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Revision as of 21:19, 27 March 2016

Anja Breien
Born (1940-07-12) 12 July 1940 (age 83)
Occupation(s)Film director
Screenwriter
Years active1967-present

Anja Breien (born 12 July 1940)[1] is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. One of the leading figures of the Norwegian film industry,[2] and one of the first women to rise to prominence as a writer-director in Norway,[3] her body of work in fiction and documentary explores social and political issues, notably women's rights within the context of Norwegian society.[3][4]

Career

After completing her studies in French at the University of Oslo, Breien went on to graduate from the French film school L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) in 1964.[2] She began work in film as a script supervisor on the Nils R. Müller film Det Store Varpet in 1961.[2] She also worked as an assistant director on Hunger (Sult) (1966), directed by Henning Carlsen and based on the novel by Knut Hamsun.[5]

Her first film as a director and screenwriter was the 1967 short film Growing Up, followed by the feature-length Rape (Voldtekt), released in 1971.[2] Rape was praised by critics,[2] but also sparked debate due to its criticism of the Norwegian criminal justice system.[3] Breien subsequently wrote and directed Wives (Hustruer) (1975), which became a box-office success and received critical acclaim throughout Scandinavia.[4] Wives was inspired as a feminist response to John Cassavetes' Husbands (1972), and follows three women in their thirties who temporarily abandon their domestic responsibilities for a day of freedom.[5] Breien went on to write and direct two sequels, Wives - Ten Years After (Hustruer 10 År Etter) (1985) and Wives III (Hustruer 20 År Etter) (1996), featuring the same characters ten and twenty years later.[2] In 1981's Witch Hunt (Forfølgelsen), Breien again critiqued her home country's patriarchal society through the story of a woman accused of witchcraft in 1630s western Norway.[5]

Breien has directed most of the films produced from her screenplays, one exception being 1994's Second Sight (Trollsyn), directed by Ola Solum.[3]

Style

Breien is noted for her realist approach to storytelling, her use of the long take, and her use of a slow, contemplative pace.[5] Rape (1971) uses a non-chronological storytelling technique and has been compared to Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (2011).[4]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1967 Growing Up / Vokse opp Writer/Director Short film
1971 Rape / Voldtekt Writer/Director Fiction
1975 Wives / Hustruer Writer/Director Fiction
1977 Games of Love and Loneliness / Den allvarsamma leken Writer/Director Fiction
1979 Heritage / Arven Writer/Director Fiction
1981 Witch Hunt / Forfølgelsen Writer/Director Fiction
1984 Paper Bird / Papirfuglen Writer/Director Fiction
1985 Wives - Ten Years After / Hustruer 10 År Etter Writer/Director Fiction
1990 Twice Upon a Time / Smykketyven Writer/Director Fiction
1994 Second Sight / Trollsyn Writer Fiction
1996 Wives III / Hustruer III Writer/Director Fiction
1997 Solvorn / Solvorn Writer/Director Fiction
2001 To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil Writer/Director
2005 Untitled – Sans Titre / Uten tittel Writer/Director
2009 Yezidi / Jezidi Writer/Director
2012 From the History of Chewing Gum / Fra tyggengummiens historie Writer/Director

Awards and nominations

Year Festival Award Film Result
1979 Cannes Film Festival Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Heritage / Arven (1979) Won
1979 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Heritage / Arven (1979) Nominated
1984 Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo Paper Bird / Papirfuglen (1984) Won
2001 Berlin International Film Festival Prix UIP Berlin To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil (2001) Won
2001 Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival Best Live-Action Short To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil (2001) Won

References

  1. ^ "Anja Breien - Biography - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Anja Breien - English". www.nfi.no. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Kristjansson-Nelson, Kyja (2015). "Norway". In Nelmes and Selbo (ed.). Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 518.
  4. ^ a b c "Museum of the Moving Image - Programs - Anja Breien: Games of Love and Loneliness". www.movingimage.us. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Kindem, Gorham A. (1987). "Norway's New Generation of Women Directors: Anja Breien, Vibeke Lokkeberg, and Laila Mikkelsen". Journal of Film and Video. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

External links