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With Canneseries in full swing and Norwegian drama “A Better Man,” handled by Beta Film, getting a pink carpet treatment as a world premiere on Sunday, Marianne Furevold Boland, Nrk head of drama is ecstatic. And she has every right to be.

Since the festival’s first bow in 2018, Nrk has snapped up no less than eight prizes, including best series for the political drama “Power Play” in 2023 and best screenplay for the comedy “Dumbsday” in 2024. “Norway is for me the most inventive TV country in the world,” Canneseries artistic director Albin Lewi even noted when announcing his 2025 lineup.

Furevold-Boland who produced Nrk youth phenomenon “Skam” and has led Nrk’s drama strand since 2023, has been a key contributor to the delivery of exceptional Norwegian drama in the past eight years. Sharing her views on the possible reasons behind the sustained golden age of Norwegian drama she says: “We are a small country,...

Norwegian monster pic “Kraken,” directed by Pål Øie, has inked a trio of European distribution deals ahead of its 2025 release. The film, inspired by the legendary deep-sea creature, has been picked up by Splendid Film for Germany, Mediawan Rights for France and Youplanet for Spain. These acquisitions follow earlier sales to North America (Samuel Goldwyn Films) and Latin America (Gussi).

“Kraken” follows marine biologist Johanne as she investigates strange occurrences linked to a local fjord. As deadly events unfold, she uncovers a terrifying myth lurking beneath the water’s surface — a giant, multi-armed monster capable of destroying everything in its path.

The film stars Sara Khorami, best known for her role in the Norwegian dramedy “Nothing to Laugh About” (2022), Mikkel Bratt Silset (“Shadow of Victory”), Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes (“The Tunnel” 2019), Steinar Klouman Hallert (“Sick of Myself”) and young actor Jenny Evensen.

John Einar Hagen and Einar Loftesnes of Nordisk Film Production,...

TrustNordisk’s forthcoming creature feature Kraken, based on the legendary sea monster from Nordic folklore, has inked a pair of pillar distribution deals on the first day of Berlin’s European Film Market. The Norwegian-language action feature has been acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films for North America and Gussi for Latin America.

Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Pål Øie, known for his action-thriller Tunnel and the horror flick Hidden, Kraken tells the story of a marine biologist who encounters several strange occurrences while researching a fjord, including the brutal deaths of two local teenagers.

“At the bottom of Norway’s deepest fjord rests a mythical monster as large as a mountain, with a myriad of arms ready to crush and devour anything they can grab,” the film’s synopsis reads.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Samuel Goldwyn and Gussi for the release of Kraken in North and Latin America,...

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights toPal Oie’s monster film Krakenfor TrustNordisk; Gussi has taken Latin American rights.

Krakenis about a marine biologist investigating strange occurrences in Norway’s deepest fjord. Sara Khorami stars with Mikkel Bratt Silset, Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes, Steinar Klouman Hallert and Jenny Evensen.

The film is in post-production, and set for release in late 2025. Producers areNordisk Film Production’s John Einar Hagen and Einar Loftesnes, who producedOie’s 2019 thrillerThe Tunnel,with genre outfitHandmade Films in Norwegian Woods.

Backing is viathe Norwegian Film Institute, Mediefondet Zefyr, Vestnorsk Filmcenter, Business Finland, Turkuu and Tampere, Finland.

Editors note: This review was originally published May 22 after its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The film opened in New York on Wednesday and today in Los Angeles.

Timing can be cruel. Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli’s second feature, Sick of Myself, has the misfortune to arrive in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section in the slipstream of Ruben Östlund’s divisive but funny competition title Triangle of Sadness; the latter being a broader, sillier but much more brutal dissection of class and culture. Sick of Myself also has to compete with the unexpected longevity of fellow countryman Joachim Trier’s hit The Worst Person In The World, which last year went from the Cannes competition all the way to the Oscars.

