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 the ...

has a notable film industry. The first domestically produced Norwegian film was a short about fishermen, '' Fiskerlivets farer'' ("The Dangers in a Fisherman's Life"), dating from 1907. The first feature was released in 1911, produced by Halfman Nobel Roede. In 1931

Tancred Ibsen Tancred Ibsen (11 July 1893 – 4 December 1978) was a Norwegian military officer, aviator, film director and screenwriter. Background Ibsen was the son of Sigurd Ibsen and Bergljot Bjørnson. He was the grandson of both Henrik Ibsen and No ...

, grandson of playwright Henrik Ibsen, presented Norway's first feature-length sound film, ''Den store barnedåpen'' ("The Great Christening"). Throughout the 1930s, Ibsen dominated the nation's film industry. Fellow film director Leif Sinding was also very successful during this period. Ibsen produced conventional melodramas more or less on the model of Hollywood films. In the early 21st century, several Norwegian

film directors 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 Goal, vision. The director has a key role in choosing the Casting (per ...

have had the opportunity to go to Hollywood to direct various

independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

. As of 2011, nearly 900 films had been produced in Norway, with a third of these being made within the last 15 years.

Notable films

1920s

* Pan (1922) * Troll-elgen (1927) * Laila (1929)

1930s

Den store barnedåpen ''Den store barnedåpen'' (The Great Christening) is a 1931 Norway, Norwegian comedy film. It was directed by Tancred Ibsen and featured Einar Sissener, Aase Bye and Unni Torkildsen. It was the first feature-length Norwegian sound film. It wa ...

(1931) * To levende og en død (1937) * Gjest Baardsen (1939)

1940s

Tante Pose ''Tante Pose'' is a 1940 Norwegian film, directed by Leif Sinding, based on the book by Norwegian author Gabriel Scott. It stars Henny Skjønberg in the title role. Synopsis The Christmas preparations are underway at the wealthy Bals family far ...

(1940) * Bastard (1940) * Tørres Snørtevold (1940) * Den forsvundne pølsemaker (1941) * Det grodde fram - Trondheim 1940 - 1945 (1947)

1950s

Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, fo ...

(1950) *

Aldri annet enn bråk ''Aldri annet enn bråk'' is a 1954 Norwegian comedy-drama film, edited by Edith Carlmar. It takes place in a working-class setting in the city of Oslo. The English title is ''Nothing but trouble''. A 1955 Danish remake, ''Altid ballade'', was di ...

(1954) * Ni Liv (Nine Lives) (1957) * Fjols til fjells (Fools in the Mountains) (1957) * De dødes Tjern (Lakes of the Dead) (1958) * Jakten (The Chasers) (1959)

1960s

* Mannen som ikke kunne le (The Man Who Could Not Laugh) (1968)

1970s

* Olsenbanden tar gull (1972) * Flåklypa Grand Prix (The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix) (1975) * Lasse & Geir (1976)

1980s

* Orions belte (Orion's Belt) (1985) * Ofelaš (aka. Veiviseren, Pathfinder) (1987)

1990s

* Døden på Oslo S (Oslo, Central Station) (1990) * Mørketid (1994) * Kjærlighetens kjøtere (Zero Kelvin) (1995) * Søndagsengler (The Other Side of Sunday) (1996) *

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

(1997) * Junk Mail (1997)

2000s

Elling ''Elling'' is a Norwegian Black comedy film directed by Petter Næss. Shot mostly in and around the Norwegian capital Oslo, the film, which was released in 2001, is primarily based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen's novel ''Brødre i blodet'' ("Blood bro ...

(2001) * Heftig og begeistret (2001) * Mongoland (2001) * Villmark (Dark Woods) (2003) * Salmer fra Kjøkkenet (Kitchen Stories) (2003) *

Buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

(2003) *

Hawaii, Oslo ''Hawaii, Oslo'' is a 2004 Norwegian drama film, directed by Erik Poppe with a screenplay by Harald Rosenløw Eeg. It stars Trond Espen Seim, Aksel Hennie, Jan Gunnar Røise and Petronella Barker. The film's music was composed by John Er ...

(2004) * Den brysomme mannen (The Bothersome Man) (2006) * Fritt Vilt (Cold Prey) (2006, sequels in 2008 and 2010) *

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

(2006) * Den siste revejakta (2008) * Rovdyr (Manhunt) (2008) * Kautokeino-opprøret (The Kautokeino Rebellion) (2008) *

Max Manus Maximo Guillermo "Max" Manus DSO, MC & Bar (9 December 1914 – 20 September 1996) was a Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II, specialising in sabotage in occupied Norway. After the war he wrote several books about his adventu ...

