Haugesund Fest Boasts Exceptional Norwegian Lineup and Talents, 76 International Pics, Four World Premieres

variety.com:

Annika Pham From Aug. 17-23, the charming coastal town of Haugesund, Norway, will showcase 76 films and 21 shorts in the newly renovated Edda film hub, offering two extra screening rooms, bringing the total halls to seven. “We are looking forward to using the two new luxury halls and giving both the films and the audience a quality experience,” said festival honcho Tonje Hardersen.

Many of the high-quality features will screen in the festival’s main program, including several Cannes entries making their Norwegian premiere, such as “All We Imagine as Light,” “The Substance,” “Wild Diamond,” “The Girl with the Needle” and “When the Light Breaks.” Among the four world premieres, three hail from Norway, a nation that boasts an enviable list of 2024 fest winners, such as Sundance’s “A New Kind of Wilderness,” “Handling the Undead,” Berlin’s “Sex” and Karlovy Vary’s “Loveable,” all lined up for Haugesund as well. “Once again, we have an exceptionally strong Norwegian slate,” says Hardersen, proudly citing the festival opener, “Quisling – The Final Days,” Erik Poppe’s third feature in a trilogy about dark forces threatening our democracy, after “The King’s Choice” and “Utøya, July 22.” In it, Gard B.

Eidsvold (“Beforeigners”) and Anders Danielsen Lie (“The Worst Person in the World”) star respectively as Norway’s infamous Nazi collaborator and traitor Vidkun Quisling and the priest Peder Olsen as they engage in a psychological battle while Quisling is waiting for his death sentence. “Industry people here have questioned the number of local WW2 dramas, and underlined the risk of cannibalisation.

But the market is hungry for those movies, and ‘Quisling – The Final Days’ is mostly a chamber drama that tries to explore why people.