Norwegian Drama at C21

Moderated by:

Marike Muselaers

Series presented: Hellerudsvingen, Still Breathing, Henki, Oro Jaska - Shut Up, The Scarab Flies at Dusk and Nepobaby. 

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Henki

The year is 1985. Henki Hauge Karlsen is a 28-year-old gay bartender who is fired after disclosing that he is infected with HIV. Furious and humiliated, he decides to take legal action. What he believed would be a fight for justice, transforms into a three-year ordeal where his life is exposed to the Norwegian public, leading to his most intimate moments and overall character being branded as disgraceful and abnormal. In the end, Henki triumphs in the Supreme Court, but dies shortly after the verdict. His struggle for justice becomes a testament for many who follow him, marking him as one of the great everyday heroes of modern times and an idol for countless members of the LGBTQ+ community who live openly and freely today. 

Still Breathing

In a medium-sized Norwegian city, at a worn down hospital, Petra (26) has just started her internship. Together with hopeful interns Joakim, Ashan and Kissy, she is thrown into a job where the days are long, the patients are many, and the medical cases are complicated. Petra is idealistic, thorough and ambitious and wants to become the best doctor possible for the patients. The doctor we dream of meeting when we are sick and at our most vulnerable. But in a world where the healthcare system is under increasing pressure, and efficiency and priorities are a must, is Petra the kind of doctor the hospital needs?

Hellerudsvingen

The arena is “Hellerudsvingen”, a street in the suburbs of Oslo, where Erlend, Hassan and Steinar go to school and hang out in Steinar’s basement. The surreal stories can take the characters everywhere.  In each episode, the boys find themselves in outrageous and often controversial situations, interacting with their schoolmates, their families, and different public profiles linked to the theme of the episode.  The show aims for fearless, satirical, and irreverent humour, parodies of pop culture and current political and social issues.  

Oro Jaska  - Shut Up

Oro Jaska is Sámi and means “Shut up”. This is a series about trying to break the silence. We follow a group of high school friends in Karasjok, a small town in the north of Norway and the heart of Sápmi, the community of the indigenous people of the north, the Sámi people. The community is small, bound together by shared traditions and strong family ties. Eli Anne (17) gets her life turned upside down when she wakes up naked after a party and believes she has been raped. Issat (17) is about to fall in love with another boy. And you don’t talk about rape or homosexuality in Sápmi. 

The Scarab Flies at Dusk

The tale unfolds in the summer of 1976 in the Swedish town of Ringaryd. It follows the intriguing journey of three children who find themselves entangled in a mystery surrounding a 3,000-year-old cursed Egyptian statue. The project aspires to be a modern top-tier drama that appeals to the entire family, emphasizing the profound interconnectedness of humans, nature, and ecology

Nepobaby

When one of Norway's wealthiest shipowners passes away, Emma (25) learns that she is his previously unknown daughter. The news comes as a shock, and even more surprising is that she has been named in his will, inheriting a large portion of the family business. But the inheritance comes with an even greater revelation - four siblings she never knew existed.

When faced with immense wealth, even the best of us can lose our heads. And our hearts.