The net result is that despite another great, gutsy central performance from Ninjababy star Kristine Kujath Thorp, Sick of Myself won’t get...

Toxic relationships are terrible. There are no two ways about it. However, let’s just hope no one reading this ever experiences the toxicity seen in the new film, “Sick of Myself.”

As seen in the trailer for “Sick of Myself,” the film follows the story of a terrible relationship between Signe and Thomas. When Thomas earns a bit of fame as an artist, Signe decides to go a bit extreme to keep up, which leads to some really disastrous (and disturbing) consequences.

Read More: ‘Sick Of Myself’ Review: A Hilarious, Razor-Sharp Portrait Of The Worst Person In The World [Cannes]

The film stars Kristine Kujath Thorp, Eirik Sæther, Fanny Vaager, Sarah Francesca Brænne, Fredrik Stenberg Ditlev-Simonsen, Steinar Klouman Hallert, Andrea Bræin Hovig, Henrik Mestad, and Anders Danielsen Lie.

Continue reading ‘Sick Of Myself’ Trailer: Kristoffer Borgli’s Cannes Film About A Toxic Relationship Arrives In April at The Playlist.

Andrea Bræin Hovig as Anja with Ada (Dina Enoksen Elvehaug), her father (Einar Økland), Henrik (Eirik Hallert), Julie (Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne), Isak (Daniel Storm Forthun Sandbye), Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård), Erlend (Alfred Vatne), and Simon (Steinar Klouman Hallert) in Maria Sødahl’s Hope (Håp)

The performances in Maria Sødahl’s stunning piece of auto-fiction are superb. Hope (Håp), which is Oscar-shortlisted, couples Andrea Bræin Hovig as Anja and Stellan Skarsgård as Tomas. When the worst is confirmed, namely that the lung cancer Anja overcame the previous year may have spread to the brain, nothing in their world stays the same.

Andrea Bræin Hovig in her writing and sewing studio in Oslo

Tomas, whose mind, we learn, had been mainly occupied with his work producing in the theatre, will have to make a choice to either fully support Anja or withdraw into the escape of the regions he seems to be so familiar with.

Stellan Skarsgård on Maria Sødahl’s Oscar shortlisted Hope (Håp): “Many directors just put the camera on the person talking but she records the reactions from every character in the film.”

Stellan Skarsgård starred in Hans Petter Moland’s Out Stealing Horses, In Order Of Disappearance, A Somewhat Gentle Man, Zero Kelvin, and Aberdeen. When he was approached to portray Tomas, a rendition of Moland, in Maria Sødahl’s stunning piece of auto-fiction, Hope (Håp), Stellan told me: “When I first considered I’m actually going to play one of my best friends, I was thinking, but I cannot imitate him … But then of course I just cut loose and did the material from the script."

Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård) with Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig) in Hope (Håp) Photo: Manuel Alberto Claro

In Hope, Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig) returning home to Oslo from directing a successful stage production abroad, is greeted by her youngest child,...

Nearly a decade has spanned between Joachim Trier‘s three features to date, but the good news is he’s picking up the pace. The Norwegian filmmaker has his next film ready to go, “Thelma,” and it sounds like a fascinating new direction for the director who until now has focused on intimate character dramas.

Read More: Director Joachim Trier Goes Supernatural For His ‘Louder Than Bombs’ Follow-Up ‘Thelma’

Starring Eili Harboe, Okay Kaya, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Vanessa Borgli, Ingrid Giæver, Anders Mossling, Jonas Jörgensen, Steinar Klouman Hallert, Grethe Eltervåg, Marte Magnusdotter Solem, Oskar Pask, Ludvig Algeback, Vidar Fransson, and Ian Twedmark, the supernatural thriller follows a young woman who suddenly discovers she has terrifying, mysterious powers after she falls in love.

Continue reading First Trailer For Joachim Trier’s Supernatural Thriller ‘Thelma’ at The Playlist.