Silver Bear to Out Stealing Horses and Special Mention to Dad
Hans Petter Moland's adaptation of Per Petterson's novel Out Stealing Horses received last night the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Rasmus Videbæk’s cinematography. The short animation Dad, directed by Atle S. Blakseth and Einar Dunsæd, received a Special Mention from the international jury for the Generation Kplus competition.
-After a week of fantastic response from the audience, a combined international press and critic corps, to get an award in Berlin - in competition with the utmost of international films – is the very top of it all, says director and screenwriter Hans Petter Moland.
Favourite Book
-Getting recognition for the cinematography on this movie means a lot to me. Not only is it based on my favorite novel of all times but working with Hans Petter Moland on turning that book into cinema, was such a great experience. Landscapes play an important role in Out stealing horses. Hans Petter Moland and I talked a lot about how to photograph these landscapes in a way so that they would become inner landscapes. Abstract, and soulful landscapes like memories. Hans Petter kept pushing for these special images and trusted me in our exploration of the scenes. For me this was a very fulfilling experience. And I’m proud of what we created together, says cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk.
- In the world of film there is nothing bigger than winning a prize at an A-festival like the Berlinale. It is an indisputable stamp of quality for Out Stealing Horses, the film we have worked so hard with for so long. Even being one out of 16 films in the main competition where more than 5000 films have been submitted is incredible - almost hard to grasp, says producer Håkon Øverås.
Cinematographer praise in the trades
The film's visual qualities and the work of cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk was something several of the international trades highlighted in their reviews, where Sight & Sound praises the sense and close depiction of nature and landscape, Variety believes that Videbæk's camera movement caresses the rural Norwegian landscape with so much tactile feeling that it contributes to the strong impression of nature's influence on the protagonists, while Hollywood Reporter highlights the sensuality of the images as one of the film's great qualities.
About the movie
November 1999. 67-year-old Trond lives in new-found solitude and looks forward to spending New Year’s Eve 2000 alone. As winter arrives, he discovers he has a neighbour, a man Trond knew back in 1948, the summer he turned 15 and the summer Trond’s father prepared him to carry the burden of his forthcoming betrayal and disappearance. And, the summer Trond grew up and smelled the scent of a woman he longed for. The same woman Trond’s father was preparing to spend his life with.
The film's main roles are played by Stellan Skarsgård, Bjørn Floberg, Tobias Santelmann, Pål Sverre Hagen, Danica Curcic and Jon Ranes.
About Hans Petter Moland
Hans Petter Moland made his debut as a director with The Second Lieutenant in 1993, and followed Zero Kelvin (Kjærlighetens kjøtere, 1995) (Best actors award in San Sebastian) and Aberdeen, which opened Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2000. In 2004, The Beautiful Country appeared in the main competition at the Berlinale, followed by Comrade Pedersen (Gymnaslærer Pedersen), which won Best Director Award in Montreal in 2006. A Somewhat Gentle Man (En ganske snill mann/2010) won the Berliner Morgenpost's audience award when it competed in Berlin. Moland returned to the Berlinale competition with In Order of Disappearance (Kraftidioten) in 2014. Since then, he has directed Bottle mail from P (2016) in Denmark, and Cold Pursuit (2019), the remake of In order of Disappearance in US. Out Stealing Horses is Moland's fourth film in the main competition in Berlin, which is unique.
Out Stealing Horses is produced by Turid Øversveen and Håkon Øverås for 4 ½ Film. Nordisk Film distributes in Norway, international sales agent is TrustNordisk.
Sold over one million
The novel Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson was published in 2003 and has since sold almost 300,000 copies in Norway and around 870,000 internationally. On February 9, Hans Petter Moland's film adaptation of the book premiered in the main competition at Berlin International Film Festival. March 5 it opens the Kosmorama film festival in Trondheim, Norway and on March 8 it is ready for national premiere.