As Norwegian director with pubcaster NRK Drama, Berit Nesheim, had read Reidun Nortvedt's book Sunday, she took it to producers Karin Bamborough and Dag Alveberg and suggested somebody else made it into a feature. 'After a couple of coming-of-age films, I was honestly prepared for something else,' she said.
However, 'I realised how rich the material was. Filming it was a beautiful experience, but you never know what others will think,' she added about her third feature, Søndagsengler (The Other Side of Sunday), which received an Oscar nomination as Best Foreign Language Film.
Tonight (6.00pm), the Norwegian Film Institute celebrates Norway's third nominee with a reception at the Scandinavian Office, and tomorrow Søndagsengler unspools for the third time in the European Film Market.'
Admittedly, I had not expected the international response to what is basically a local film about the tedious life of a little girl. But it shows that if we have a story to tell from our hearts it will often have universal appeal. So the Oscar nomination will give self-confidence to filmmakers in small countries.'
Set in the Norwegian provinces and starring 16-year-old Marie Theisen, with Hildegun Riise and Bjørn Sundquist, Søndagsengler follows a vicar's daughter, who has figured out that by the time of her confirmation, she will have spent 640 hours in church. She would rather wear earrings, meet boys, go out with friends and have breasts that point upwards.
The first feature ever fully produced by NRK Drama, it was aired 1 January 1997, to a record rating for a film transmission - 29% of viewers tuned in. 'Naturally we are very excited,' said head of drama Oddvar Bull-Tuhus. 'It would be obvious to find her some new material.' Jørn Rossing Jensen
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