Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now! 2014 / Blind / Norway, Netherlands 2014
A lithe, quicksilver portrait of a woman whose loss of sight only serves to sharpen her creative imagination, this standout directorial debut feature for screenwriter Eskil Vogt retains many of the literate, self-reflexive touches Vogt brought to his collaborations with helmer Joachim Trier while finding its own alternately droll, sexy, heartbreaking rhythms.
A lithe, quicksilver portrait of a woman whose loss of sight only serves to sharpen her creative imagination, this standout debut feature for screenwriter Eskil Vogt retains many of the literate, self-reflexive touches Vogt brought to his collaborations with helmer Joachim Trier while finding its own alternately droll, sexy, heartbreaking rhythms. The film serves as a revelatory showcase for actress Ellen Dorrit Petersen, who spends much of her time writing, creating a fictional narrative that allows her to see in her mind what she can no longer see with her eyes. As in Reprise, Vogt shows a deep-set fascination with how writing can serve alternately as a means of escape, vicarious experience, catharsis and self- discovery. Vogt finds ingeniously cinematic ways of visualizing a writer’s fickle temperament, with sets and locations (even the gender of one character) that change onscreen as they evolve in the character’s mind.
Scott Foundas
96 min / Color, DCP
Director Eskil Vogt
/ Screenplay Eskil Vogt
/ Dir. of Photography Thimios Bakatakis
/ Editor Jens Christian Fodstad
/ Producer Hans-Jørgen Osnes, Sigve Endresen
/ Production Motlys A/S
/ Coproduction Lemming film
/ Cast Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Vera Vitali, Marius Kolbenstvedt
/ Contact Norwegian Film Institute , Versatile
Eskil Vogt (b. 1974, Oslo) studied directing at the prestigious La Fémis film school in Paris. In his early career, he made several short fiction films that earned various awards. An Embrace (Une étriente, 2003) was nominated for a European Film Award and The Strangers (Les étrangers, 2004) won the Grand Prix at the Premier Plans festival in Angers. He subsequently also showed himself to be a talented screenwriter, in particular in collaboration with director Joachim Trier. Their most important collaborations include Reprise (competition at KVIFF 2006) and Oslo, August 31st (2001). In addition to his successful directorial debut Blind, Vogt also directed one episode of the 14-part television series "Uti vår hage” ("Out in Our Meadow”, 2003 and 2008), which was applauded for its dark humor and for Vogt’s multifaceted innovative creativity.
Norwegian Film Institute
Box 482 Sentrum, 0105, Oslo
Norway
Phone: +47 224 745 00
Fax: +47 224 745 97
E-mail: [email protected]
Versatile
65 rue de Dunkerque, 75009, Paris
France
Phone: +33 176 216 168
Fax: +33 176 215 269
E-mail: [email protected]
Stine Oppegaard
Film Institution Rep.
Eskil Vogt
Film Director
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