Norwegian film festival

Still from the film Tinkers

Ever felt an overwhelming desire to see Norwegian films? Here's the chance. The Barbican and the Norwegian Film Institute present the Norwegian Film Festival, one of a number of events marking the centenary of Norway as an independent nation, following the peaceful dissolution of the union with Sweden. The festival includes a screening on Saturday 3 December of Sara Johnsen's Kissed By Winter (Vinterkyss), the Norwegian entry for the foreign language Oscar this year and which was awarded the International Feature Competition's Grand Jury Prize at the recent AFI FEST 2005 awards ceremony.

Also on Saturday 3 December at 2pm, director Karoline Frogner will introduce and do a q&a for her fascinating documentary Tinkers (Tradra - I gar ble jeg tater) (Norway 2004 88 min), which follows the plight of Bjørn who discovers at the age of 45 that the Norwegian State removed him from his biological parents at just one day old, because his parents were Travellers.

On Thursday 1 December at 7.30pm, the Festival opens with An Enemy of the People (En Folkefiende) (Norway 2005, dir Erik Skjoldbjærg 91 min), followed by a Barbican Screen Talk with director Erik Skjoldbjaerg. An Enemy of the People is a modern version of Ibsen’s classic play. A TV celebrity intends to revitalise his native village in partnership with his brother by marketing the local spring water. However, their venture stumbles as traces of a banned pesticide are found in the water, bankruptcy threatens and the brothers are divided on the best course of action. Director Erik Skjoldbjærg first gained international recognition with his 1997 feature debut Insomnia which was followed by Prozac Nation.

The Norwegian Film Festival runs from 1-4 December at the Barbican. See links for details.