Haugesund Opens 54th Edition With Poppe's Fosse Adaptation 'Beloved'
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- Norwegian International Film Festival chief Tonje Hardersen unveiled the 54th edition lineup: 22 Norwegian features and 15 shorts made the cut out of 84 features and 20 shorts total, opening Aug. 22-28.
- Erik Poppe's 'Beloved' ('Kjærast') — based on the only original screenplay by Nobel Prize-winning author Jon Fosse, who was born in Haugesund — premieres Aug. 23 as the opening film; Reinvent Yellow handles sales and Paradox's Finn Gjerdrum produces.
- 'The Murder of Benjamin' by Ingvild Søderlind, a dramatization of the 2001 neo-Nazi killing of 15-year-old Benjamin Hermansen, was selected as the closing gala, repped by TrustNordisk and produced by Thomas Robsahm for Nordisk Film Production Norway.
- Cristian Mungiu will walk the Aug. 25 red carpet as his Palme d'Or winner 'Fjord,' which puts Norway's child protection system under scrutiny, opens New Nordic Films — Haugesund's industry sidebar and biggest Nordic Film Market.
- Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value', toplined by Renate Reinsve, heads into the Amanda Awards with 12 nominations, with eyes on rewriting the record for most wins at the Aug. 22 ceremony at Festiviteten Concert Hall.
- Stavanger expansion: the festival's soft launch in Norway's oil capital last March sold more than 10,000 tickets and lifted overall visitors 30%, though Hardersen says New Nordic Films will stay in Haugesund because 'you run into everyone.'
- Industry strain cuts through the celebration: Hardersen told Variety Norway's audiovisual sector is 'still struggling, with many people losing their jobs,' and the Aug. 23 Film Policy Conference will address the next decade — and Norway's exclusion from the EU's 2028-2034 AgoraEU program as a non-EU member.
Why it matters: Norway's biggest film showcase is leaning into a post-World-Cup cultural moment — Haugesund's 30% visitor jump from the Stavanger expansion shows real upside — even as Hardersen publicly flags job losses in the audiovisual sector and warns that staying outside the EU's 2028-2034 AgoraEU program risks leaving Norwegian producers cut off from flagship regional funding.