(2008) * Død Snø (Dead Snow) (2009) * Knerten (Twigson) (2009)

2010s

* Trolljegeren (Trollhunter) (2010) * Kongen av Bastøy (King of Devil's Island) (2010) * En ganske snill mann (A Somewhat Gentle Man) (2010) * Hodejegerne (Headhunters) (2011) * Oslo, August 31st (2011) *

(2012) * Bølgen (The Wave) (2015) * Kongens nei (The King's Choice) (2016) * Utøya: July 22 (2018) * Thelma (2017)

2020s

* Verdens verste menneske (The Worst Person in the World) (2021) * Troll (2022)

Notable short films

* The Spirit of Norway (1988) * Året gjennom Børfjord (A Year Along the Abandoned Road) (1991) * De beste går først (United We Stand) (2002) * Sniffer (2006) * Den danske dikteren (The Danish Poet) (2006)

Actors

* Liv Ullmann *

Kristofer Hivju Kristofer Hivju (; born 7 December 1978) is a Norwegian actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Tormund Giantsbane in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' and Connor Rhodes in ''The Fate of the Furious''. Early life Hivju was ...

* Ingrid Bolsø Berdal *

Henki Kolstad Henki Kolstad (3 February 1915 – 14 July 2008) was a Norwegian actor and pop-cultural national treasure. With his debut at the Oslo national theater, he was known for his appearances in '' Olsenbanden'', the children's series Jul i Skomakerga ...

Maria Bonnevie Anna Maria Cecilia Bonnevie (born 26 September 1973) is a Swedish- Norwegian actress. She was born in Västerås, Sweden, but grew up in Oslo, Norway. Her parents are Norwegian actress Jannik Bonnevie and Swedish actor Per Waldvik. Bonnevie wa ...

* Anders Baasmo Christiansen *

Wenche Foss Eva Wenche Steenfeldt Stang (5 December 1917 – 28 March 2011), better known as Wenche Foss (), was a leading Norwegian actress of stage, screen and television. Personal life Wenche Foss was born to engineer Christian August Steenfeldt-Foss ( ...

* Harald Heide-Steen Jr. *

Kristoffer Joner Kristoffer Joner (born 19 September 1972) is a Norwegian actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Villmark'' and ''The Man Who Loved Yngve''. He was a part of Rogaland Teater when he was 14 years of age until his early 20s. He was one of the f ...

* Helge Jordal *

Alfred Maurstad Alfred Jentoft Maurstad (26 July 1896 – 5 September 1967) was a Norwegian actor, movie director and theatre manager. Biography Alfred Jentoft Maurstad was born at Bryggja in Davik (now Vågsøy) in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He was the son of ...

Toralv Maurstad Toralv Maurstad (24 November 1926 – 4 November 2022) was a Norwegian stage, film, and television actor. He was the son of actor Alfred Maurstad and actress Tordis Maurstad (née Witzøe), and half-brother of actress Mari Maurstad. His screen ...

* Arve Opsahl * Sverre Anker Ousdal *

Bjørn Sundquist Bjørn Richard Sundquist (born 16 June 1948) is a Norwegian actor, famous for TV, theatre, and movie roles. For many years he worked at Det Norske Teatret and Nationaltheateret in Oslo, and he is especially famous for the roles as Merlin and ...

* Tobias Santelmann *

Trond Espen Seim Trond Espen Seim (born 4 October 1971) is a Norwegian actor. He has played private detective Varg Veum in a series of films based on the eponymous series of novels by Gunnar Staalesen. On 18 March 2010, Seim was cast in the film '' The Thing'', ...

Rolv Wesenlund Rolv Helge Wesenlund (17 September 1936 – 18 August 2013) was a Norwegian comedian, singer, clarinetist, writer and actor. Biography Wesenlund was most known for having portrayed the title character in the movies ''Bør Børson'', ''Bør Bø ...

Pia Tjelta Pia Merete Tjelta (born 12 September 1977, in Stavanger) is a Norwegian actress. Tjelta graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 2006, but had already appeared in many films. She made her film debut in 2001 in the film ''Mon ...

Aksel Hennie Aksel Hennie (born 29 October 1975) is a Norwegian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Headhunters'' (2011), ''Hercules'' (2014), and '' The Martian'' (2015). Early life Hennie was born in the Lambert ...

Ane Dahl Torp Ane Dahl Torp (born 1 August 1975 in Bærum, Norway) is a Norwegian actress. Career Torp had her first film appearance in ''The Woman of My Life'' (2003). She has received Amanda Awards for her performances as Trude Eriksen in ''Svarte penger ...

