Work in Progress: Voice & The Recovery Channel

Join us for a work-in-progress presentation of Ellen Ugelstad’s and Ane Hjort Guttu’s new films.

Ane Hjort Guttu and Ellen Ugelstad present extracts from their upcoming films, Voice and The Recovery Channel, in a work-in-progress presentation at Vega Scene, Sunday September 4th. Both films combine methods from documentary and fiction filmmaking, and the conversations explore the use of the cinematic hybrid form.

Voice (Ane Hjort Guttu)

Ane Hjort Guttu’s hybrid documentary Voice takes place in a film workshop called VOICE where young people in Groruddalen in Oslo learn to make short mobile phone films for social media about subjects they are interested in. When the established filmmaker Rhea wants to make a film about VOICE’s work methods the activists decide to challenge her: They want her to engage with their community and they want increasingly more influence over her film project.

Voice poses questions about the right to represent and about who is allowed to tell whose stories. It discusses cultural appropriation and identity politics, especially whether white culture workers can continue to tell stories taken from the experiences of other identities. Excerpts from the film are presented by Ane Hjort Guttu in a conversation to highlight how potential collaborations between filmmakers and subjects can take place; about how the kids in the film were cast and instructed, and about how their «films-within-the-film» were made.

The Recovery Channel (Ellen Ugelstad)

Part drama, part first person narrative, part documentar and part satire. The film is constructed as a news report, but incorporates personal stories from real-life.

Ellen Ugelstad has previously played with the borders between reality and fiction. It is often said that reality surpasses fiction. But sometimes you have to use fiction to say something about reality. By allowing people to play themselves and using actors where needed, she hopes to unite the best from the world of documentary and film.

The Recovery Channel is a genre defying film, built as a news report consisting of two news hosts, Randi and Omar, guests in the studio and interviews with people on the street. Here we go in-depth and present news that solely revolves around psychological health, human rights and coercion in psychiatry. In addition to this we follow the news desk meetings and Randi’s life off-air, as the next of kin to her sister Ylva who does not want to receive any help. There will be weather reports, sport and culture news! The film comments on the role of media, its power and how their scarce form is contributing to defining how we receive knowledge of psychological illnesses.

The Recovery Channel is presented through clips from the film and a conversation with Ellen Ugelstad to highlight how the hybrid form can represent vulnerable groups, give authenticity to the story and create closeness.

The event is a collaboration with Filmbyrået Jack, Viken filmsenter and Norske filmregissører and is funded by NFI and Viken filmsenter.

Director

Ane Hjort Guttu is a Norwegian artist and filmmaker based in Oslo. She works within several different media, but has in the last years focused on film- and video works. Guttu has made several explorative short films and video works that are genre-defying and has been presented at several film festivals and cultural institutions. Among these festivals are MoMA’s Doc Fortnight, CPH:DOX and Gothenburg International Film Festival.

Ellen Ugelstad is a Norwegian filmmaker and works with fiction film, documentary and film essays. Ugelstad has med har mark as an unafraid filmmaker exploring both fiction and documentary. She has always gone her own path for distribution of her films and mixes traditional and new platforms for her work. Her films often explore power and powerlessness, normality and madness, people and the vulnerability of the individual in the face of systems. Her films have been screened at several film festivals and art arenas through the years. The film Indian Summer – Du skal ha gode nerver for å være indianer (2011) were screened at DOK Leipzig and CPH:DOX, and was presented at the The Autumn Exhibition. Making Sense Together was shown at Oslo Pix Filmfestival in 2018 and is currently part of the National Museums opening exhibit. She is also the winner of two Gullstoler for her films Den grønne dalen and The Wonders Beneath the Sea.

This film is part of