Norsk filminstitutt

The 12th Man tells the story of the Norwegian war hero Jan Baalsrud’s legendary escape from the Nazis during World War II.

1943 Norway - north of the Arctic Circle. Twelve resistance fighters, on a fishing boat carrying a cargo of explosives, are betrayed by a countryman and attacked by a German minesweeper. Elleven of the men are captured, tortured and killed. Only the twelfth man gets away.

Jan Baalsrud escapes into the merciless winter – unbeknownst of the fact that his determination to survive will turn him into a symbol for the Norwegian resistance. A symbol people are willing to die for.   The legendary story of Jan Baalsrud’s escape remains one of the wildest, most unfathomable survival stories of World War II.   

The 12th Man

We are in Troms, way above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway. It is March 1943 and the dramatic landscape is slowly waking up from the third long, dark winter under Nazi rule. In this spectacular landscape one of the most amazing stories of World War II is about take place:

12 Norwegian resistance fighters have boarded a small fishing boat in Scotland. They have crossed the treacherous North Sea to get to their beloved country in order to fight the enemy. It is not to be.

Norwegian collaborators give them away; the fishing boat is attacked and sunk when eight tons of dynamite explodes. 11 of 12 men are captured and eventually killed by the Germans, most of them after enduring horrific torture. But one man escapes.

The one who gets away is the 25-year-old, handsome resistance fighter, Jan Baalsrud. All Jan has to rely on is his moral fibre, his incredible strength - and eventually dozens of patriotic Norwegians willing to stake their lives to help him.

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2017
Production country:
Norway
Release date (national):
2017-12-25
Release date (international):
2018-03-01
Production company:
Nordisk Film Production AS
Co production company:
Zwart Arbeid AS
Motion Blur Films AS
Financing company:
Nordisk Film Production AS
Norwegian Film Institute
Executive producer:
Henrik Zein
Lone Korslund
Kjetil Jensberg
Petter Skavlan
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Associated producer:
Veslemøy Ruud Zwart
Espen Horn
Producer:
Aage Aaberge
Veslemøy Ruud Zwart
Espen Horn
Line producer:
Roy Anderson
Sales agent:
TrustNordisk ApS

Director

  • Harald Zwart

    Harald Zwart (b. 1965) graduated from the Netherlands Film and Television Academy, at the Amsterdam School of the Arts, in 1989. He then started his career making short films, music videos, commissioned films and directing commercials for Hans Petter Molands production company Moland Film, giving him extensive experience as a director in a fairly short amount of time, and winning several international awards for his work.

    He directed a total of seven short films, including the award-winning Act Naturally (1993), before making his feature film debut with the action film Hamilton (1998), produced in Sweden and starring Peter Stormare, Mark Hamill and Lena Olin. Hamilton made Zwart noticed in Hollywood, and in 2001 he made his first film in the United States; One Night at McCool's. He has since directed several feature films in both Hollywood and Norway, including Agent Cody Banks (2003), Long Flat Balls (2006) and The Karate Kid (2010). His continued production in the U.S. also made Zwart the first Norwegian director to become a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

    Harald Zwart

Cast

Jan Baalsrud:
Thomas Gullestad
Kurt Stage:
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Gudrun Grønvoll:
Marie Blokhus
Marius Grønvoll:
Mads Sjøgård Pettersen
Sigurd Eskeland:
Vegar Hoel
Sverre Kvernhellen:
Torgny G. Aanderaa
Wenders:
Martin Kiefer
Hanna:
Julia Bache-Wiig

Awards

2018:
Moscow International Film Festival
Audience Award
2018:
Silk Road International Film Festival
Best Feature Film

Festivals

2018:
TIFF - Tromsø International Film Festival
2018:
Moscow International Film Festival
2018:
Bif&st-Bari International Film Festival
2018:
ArtFilmFest International Film Festival
2018:
Silk Road International Film Festival
2018:
Film Fest Gent
2018:
Hainan International FIlm Festival
2019:
SuddenlyArt
2020:
European Film Festival - Jordan

Crew

Director:
Harald Zwart
Screenplay:
Alex Boe
Based on:
Jan Baalsrud og de som reddet ham by Astrid Karlsen Scott, Tore Haug
Cinematographer:
Geir Hartly Andreassen
Camera:
Johan Bjerke
Editor:
Jens Christian Fodstad
ProductionDesigner:
Mikael Varhelyi
Prop Master:
Pål Petersen-Bergvik
Costume Designer:
Karen Fabritsius Gram
Makeup artist:
Asta Hafthordottir
Sound Design:
Christian Schaanning
Sound Recording:
Thomas Naug
VFX supervisor:
Arne Kaupang
First assistant director:
Michael Dignum
Script:
Silje Paulsen
Casting:
Cannibal Casting
Petter Holmsen
Still photographer:
Jarle Nyttingnes
Petter Skafle Henriksen
Composer:
Christophe Beck
Set Decorator:
Liv Ask

Technical information

Genre:
Drama
War
Format:
DCP 2k
Colour:
Colour
Sound format:
Dolby Atmos
Length in min's:
135'
Language:
English
Norwegian
German
Subtitles:
English

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