Norsk filminstitutt

An artist befriends the thief who stole her paintings and makes him her muse. She becomes his closest ally when he is severely hurt in a car crash and needs full time care, even if her paintings are not found. But then the tables turn…  


When two paintings are stolen from Oslo-based artist Barbora Kysilkova, the police catch the thieves within a few days. But the paintings are never found. Barbora attends the court case hoping to find clues for where they can be but finds herself compelled to walk over to one of the criminals to ask another question: “I wonder if I could paint you?” Thief Karl-Bertil answers without hesitation: “That would be possible.”    

Thus begins the relationship between an artist and her unlikely muse—which soon evolves into an even more unlikely friendship. Barbora eventually becomes Karl-Bertil’s closest ally when he is severely hurt in a car crash and needs full time care. Filmed over three years, the documentary follows a remarkable story of human connection that takes turns that one could never have imagined.  

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2020
Production country:
Norway
Release date (national):
2020-09-18
Release date (international):
2020-01-23
Production company:
Medieoperatørene AS
Executive producer:
Morgan Neville
Producer:
Ingvil Giske
Sales agent:
Autlook Filmsales GmbH

Director

  • Benjamin Ree

    Benjamin Ree (b. 1989) is a Norwegian film director. He has directed The Painter and The Thief (2020), which was sold to 80 countries and won more than 30 awards – several of them at some of the world’s biggest film festivals, such as London, Hong Kong and the Sundance Film Festival. The film was named one of 2020’s best films, by BBC, Boston Globe, Washington Post and the New York Times.  The Painter and The Thief has been named an important film in film history by several media outlets: In 2022 it was on MUBI’s best movies in film history list ranked in the top 100, New York Magazine 101 best movie endings of all time list and The International Documentary Association’s list of the best documentaries of the decade. The film was also shortlisted for the Oscars.
     

    Magnus (2016) was Ree’s feature film debut. It was sold to 64 countries, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, and won several awards at film festivals around the world. It’s a coming of age sports documentary about the world’s best chess player Magnus Carlsen.  

    Benjamin Ree

Awards

2020:
Sundance Film Festival
Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling
2020:
Human International Documentary Film Festival
Honorable Mention
2020:
Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest
Audience Award
2020:
The Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund
The Ecumenical Award "Andreasprisen"
2020:
Hong Kong International Film Festival
Firebird Award for Best Documentary
2020:
DocAviv, Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival
Honorable Mention
2020:
Docville International Documentary Film Festival
Best International Documentary
2020:
BFI London Film Festival
Audience Award - Documentary Film
2020:
Nordic/Docs
Nordic Docs Special Jury Award
2021:
Director’s Guild of America nominee for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
2021:
The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival
Honorable Mention
2021:
FIPADOC - International Documentary Film Festival
Prix Mitrani
2021:
Nominated for the National Film Award Amanda for Best Director
Nominated for the National Film Award Amanda for Best Screenplay
National Film Award Amanda for Best Documentary
National Film Award Amanda for Best Film
National Film Award Amanda for Best Editing

Festivals

2020:
Sundance Film Festival
2020:
International Film Festival Rotterdam
2020:
Human International Documentary Film Festival
2020:
Tempo Documentary Festival
2020:
ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival
2020:
Cleveland International Film Festival
2020:
Annapolis Film Festival
2020:
Phoenix International Film Festival
2020:
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
2020:
San Francisco International Film Festival
2020:
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
2020:
Krakow Film Festival
2020:
Gimli Film Festival
2020:
Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest
2020:
Transilvania International Film Festival
2020:
The Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund
2020:
Hong Kong International Film Festival
2020:
DocAviv, Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival
2020:
Antenna Documentary Festival
2020:
Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival
2020:
Travelling Film Festival Australia
2020:
One World - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Prague
2020:
Nordisk Panorama
2020:
Love & Anarchy - Helsinki International Film Festival
2020:
IFI Documentary Festival
2020:
Docville International Documentary Film Festival
2020:
BFI London Film Festival
2020:
Caloundra Film Festival
2020:
Adelaide Film Festival
2020:
Busan International Film Festival
2020:
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
2020:
New Horizons International Film Festival
2020:
DOC NYC
2020:
Nordic/Docs
2021:
Budapest International Documentary Festival
2021:
The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival
2021:
FIPADOC - International Documentary Film Festival
2021:
Festival Internationale du Documentaire Lasalle en Cévennes
2021:
Beldocs

Crew

Director:
Benjamin Ree
Cinematographer:
Benjamin Ree
Kristoffer Kumar
Editor:
Robert Stengård
Composer:
Uno Helmersson
Sound Design:
Svenn Jakobsen

Technical information

Format:
DCP 2k
Colour:
Colour
Length in min's:
102'
Language:
English
Norwegian
Subtitles:
English

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