Oslo in Short Form

In this program you will see three short films from and about Oslo.

Oslo (1964) is a portrait of Oslo through the changing seasons. Director Jørgen Roos was a prolific and acclaimed Danish documentary filmmaker, known for his portrait films and a number of travelogues, including from Greenland and Norway. His A City Called Copenhagen (1960) was nominated for an Oscar and became the first of several such big-city films.

Arild Kristo was a legendary photographer and filmmaker—an independent spirit who lived by the motto “Not like the others.” For a time, he was known as Norway’s most rejected film director, with neither short nor feature-length projects receiving support. His total output consists of 180 photographs, two short films (Kristoball and The Underground), and one feature film (Eddie & Suzanne).

The Underground (1966) was his debut film. Commissioned by the Ministry of Church and Education, it was originally intended as a documentary about Oslo’s western subway lines, but Kristo broadened the scope. Frenzied editing between subway passengers, train cars, demonstrations, wars, fashion shows, disasters, executions, and beauty pageants makes The Underground more of a time capsule and cultural document than a subway documentary.

Egil Kolstø’s If You Bear a Heartache (1970) is an episodic contemporary portrayal of a young man searching for an environment in the big city where he can belong and thrive. The film is impressionistic, with small details painting moods and characters.

The film was one of three episodes in the feature Days from 1000 Years, a project by Norsk Film aimed at giving promising young filmmakers a chance. The episodes were set in three different time periods, with the other two segments directed by Anja Breien and Espen Thorstenson.

This film is part of