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Rikke Gregersen, one of Norway's hottest up-and-coming-female directors, has set her feature debut "Almost There" with Norway's production banner Motlys ("Sex-Love-Dreams" trilogy) and Scandi distribution powerhouse Scanbox Entertainment.
A Student Academy Award winner, who was Sundance-selected for her shorts "Dog Eat Dog" (2019) and "The Affected" (2021), both starring Star actress Renate Reinsve, Gregersen then made her mark in serialised fiction with "Ida Takes Charge" (2021), and most recently as a co-helmer of "Requiem for Selina," a Series Mania Student Jury Prize winner.
"Rikke was ready to make the leap into feature length. Everything confirms that she will be making lots of movies in the years to come, and we're proud to have lined up this film, as well as another project with her," said Motlys producer Ingvild Sæther Berger.
Ahead of start of principal photography Aug. 27, the producer revealed to Variety at Haugesund the main cast led by Sarah Francesca Brænne ("Sick of Myself," "My Uncle Jens," "Nach"), Ada Eide ("Basic Bitch," "Utøya, July 22"), Steinar Klouman Hallert ("Sick of Myself," "Thelma") and Fredrik Stenberg Ditlev-Simonsen ("Wisting," "The Architect").
Penned by Rakel Kraft Bjørnstad, the pic turns on Agnes (29), an aspiring musician, as she desperately clings to her youth in a world that refuses to stand still. "The film explores the shift from carefree twenties to more serious thirties, capturing the chaos, pressure, humour, and melancholy of this transition," runs the logline.
"When I was handed out the script, I immediately felt that it was hitting home, capturing a moment in life that I totally relate to, a transitional time from young adulthood to full adulthood, where you feel you have to make big decisions - settle, have kids or not, commit," says the 31-year old helmer. "I want to create moments that resonate deeply, moments that make the audience think, 'that's exactly how it feels!"
As with her earlier works, Gregersen will enrich and enlighten her portrait of young adults' self-questioning with humor and warmth. Working closely with her usual cinematographer Torjus Thesen (attached to the Locarno entry "Solomamma"), she says she will shoot with long takes, in the cinéma vérité style, and bring a fly-on-the-wall docu point of view to watch her characters from a distance. "That way I can capture the authenticity, the humanity of the characters and even absurdity of some situations," she says.
Quintessential to the story is the music from the iconic Norwegian band deLillos, forerunners on the country's rock music scene in the '80s, which will be "deeply woven into the film's fabric, with performances and songs from both actors and musicians serving as the omniscient voice of the characters' lives," according to production notes.
"The band gave us their blessing and think it's fun that we, young women, want to take their music to our hearts. We'll make new versions of their songs, with some being interpreted by our lead actress and others being reinterpreted by young Norwegian musicians," Gregersen says.
Sæther Berger compares the group to the U.S. band Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers. "Their songs are catchy, smart, a bit naïve and philosophical, carried by great music. They have a solid cross-generational appeal in Norway, and hopefully the film will boost their career, both at home and internationally."
The Oslo shoot will last 20 days from Aug. 27, with an extra four days in the winter.The feature, backed by the Norwegian Film Institute, Oslo Film Fond and Nordisk Film & TV Fond, will open in Norway via Ymer Media and Scanbox in the rest of the Nordics.
Motlys is at Haugesund's New Nordic Films market this week with "How to Steal a Bike," the feature debut of "Power Play" showrunner Johan Fasting, currently in early development.
The company's hit and Golden Bear winner "Dreams" by Dag Johan Haugerud just bagged two extra accolades in Haugesund: best editing at the national Amanda awards and a nomination at the prestigious Nordic Council Film Prize.