Norsk filminstitutt

a-ha is Norways biggest pop success ever and their hit Take On Me is still one of the most played songs of the last millennium. Everybody remembers the iconic video, of course, and the band is still selling out arenas around the world.


a-ha - The Movie follows the band over a period of four years, telling the full story of how three young men followed their impossible dream of becoming Norwegian pop stars. When Take On Me reached number one on Billboard in the US in 1985 the dream came true. Or did it? The band was not prepared for what the success would bring, including tension between the three members Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar. We get close to three strong personalities. How do they see their legacy and future today? 

Almost 35 years after their breakthrough the band still creates magic on stage with their melancholic and timeless music.  

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2021
Production country:
Norway
Co production country:
Germany
Release date (national):
2021-09-03
Release date (international):
2021-06-12
Production company:
Motlys A/S
Co production company:
Fenris Film AS
Kinescope Film GmbH
Neue Impuls GmbH
Executive producer:
Esther van Messel
Gitte Hansen
Producer:
Yngve Sæther
Thomas Robsahm
Co producer:
Tore Buvarp
Matthias Greving
Clementina Hegewisch
Sales agent:
First Hand Films

Director

  • Thomas Robsahm

    Thomas Robsahm (b. 1964) has extensive experience in the Norwegian film industry. Starting out as a young actor in Svend Wam's Five days in August in 1973, he has since built himself a career as one of Norways most prolific writer-directors and producers, working in both short and feature films, as well as documentaries and television series'.

    After spending much of his youth as an actor in various films - many of them directed by the directing duo Svend Wam and Petter Vennerød - and working as an assistant director, assistant editor, production assistant, continuity script and public relations consultant, he made his directorial debut with the short The Gun Club in 1987. His debut as a feature film director came with the action-filled crime-drama Rebels with a Cause in 1992, and was the first of many successful films, both fiction features and documentaries, directed by Robsahm - such as the feature lenght documentary The Mosquito (1996), the award-winning S.O.S. (1999) and Modern Slavery (2009), as well as his contribution to the portmanteau film Utopia - Nobody is Perfect in the Perfect Country (2002); the frame story of the entire film, entitled Lasse's Dream.  Robsahm also worked for the youth division of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK from 1993 to 1994, and has also directed several music videos for popular Norwegian bands.

    He established his own production company Speranza Film AS in 1995 (now co-owned by acclaimed director Margreth Olin), and has since also produced numerous feature and documentary films for other directors, in addition to his own films - including critically acclaimed, award-winning and audience favorites such as Thrane's Method (Unni Straume, 1998), My Body (Margreth Olin, 2002), It´s Hard To Be A Rock´n Roller (Gunhild Asting, 2006) and The Angel (Margreth Olin, 2009)

    Robsahm has also served as commissioning consultant for feature films at the Norwegian Film Institute. He is currently running Oslo Pictures with  Dyveke Bjørkly Graver. 

    Thomas Robsahm
  • Aslaug Holm

     Aslaug Holm (b. 1965), director and cinematographer recognized for her distinctive, personal style. 

    Cinematographer and editor of one of the most successful and acclaimed documentaries ever to be theatrically released in Norway, Cool & Crazy (2001). 

    She also directed The Rich Country (2006), following Jens Stoltenberg in the time leading up to him being elected Prime Minister in September of 2005. The film was awarded the FIPRESCI-award at the Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF), where it also had its premiere. 

    Her most notable film is Brothers (2015). The film premiered at CPH:DOX, and received the Best International Feature Documentary Award at Hot Docs in 2016. The same year she also received the National Film Award Amanda for Best Director.  

    Aslaug Holm

Awards

2021:
Tribeca Film Festival
2nd place, Audience Award
2021:
The Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund
Honorable Mention, The Norwegian Film Critics Association

Festivals

2021:
Tribeca Film Festival
2021:
Filmfest München - Munich Film Festival
2021:
Jecheon International Music & Film Festival
2021:
The Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund
2021:
Nordisk Panorama
2021:
Athens International Film Festival
2021:
Calgary International Film Festival
2021:
Nashville Film Festival
2021:
Reykjavik International Film Festival
2021:
Edmonton International Film Festival
2021:
Doclisboa International Film Festival
2021:
IN-EDIT - International Music Documentary Film Festival Spain
2021:
Nordic/Docs
2022:
Seeyousound International Music Film Festival
2022:
Glasgow Film Festival
2022:
IN-EDIT - International Music Documentary Film Festival Netherlands
2022:
BAFICI Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival
2022:
IN-EDIT - International Music Documentary Film Festival Greece
2022:
DocEdge International Documentary Film Festival
2022:
IN-EDIT - International Music Documentary Film Festival Brazil
2022:
Festival du Cinema et Musique de Film de La Baule

Crew

Director:
Thomas Robsahm
Aslaug Holm
Screenplay:
Thomas Robsahm
Cinematographer:
Aslaug Holm
Editor:
Hilde Bjørnstad
Sound Design:
Christof Ebhardt

Technical information

Format:
DCP 2k
Screen ratio:
1:1,85
Colour:
Colour
Sound format:
Stereo 5.1
Length in min's:
109'
Language:
Norwegian
English
Subtitles:
English

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