Archive of films North / Nord

Norway
2008, 78 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2009

An "anti-depressive off-road movie” about a snowmobile journey undertaken by hapless Jomar across the gorgeous arctic landscape. Along the way, Jomar learns how to get drunk via an alcohol-soaked tampon taped to a shaved spot on his skull, how to overcome snow blindness, and above all how to conquer himself in order to get back to reality. This excellent Norwegian comedy won, among other awards, the FIPRESCI Prize in the Panorama section at this year’s Berlinale.

Synopsis

Robust Jomar was once a successful athlete, but he shut himself off from the rest of the world after suffering a mental breakdown. The film, which its creators characterize as "an anti-depressive off-road movie,” uses gentle humor to portray Jomar’s journey to see a son whom he has never met. Along the way, he meets other individuals who are just as confused and lonely as he: a girl who lives alone with her grandmother in the middle of nowhere, a young excavator driver who is terrified of gays (but has invented a wonderful recipe for a guaranteed cheap drunk using tampons), and an old man humbly waiting for a dignified departure. Each new encounter gives Jomar the strength to carry on, and to face, as he nears the end of his journey, the things in life he fled from. Director Rune Denstad Langlo, a rising star of Scandinavian cinema, bets on a string of original jokes in combination with a certain melancholy and the beauty of the snowy arctic landscape. Another prime asset is Anders Baasmo Christiansen’s excellent performance as the hapless Jomar.

About the director

Rune Denstad Langlo (b. 1972) gained attention with two documentaries successfully screened in Norwegian theaters: Too Much Norway (Alt for Norge, 2005) and 99% Honest (99% ærlig, 2008) featuring the hip-hop group Forente Minoriterer. The latter film, which went into domestic distribution last year and was shown in the Czech Republic at the One World festival, earned Langlo the prestigious Kanon Award (Norwegian national award) for Discovery of the Year. His feature directorial debut, the comedy North, is celebrating one festival success after another: at the Berlinale it took the Europa Cinemas Label Award and the FIPRESCI Prize in the Panorama section, as well as an award from the recent Tribeca festival in New York. Currently, Langlo is engaged as a director and producer at Motlys productions, and is working on his next film, the comedy Nater.

Contacts

Memento Films International
9, cité Paradis, 750 10, Paris
France
Tel: +33 153 349 020
Fax: +33 142 471 124
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.memento-films.com

Norwegian Film Institute
Box 482 Sentrum, 0105, Oslo
Norway
Tel: +47 224 745 00
Fax: +47 224 745 97
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.nfi.no

Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.aerofilms.cz

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Rune Denstad Langlo
Screenplay:	Erlend Loe
Dir. of Photography:	Philip Øgaard
Music:	Ola Kvernberg
Editor:	Zaklina Stojcevska
Producer:	Sigve Endresen, Brede Hovland
Production:	Motlys AS
Cast:	Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Kyrre Hellum, Marte Aunemo, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, Lars Olsen, Astrid Solhaug
Contact:	Memento Films International, Norwegian Film Institute , Aerofilms
Distributor:	Aerofilms

Guests

Rune Denstad Langlo

Film Director, Film Director

Zuzana Pudilová

Distributor

Ivo Andrle

Distributor