Anette Ostrø’s debut feature-length film “The Golden Swan” took the seasoned filmmaker, who has been directing documentaries for television for decades, nearly 30 years before she was ready to make it.
The film, which was first pitched at IDFA, tells the story of Ostrø’s brother Hans Christian, a Norwegian actor who was abducted and murdered by a terrorist group during a trip to India in 1995. Now in post-production, the doc was one of five films presented this week as part of the Norwegian showcase at Visions du Réel’s industry program. Variety caught up with Ostrø and her producer Beathe Hofseth in VdR’s host town of Nyon, Switzerland.
Hans Christian and five other tourists — from Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. — were abducted in Kashmir in July 1995. The kidnapping made headlines around the world at the time. Five weeks later, Hans Christian’s beheaded body was discovered.
The film, which was first pitched at IDFA, tells the story of Ostrø’s brother Hans Christian, a Norwegian actor who was abducted and murdered by a terrorist group during a trip to India in 1995. Now in post-production, the doc was one of five films presented this week as part of the Norwegian showcase at Visions du Réel’s industry program. Variety caught up with Ostrø and her producer Beathe Hofseth in VdR’s host town of Nyon, Switzerland.
Hans Christian and five other tourists — from Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. — were abducted in Kashmir in July 1995. The kidnapping made headlines around the world at the time. Five weeks later, Hans Christian’s beheaded body was discovered.
- 4/11/2025
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Cph:dox, the internationally-renowned nonfiction film festival in Copenhagen, is confronting a dramatically altered geopolitical order, one that threatens the values of freedom of expression upon which the documentary field is founded.
The theme of this year’s festival, decided several months ago, centers on “the state of human rights, civil liberties, and the international rule of law,” festival artistic director Niklas Engstrøm tells Deadline. “We thought it would be very, very timely. I think it became even more timely than we had prepared ourselves for with what is happening right now with the U.S. [Trump] administration de facto trying to change the world order.”
“Talking from a European perspective,” Engstrøm continues, “it’s clear that what the U.S. administration is doing at the moment is really, really impacting Europe in profound ways, and European countries are taking it extremely seriously.”
The festival convened its first ever summit this week,...
The theme of this year’s festival, decided several months ago, centers on “the state of human rights, civil liberties, and the international rule of law,” festival artistic director Niklas Engstrøm tells Deadline. “We thought it would be very, very timely. I think it became even more timely than we had prepared ourselves for with what is happening right now with the U.S. [Trump] administration de facto trying to change the world order.”
“Talking from a European perspective,” Engstrøm continues, “it’s clear that what the U.S. administration is doing at the moment is really, really impacting Europe in profound ways, and European countries are taking it extremely seriously.”
The festival convened its first ever summit this week,...
- 3/27/2025
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Tommy Gulliksen’s Facing War follows Jens Stoltenberg in the final year of his decade-long stint as Secretary General of NATO, a position he’d been looking forward to relinquishing until, in 2023, President Biden asked him to stay on for another 12 months. And it’s easy to see why. The energetic, glad-handing, back-slapping politico seems to treat every world leader as his absolute favorite bestie (Emmanuel! Viktor!), even as he strategizes with his comms team to text the perfect thank you reply. (Though that’s probably standard operating procedure for every commander forced to deal with Trump.) And yet this former Prime […]
The post “Getting Along with Bodyguards is Crucial!”: Tommy Gulliksen on His Cph:dox Opening Night Film Facing War first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Getting Along with Bodyguards is Crucial!”: Tommy Gulliksen on His Cph:dox Opening Night Film Facing War first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/19/2025
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Tommy Gulliksen’s Facing War follows Jens Stoltenberg in the final year of his decade-long stint as Secretary General of NATO, a position he’d been looking forward to relinquishing until, in 2023, President Biden asked him to stay on for another 12 months. And it’s easy to see why. The energetic, glad-handing, back-slapping politico seems to treat every world leader as his absolute favorite bestie (Emmanuel! Viktor!), even as he strategizes with his comms team to text the perfect thank you reply. (Though that’s probably standard operating procedure for every commander forced to deal with Trump.) And yet this former Prime […]
The post “Getting Along with Bodyguards is Crucial!”: Tommy Gulliksen on His Cph:dox Opening Night Film Facing War first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Getting Along with Bodyguards is Crucial!”: Tommy Gulliksen on His Cph:dox Opening Night Film Facing War first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/19/2025
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.