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, R ...

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 region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the la ...

. 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 ne ...

theatre ensemble. After acting in several movies, he rose to international prominence in 1987 with his film ''Ofelaš'' (international English title '' Pathfinder''). It was the first full-length movie with all of the dialogue in Northern Sámi. 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 in ...

nomination for Best Foreign language film and the Grand Prize award at the 1990 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. 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 th ...

'' (''

Head Above Water ''Head above Water'' is a 1986 non-fiction book by Nigerian novelist Buchi Emecheta. It was published in 1986 in the African Writers Series by Heinemann and has been described as " anecdotal autobiography." Plot summary ''Head above Water'' is ...

''). 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 wit ...

in the leading roles. His next movie was '' Tashunga'' (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 Actors ...

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 Ch ...

''. But due to exploding costs, he left the project. He directed the 2008 film '' Kautokeino-opprøret'' about the Kautokeino rebellion 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

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

'' (1993), remade as ''

'' (1996) *'' Just Do It'' (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 tha ...

'' (1996) *'' Misery Harbour'' (1999) *'' Deadline Torp'' (2005) tv-series *'' The Kautokeino Rebellion'' (2008) also writer *''

Journey to the Christmas Star ''Journey to the Christmas Star'' ( no, Reisen til julestjernen) is a Norwegian fairy-tale adventure film from 2012 directed by Nils Gaup. The film is based on Sverre Brandt's 1924 play ''Reisen til Julestjernen'' and is otherwise considered a ...

'' (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 th ...

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

Actor

*''Det andre skiftet'' (1978) – Olof *'' Krypskyttere'' (1982) – Kåre, soldat *''Nattseilere'' (1986) – Gilio *''

O'Horten ''O' Horten'' is a 2007 Norwegian language film directed by Bent Hamer. The film's title character Odd Horten is a habit-bound train driver, who is about to retire. On the day of his retirement he ends up in an unexpected situation, and is forced t ...

'' (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. He is currently married to Linn-Kristin Henriksen, the sister of actor

Stig Frode Henriksen Stig Frode Henriksen (born 1975) is a Norwegian actor, producer, and screenwriter. Biography Stig Frode Henriksen was born in 1975 in Alta, Norway. His acting career began in 2007, with his first role in the film ''Kill Buljo ''Kill Buljo'' i ...

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