Joachim Trier’s Thelma Opens Norwegian Film Festival

Director Joachim Trier, who won the 2016 Nordic Film Prize for Louder Than Bombs, will open the 45th Norwegian Film Festival in Haugesund on Sunday 20th August with his new supernatural thriller Thelma.

Thelma (Eili Harboe) moves away from her religious family in Western Norway to study in Oslo and falls in love with fellow student Anja (Okay Kaya). She begins to notice a connection to the supernatural, which manifests itself in violent attacks, but tries to keep it hidden. Then Anja disappears…

Producer, Thomas Robsahm, told Dagbladet: “It’s about identity and belonging, and uncertainty about sexuality which comes very much as a surprise to the protagonist. It reveals new layers of story all the time. It’s very exciting,”

“We started filming last autumn and finished just before Christmas. It has taken until now to finish it because there are quite a lot of visual effects in the film which have taken time to complete.”

The Norwegian Film Festival will also celebrate the achievements of Norwegian cinema over the past year, with the presentation of the Amanda Awards on Saturday 19th August, in a ceremony hosted by Pia Tjelta.