *''

The Last King ''The Last King'' ( no, Birkebeinerne) is a 2016 Norwegian historical drama, directed by Nils Gaup. The story, inspired by true events, centers on the efforts of the Birkebeiner loyalists to protect the infant, Haakon Haakonsson, the heir to t ...

'' (2016) *''Sulis'' (2022)

Actor

*''Det andre skiftet'' (1978) – Olof *''

Krypskyttere ''Krypskyttere'' (Poachers) is a Norwegian drama film from 1982 directed by Hans Otto Nicolayssen. the film deals with a conflict between the military and the civilian population over the rights to a military firing range. The Cold War is the bac ...

'' (1982) – Kåre, soldat *''Nattseilere'' (1986) – Gilio *'' O'Horten'' (2007) – Same (final film role)

Awards and nominations

*Amanda Award Winner – ''Pathfinder'' *Academy Award Nomination Best Foreign language film – ''Pathfinder'' *Amanda Award Winner – ''Head above Water''

Personal life

Nils Gaup is the uncle of actor

Mikkel Gaup Mikkel Mathis Gaup (born 16 January 1968) is a Sámi Norwegian film and stage actor. He is best known for his acting debut in the film '' Pathfinder'', directed by his uncle Nils Gaup, and he has also appeared in a number of other productions, inc ...

. He is currently married to Linn-Kristin Henriksen, the sister of actor Stig Frode Henriksen known from the Kill Buljo movie.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaup, Nils 1955 births Living people People from Kautokeino Norwegian Sámi people Norwegian film directors