* Nicolai Cleve Broch * Morten Rudå

Directors

Joachim Trier Joachim Trier () (born 1 March 1974) is a Danish-born Norwegian film director, best known for '' Oslo, August 31st'' (2011), ''Louder Than Bombs'' (2015), ''Thelma'' (2017), and '' The Worst Person in the World'' (2021). For the latter film, he ...

André Øvredal André Øvredal (; born 1973) is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films '' Trollhunter'', '' The Autopsy of Jane Doe'' and '' Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark''. Life and career He is best known fo ...

* Martin Asphaug * Anja Breien * Edith Carlmar *

Ivo Caprino Ivo Caprino (17 February 1920 – 8 February 2001) was a Norwegian film director and writer, best known for his puppet films. His most noted film, '' Flåklypa Grand Prix'' ("Pinchcliffe Grand Prix"), was made in 1975. Early life Caprino ...

* Eva Dahr *

Olav Dalgard Olav Dalgard (June 19, 1898 – December 25, 1980) was a Norwegian literary and art historian, filmmaker, author and educator. Biography Dalgard was born Olaf Hanssen in Folldal, in Hedmark, Norway. From the age of three, he was raised at Oppdal ...

Karoline Frogner Anne Karoline Frogner (born February 3, 1961) is a Norwegian filmmaker, photographer, writer and lecturer. She is one of Norway's foremost documentary filmmakers and is a stills photographer for the image agency Samfoto. She is the director of pro ...

Nils Gaup Nils Gaup (born 12 April 1955) is a Sámi film director from Norway. Career Gaup was born in Kautokeino, Finnmark County in Northern Norway. He first intended to become an athlete but from 1974 to 1978 he went to drama school and studied at the ...

Erik Gustavson Erik Gustavson is a Norwegian film director and producer. He started out as a camera assistant and eventually moved on to cameraman before starting to work as a director in 1981. He has directed seven feature films, including ''Herman'', ''The T ...

Bent Hamer Bent Hamer (born 18 December 1956) is a film director, writer and producer, born in Sandefjord, Norway in 1956. Biography Hamer studied film theory and literature at the University of Stockholm and the Stockholm Film School. In addition to his f ...

* Gill Holland *

Marius Holst Marius Holst (born 15 January 1965) is a Norwegian filmmaker, a producer and a screenwriter. Life Film school student Marius Holst studied at the London International Film School. In 1990, his diploma film was nominated for the Amanda Award for ...

Jens Lien Jens Lien (born 14 September 1967) is a Norwegian film director. He graduated from the London International Film School in 1993. His graduation project was the short film ''Montana'', that was featured at the short film festival in Grimstad tha ...

* Vibeke Løkkeberg *

Hans Petter Moland Hans Petter Moland (born 17 October 1955) is a Norwegian film director. Moland was born in Oslo. He had received awards for his commercials at major festivals, including Cannes, before he made his feature debut in 1993 with '' The Last Lieutenan ...

* Marja Bål Nango *

Petter Næss Petter Næss (born 14 March 1960 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian actor and film director. His first film as a director was the comedy '' Absolutt blåmandag'' in 1999. Næss is best known for his work directing two of the three films about Ingv ...

* Sara Margrethe Oskal *

Erik Poppe Erik Poppe (born 24 June 1960) is a Norwegian film director, producer and screenwriter. Poppe is regarded as one of Scandinavia's most experienced and compelling film directors recognized for his work with actors and multi-pronged narrativ ...

* Øyvind Sandberg *

Erik Skjoldbjærg Erik Skjoldbjærg (born December 14, 1964) is a Norwegian director and writer best known for co-writing and directing the film ''Insomnia'' and the long awaited '' Narvik''. His film ''Pioneer'' was selected to be screened in the Special Present ...

Arne Skouen Arne Skouen (18 October 1913 – 24 May 2003) was a Norwegian journalist, author, film director and film producer. Biography Arne Skouen was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. His parents were Peder Nikolai Skouen (1883-1978) and Jenny ...

Ola Solum Ola Solum (17 July 1943 – 28 June 1996)"Ola Solum"
''

Liv Ullmann *

Roar Uthaug Roar may refer to: Film and television * ''Roar'' (film), an American adventure-comedy film starring Tippi Hedren and Melanie Griffith * '' Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans'', a 2014 Hindi-language Indian animal horror feature film * ''Roar'' (199 ...

Petter Vennerød Petter Vennerød (25 September 1948 – 19 September 2021Filmskaper Petter V ...

