film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...
and
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
. One of the leading figures of the Norwegian film industry, and one of the first women to rise to prominence as a writer-director in Norway, Breien's body of work in fiction and documentary explores social and political issues, notably women's rights within the context of Norwegian society.
Career
After completing her studies in French at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
Det Store Varpet
''Det store varpet'' ( en, The Big Hoard}) is a 1961 Norwegian drama film directed by Nils R. Müller, starring Finn Bernhoft, Per Christensen and Jack Fjeldstad. The film is about two brothers who are working as fishermen with their father. It w ...
'' in 1961. She also worked as an assistant director on ''
Hunger
In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...
Henning Carlsen
Henning Carlsen (4 June 1927 – 30 May 2014) was a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer most noted for his documentaries and his contributions to the style of cinéma vérité. Carlsen's 1966 social-realistic drama ''Hunger'' (''Su ...
and based on the novel by
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective ...
.
Breien's first film as a director and screenwriter was a short in 1967 titled ''Growing Up'', followed by her short documentary ''17. May – A Film about Rituals'' (''17. Mai – En film om ritualer)'' (1969), a satirical look at the celebration of the Norwegian National Day. Her first feature-length film was ''
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
'' (''Voldtekt''), released in 1971. ''Rape'' was praised by critics, but also sparked debate due to its criticism of the Norwegian criminal justice system.
Breien subsequently wrote and directed ''Wives'' (''Hustruer'') (1975), which became a box-office success and received critical acclaim throughout Scandinavia. ''Wives'' was inspired as a feminist response to
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...
' '' Husbands'' (1972), and follows three women in their thirties who temporarily abandon their domestic responsibilities for a day of freedom. Breien went on to write and direct two sequels, '' Wives - Ten Years After'' (''Hustruer 10 År Etter'') (1985) and ''Wives III'' (''Hustruer 20 År Etter'') (1996), featuring the same characters ten and twenty years later.
In 1981's ''
Witch Hunt
A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...
'' (''Forfølgelsen''), Breien again critiqued her home country's patriarchal society through the story of a woman accused of witchcraft in 1630s western Norway. ''Witch Hunt'' was entered into the main competition of the 1981
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
.
Breien's 1979 film '' Next of Kin (Arven)'', also known as ''Heritage'' and ''The Inheritance'', a drama about a Norwegian family in conflict over an inheritance, was nominated for the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1979 Cannes Film Festival
The 32nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 24 May 1979. The Palme d'Or went to ''Apocalypse Now'' by Francis Ford Coppola, which was screened as a work in progress, and '' Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)'' by Volker Schlöndorff.
The fest ...
; it ended up winning the
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (french: Prix du Jury Œcuménique) is an independent film award for feature length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and ot ...
.
Breien has directed most of the films produced from her screenplays, one exception being 1994's ''Second Sight'' (''Trollsyn''), directed by
In addition to her extensive work in fiction cinema, Breien has continued to make documentaries throughout her career, many of which have been screened internationally. Her short documentary ''Solvorn'' (1997), constructed around a series of photographs taken by Breien's grandmother, screened at the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
in 1998.
Style
Breien is noted for her realist approach to storytelling, her use of the
long take
In filmmaking, a long take (also called a continuous take or continuous shot) is a shot with a duration much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera movement and elaborate bl ...
, and her use of a slow, contemplative pace. ''Rape'' (1971) uses a non-chronological storytelling technique and has been compared to
Asghar Farhadi
Asghar Farhadi ( fa, اصغر فرهادی, ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database
’s ''
A Separation
''A Separation'' ( fa, جدایی, Jodâyi; also titled ''Nader and Simin, A Separation'') is a 2011 Iranian drama film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, and Sarina Farhad ...