Norsk filminstitutt

Lene (33) suffers from severe anorexia. Since the age of ten she has been hiding from the Norwegian Health Care System. Then she taught herself the art of photography.  

The film is a portrait of an artist and a portrait of a deadly disease. During the last years, Lene Marie Fossen became recognized as a world-class photographer. She has been suffering from severe anorexia since the age of ten. She had a unique photo-project, expose the shame, and confront the disease. Her photo art is naked and honest. 

In October 2019, Lene Marie died of anorexia. She watched the finished film before she passed away. Together with her parents, she decided that the film should be launched on schedule, as it was important for Lene Marie that her story could mean something to others. 

Self Portrait is a film about the power of art. It raises important questions about what treatment one who suffers from severe anorexia needs. The audience gets to meet an unusual girl in a raw and poetic film. 

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2020
Production country:
Norway
Release date (national):
2020-01-17
Production company:
Speranza Film AS
Financing company:
Norwegian Film Institute
Fritt Ord Foundation
Viken Filmsenter
Producer:
Margreth Olin
Sales agent:
Cinephil - Distribution & Co-Productions

Director

  • Margreth Olin

    Margreth Olin (b. 1970) studied media and mass communication at the University of Bergen and the University of Oslo, and media, journalism, and documentary filmmaking at Volda University College. She made her debut as a documentary filmmaker with her graduation film In the House of Love in 1994. 

    Her first feature-length documentary, In the House of Angels (1998), garnered Olin (among several other awards) her first National Film Award Amanda for Best Documentary in 1999. She has since written and directed several award-winning documentaries, including My Body (2002) and the feature-length documentaries Raw Youth (2004), Nowhere Home (2012), and Self Portrait (2020). Among many other awards and accolades, My Body won Olin her second Amanda for Best Documentary in 2002, while Raw Youth was nominated for the same award, as well as for the European Film Awards in 2005. Both Nowhere Home and Self Portrait won the Amanda for Best Documentary,   

    Olin has also directed fiction films, making her debut in this field with the short film Gluttony, as part of the portmanteau film The Seven Deadly Sins in 2000. Her first feature fiction film, The Angel, premiered in 2009 and was another tour de force from Olin, winning over the critics, audience and award-juries alike. The highly acclaimed drama was also selected as the Norwegian candidate for the 2010 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.    

    Olin is the managing director of Norwegian production company Speranza Film AS, producing shorts, feature films, and television series. She is also a highly sought-after lecturer, both in Norway and abroad, often focusing on topics from her films, and techniques of storytelling.  

    Margreth Olin
  • Katja Høgset

    Katja Høgset graduated from Lillehammer University College as a documentary film director in 2014 . Her graduation film The Best was screened at several festivals in Norway. Since then she has been working in Speranza Film, making her debut documentary feature Isolation Row in 2018. It reached an audience 600 000 on national television, and it created national debate and political change.   


    Katja Høgset
  • Espen Wallin

     Espen Wallin is a Norwegian photographer who has published his documentary images, portraits and works in major Norwegian magazines. Lately, he has been focusing on filming and has done several music videos and commercials for social media. He has also been working with Lene Marie Fossen for eight years and has through that relationship earned an exclusive and unique position to capture the essence of her work.  

    Espen Wallin

Cast

Herself:
Lene Marie Fossen
Himself:
Morten Krogvold
Herself:
Torill Fossen
Himself:
Geir Fossen

Awards

2020:
Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival
Human Values Award given by the Hellenic Parliament.
2020:
Krakow Film Festival
FIPRESCI Award
Audience Award
2020:
Biografilm Festival
Audience Award
2020:
National Film Award Amanda for Best Documentary
2020:
One World - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Prague
The Regional Jury Award
2021:
Budapest International Documentary Festival
Junior Jury Award
2021:
Festival Imagésanté
Prix Soulever des montagnes

Festivals

2020:
TIFF - Tromsø International Film Festival
2020:
Göteborg International Film Festival
2020:
CPH:DOX
2020:
DOK.fest - München International Documentary Film Festival
2020:
Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival
2020:
Krakow Film Festival
2020:
Biografilm Festival
2020:
Taipei International Film Festival
2020:
Tartu Love Film Festival
2020:
The Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund
2020:
Astra Film Festival
2020:
One World - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Prague
2020:
One World - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Slovakia
2020:
DOC NYC
2021:
Peloponnisos International Documentary Festival
2021:
Budapest International Documentary Festival
2021:
Festival Imagésanté
2021:
Netzhaut Ton Film Festival
2021:
Beldocs

Crew

Director:
Margreth Olin
Katja Høgset
Espen Wallin
Screenplay:
Margreth Olin
Katja Høgset
Editor:
Helge Billing
Michał Leszczyłowski
Cinematographer:
Espen Wallin
Øystein Mamen
Lars Tubaas Øymo
Composer:
Susanne Sundfør
Sound Recording:
Andreas Lindberg Svensson
Other Music:
Kai Engel
Eleni Karaindrou
Gregorio Allergri

Technical information

Format:
DCP 2k
Colour:
Colour
Length in min's:
78'
Language:
Norwegian
Subtitles:
English

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