Friluftsliv & Frozen Fjords: A Wintery Expedition into Norwegian Happiness & Well-Being (Dr. Dawn McQuistion & Mr. Tim Brown)

"I wanted to do something big and wild and different. Something with water!” said choreographer Alexander Ekman and filled the Main Stage at the Oslo Opera House with 5,000 litres of water. In A Swan Lake, his new full-length work created for the Norwegian National Ballet, the dancers are joined on stage by actors, a soprano, musicians, and 1,000 rubber ducks. Alexander Ekman is an award-winning choreographer, whose work is internationally acclaimed for its inventiveness, musicality and humour. With a score by Swedish composer Mikael Karlsson and costumes by Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov, A Swan Lake takes a fresh and witty look at Tchaikovsky’s ballet of all ballets. A spectacular show that transcends boundaries”--Description from the newspaper Aftenposten.

"Follow [in this documentary] the legend of Arthur into the literary traditions of medieval Iceland and Norway. Learn how Norwegian king Hákon Hákonarson commissioned adaptations of Arthurian works into Old Norse, and explore distinct differences in ethos, sensibility, and emphasis between the Continental and Scandinavian versions of the knightly saga"--Description from the publisher.

The only long-distance sled dog race (650 km) held above the seventieth parallel, beyond the Arctic Circle. Shot along the shores of Varanger Fjord (Norway), the documentary deals with the amazing bond between man and dog.

This award-winning Scandinavian drama focuses on Ingrid, a woman contending with the loss of vision. In trying to navigate a world without sight, she spends her days attempting to reconstruct the visual world as she once knew it. As she struggles with her new found predicament, she begins writing salacious fictional stories that slowly morph into fantasies of what her husband does when she’s not around. When real-life events seamlessly give way to Ingrid’s creations, she is able to find a means to come to terms with her disability.

Provocative, sexy and deeply-felt, Blind won raves out of its premiere at Sundance where it won the World Cinema Screenwriting Award as well as the Label Europa Cinemas Award at the Berlin International Film Festival the following month.

Silje wants to leave her boyfriend, but when she finds him in a half-hearted attempt to hang himself she has to reconsider, in fear of acting reckless.

This Norwegian black comedy won of a Silver Medal at The Student Academy Awards 2019, Special Jury Prize at BAFTAs 2019, and selected at Raindance 2019.

"Running from Norway’s second city of Bergen to its capital, Oslo, the Bergen line is filmed [in this documentary] from the air as it passes along the fjords of Western Norway, rises to the snowy Hardanger Plateau, and descends through deep forests. Along the way learn how a dedicated team of people keep the line open in a challenging environment: clearing snow and ice, deterring wildlife, and repairing damaged trains"--Description from the publisher.

Henrik Ibsen was born in the small coastal town of Skien in Norway. His family were middle class burghers. He worked as an apprentice to an apothecary before going to Oslo to study. He began writing plays which found little favour in Norway. He lived and wrote for about 30 years in Italy and Germany and became recognised worldwide as the greatest dramatist of his age and the Father of modern drama. The film traces his life and is followed by a brief overview of his works.

Norway has cut bullying in some schools by 50%. Why are Norwegians such pioneers in tackling bullying and what are the key features of their approach? This programme examines Norway's tradition of communal responsibility for its children, from the Norwegian public's compassionate response to a James Bulger-like tragedy, to the view that teachers are responsible for anti-bullying. We look in detail at Norway's most successful anti-bullying programmes in action in two schools which take a zero-tolerance stance against bullying.

"A documentary film about Jon and his family who live in Northern Scandinavia, above the Arctic Circle. He is a reindeer breeder and belongs to the Sámi people, a semi-nomadic community. For an entire year, Corto Fajal, the film director, follows the migration of Jon’s community and its 15 000 reindeers across the breathtaking landscapes of the Sarek Mountains. Taken by the apparent harmony of Jon’s daily life, the director wonders about the fragility of this lifestyle and its paradoxes.
Sámi s search for a balance between life in nature and the comfort brought by technology.
While this modernization eases their nomadism, it weakens the autonomy of their community. Beyond the portrait of an exotic lifestyle, this film is an authentic testimony to a fragile existence. With lucidity and humility, Jon gives his voice to the camera to share with us his joys and love of nature but also his doubts about the future of his culture and community"--Description from the publisher.

"Feature film based on the true story about the three dramatic days in April 1940 when the King of Norway was presented with an unimaginable ultimatum from the German armed forces: Surrender or die. After three days of desperately trying to evade the Germans, King Haakon makes his final decision. He refuses to capitulate, even if it may cost him, his family and many Norwegians their lives. Winner of 8 Amanda Awards, including Best Film and Best Screenplay. Nominated for Best Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival"--Description from the publisher.

A poetic short documentary film that follows four daring young women to Svalbard, Norway, under 700 miles from the North Pole, to rediscover themselves amidst arctic ocean sailing, ice mountain climbs, and ski descents.

Blurring the boundaries between entertainment and high culture, this documentary takes you on a tour of the Munch Museum, in Oslo.

"This Oscar-nominated animated short film is a tall tale about the filmmaker's grandmother's life in Oslo, Norway, during World War II. Sharp and whimsical, her story combines her grandmother's tales with historical events and fantasy, showing how a cherished anecdote can come to acquire a mythical status"--Description from the publisher.

Five short documentaries [each 9 minutes long] introduce you to the masterpieces of Norwegian painting. The playlist is about the National Gallery of Norway, in Oslo.

The moment the train leaves the station without engineer Odd Horten (Bard Owe) aboard, he realizes the path ahead is a journey without printed timetables and well-known stations. Horten has been forced to retire after 40 years of traveling a very stable rail, and the platform does not feel like a safe place anymore. His orderly, solitary existence is about to give way to a future of unlikely adventures and puzzling dilemmas: will Horten ever travel by plane? Will he finally sell his prized boat? How does Horten end up in a pair of women's red high-heeled shoes? Will he survive a nighttime drive with a blindfolded man at the wheel? O'HORTEN is Bent Hamer's wonderfully skewed view on the human condition, and gives us that somewhat absurdist vision with great warmth, a little melancholy and universal appeal.

Norwegian documentary. When Susan discovered that she was Sami, she was embarrassed. The Sami were associated with something shameful and undesirable. We visit ia Kåfjord, Karasjokand Murmansk, to find out where the shame comes from. Today's young Sami have a pride their grandparents could only dream about.

"This acclaimed [feature] film follows the 14-year-old Sámi girl Elle Marja, who, along with her sister, is torn from her indigenous reindeer-herding family and placed in a government-run boarding school in 1930s Sweden. There Elle dreams of education and a future, but these dreams are hindered when she is met with racial expectations that class her people as inferior. What follows is a girl’s attempt to escape one world of prejudice and another of old traditions, only to realize the true cost of freedom"--Description from the publisher.

Winner of the Fedeora Award for Best Director of a Debut Film at the Venice Film Festival. Nominated for the Discovery Award for Best Film at the Toronto International Film Festival.

He hates to travel, but is constantly on the road. He dreads opening nights, but cannot avoid them. It is hard work to be Europe's most sought-after theatre playwright. This is a charming portrait of a 'shy devil'. We follow Jon Fosse over six hectic months from Japan, to Germany, to France where he receives the Ordre National du Merit, and we follow him back to his little house overlooking the beautiful vast Norwegian landscape by the fjord where he finishes yet another play.