Tommy Wirkola Tommy Wirkola (born 6 December 1979) is a Norwegian film director and writer. Career His first film was 2007's ''Kill Buljo'', which he co-wrote with Stig Frode Henriksen. They later made the 2009 horror comedy '' Dead Snow''. In 2010 they agai ...

Svend Wam Svend Olaf Wamnes Akstuft, known as Svend Wam (5 May 1946 – 7 May 2017), was a Norwegian film director. Wam was born in Son, Norway. He was best known for his collaborations with Petter Vennerød, creating fourteen films under the moniker ' ...

Harald Zwart Harald Zwart (born 1 July 1965) is a Dutch- Norwegian film director. Life and career Although born in the Netherlands, Zwart was raised in Fredrikstad, Norway. By age eight, he had started making short films. He attended the Dutch Film Academy ...

Other notable persons in the Norwegian film industry

* John M. Jacobsen (producer) * Philip Øgaard (cinematographer) *

Svein Krøvel Svein Krøvel (12 May 1946 – 29 December 2011) was a Norwegian cinematographer, known for his collaborations with director Knut Erik Jensen and Petter Næss. Krøvel worked on both documentaries and feature films. He started his feature film c ...

(cinematographer)

Awards

The

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

equivalent of the

Academy Awards 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 ...

is the Amanda award, which is presented during the annual Norwegian Film Festival in Haugesund. The prize was created in 1985. The Amanda award is presented in following categories: Best Norwegian Film, Best Directing, Best Male Actor, Best Female Actress, Best Film for Children and Youth, Best Screenplay, Best Short Film, Best Documentary (however, a documentary can also win the Best Film award), Best Foreign Film and an honorary award. The documentary ''

'' by

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000& ...

received the

Academy Award for Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to '' Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. They have since been best ...

at the

24th Academy Awards The 24th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1952, honoring the films of 1951. The ceremony was hosted by Danny Kaye. ''An American in Paris'' and '' A Place in the Sun'' each received six Oscars, splitting Best Picture and Best Director, r ...

in 1951. It is the only feature film in

Norwegian history The history of Norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the climate of the region. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat inland of the great ice sheets, the earliest inhabitants migrated north into the territor ...

to win 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 ...

. In 2006 the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

The Danish Poet, directed by Norwegian

Torill Kove Torill Kove (born 25 May 1958) is a Norwegian-born Canadian film director and animator. She won the 2007 Academy Award for Animated Short Film for the film '' The Danish Poet'', co-produced by Norway's Mikrofilm AS and the National Film Board of ...

and narrated by Norwegian screen legend Liv Ullmann, won an

Academy Award for Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

, and became the second Norwegian production to receive an

. As of 2013, five films from Norway have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: '' Nine Lives'' (1957), '' The Pathfinder'' (1987), '' The Other Side of Sunday'' (1996), ''

'' (2001) and ''

'' (2012).

Film festivals

Arctic Film Festival Arctic Film Festival is an annual film festival held in September in the Norwegian archipelago, Svalbard's town, Longyearbyen. The festival is organized by HF Productions, and is a United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs) initiat ...

, Svalbard *

Bergen International Film Festival The Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) is a film festival held annually in October in Bergen, Norway since 2000, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films. The festival celebrated its 20th edition in 2019, featuring ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

* Kosmorama – Trondheim International Film Festival,

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

* Kristiansand International Children's Film Festival,

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

Norwegian International Film Festival The Norwegian International Film Festival ( no, Den norske filmfestivalen) is a film festival held annually in Haugesund, Norway. The festival goes back to 1973. In 1985, the Amanda award was instituted. The Amanda is awarded every year at the fes ...

, Haugesund * Tromsø International Film Festival

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

Film commissions

* Western Norway Film Commission,

Film schools

Film schools include: * The Norwegian Filmschool in Lillehammer. Other alternatives for more theoretical higher education in film include: *

Bachelor degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

in Film- and TV-production at

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

. *

in Film Science at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. There are also several more practical private film collages: *Studies in Film- and TV-production at

Noroff Noroff Education is a privately owned and operated university college and vocational school offering a variety of different study programmes including vocational programs and bachelor's degrees. Noroff University College Noroff University College ...

Institute *Studies in Film- and TV-production at

Nordic Institute of Stage and Studio The Nordic Institute of Stage and Studio ( no, Nordisk Institutt for Scene og Studio) is a private college located in Oslo, Norway. It focuses on subjects related to stage, studio, film and television, and is one of the largest educational center ...

(NISS) *Studies in Film- and TV-production at Westerdals School of Communication

References

{{Europe in topic, Cinema of