Norsk filminstitutt

Small children, big knives.

A youth doc about young kids from the age of 5 working as cod tongue cutters in Northern Norway. 

Hidden between a row of fishermen gutting fish, standing on a floor full of blood and intestines we find Tobias (10). In front of him is a big box filled with cod heads. With an almost frightening pace he slices and cuts the tongues off the heads, and puts them on a big nail.

In the northern part of Norway Tobias and many other children work as cod tongue cutters. The tongues are considered a delicacy, and they are exported around the world to countries like China and Japan. But in Northern Norway they are simply everyday food when in season. The children start from the age of 6, and can earn a lot of money during a winter season. This job has always been reserved for the children, as long as the fishing industry has existed. They even have their own cod tongue cutting championship every February. This winter city girl Ylva (9) from Oslo will spend her winter vacation up in the North. Normally she lives far away from cod heads, sharp knives, fish blood and intestines, but this winter she will visit her grandparents to try and learn the art of cutting tongues, just like her mother and her grandfather did before her.

 

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2017
Production country:
Norway
Co production country:
Denmark
Sweden
Release date (national):
2017-02-24
Production company:
Medieoperatørene AS
Co production company:
Hansen & Pedersen Film og Fjernsyn ApS
Bautafilm AB
Deadline Media
Producer:
Ingvil Giske
Sales agent:
CAT&Docs

Director

  • Solveig Melkeraaen

    Solveig S. Melkeraaen (b. 1978) holds a Bachelor's degree in directing for television from Lillehammer University College. Her best know film is arguably the award-winning The Fabulous Fiff and Fam (2009), but she has also directed numerous other documentaries, short fiction films and commissioned films for various charitable and official organizations. Both her documentaries and short films have been screened at festivals all over Norway, as well as abroad. 

    Solveig Melkeraaen

Cast

Tobias Evensen
Ylva Melkeraaen Lundell

Awards

2017:
Nominated for the National Film Award Amanda for Best Children's Film
Nominated for the National Film Award Amanda for Best Documentary
2017:
DOXS! Documentary Film Festival for Children and Youth
Nominated for the ECFA Documentary Award
2018:
Lucas International Festival for Young Film Lovers
ECFA (European Children’s Film Association) Documentary Award

Festivals

2017:
TIFF - Tromsø International Film Festival
2017:
CPH:DOX
2017:
Kristiansand International Children and Youth Film Festival
2017:
The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival
2017:
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
2017:
Zlin International Film Festival for Children and Youth
2017:
EBS International Documentary Film Festival
2017:
Wexford Documentary Film Festival
2017:
CNEX Taipei Documentary Film Festival
2017:
Reykjavik International Film Festival
2017:
Filem'on - Brussels International Children’s Film Festival
2017:
Nordic Film Days Lübeck
2017:
DOXS! Documentary Film Festival for Children and Youth
2017:
LIFFe - Ljubljana International Film Festival
2017:
RIDM - Montreal International Documentary Film Festival
2017:
IDFA - International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
2017:
Kodomo International Film Festival in Okinawa
2018:
DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival
2018:
TICFF - Taiwan International Children's TV & Film Festival
2018:
Stockholm International Film Festival Junior
2018:
CineDoc Tiblisi
2018:
Cinema in Sneakers Film Festival for Children and Youth
2018:
Screenplay Film Festival, Shetland
2018:
Lucas International Festival for Young Film Lovers
2021:
Tiny Tempo
2022:
Kids Kino International Film Festival

Crew

Director:
Solveig Melkeraaen
Screenplay:
Solveig Melkeraaen
Cinematographer:
Håvard Fossum
Editor:
Erland Edenholm
Elise Solberg
Mina Nybakke
Solveig Melkeraaen
Composer:
Håkon Gebhardt
Other Music:
Madcon
Sound Design:
Niels Arild
Sound Recording:
Andreas Lindberg Svensson
Choreographer:
Anne Guri Tvedt

Technical information

Genre:
Family
Children
Format:
DCP 2k
Screen ratio:
1:2,39
Colour:
Colour
Sound format:
Stereo 5.1
Length in min's:
85'
Language:
Norwegian
Subtitles:
English

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