NORWEGIAN DREAM
DIRECTOR: LEIV IGOR DEVOLD
2023| NORWAY/POLAND/GERMANY | 97m
A romance from the frozen coast of Scandinavia, Norwegian Dream is the debut narrative feature from director Leiv Igor Devold, who draws on a set of true circumstances to tell his story of love across numerous overlapping lines of class and culture.
Robert is a hard-edged Polish immigrant laborer, Ivar is the effervescent adopted Black son of a wealthy business-owner, and along the lush coast of Norway, these two young men grapple with issues of cultural displacement, economic inequity, and sexual identity. Striving to rescue his mother from debt, Robert finds gritty work outside Trondheim amidst a small community of immigrants at a salmon-processing factory. He is trained on the line by the owner’s son Ivar, who is biding his time working at the family business but dreams of more. The two are drawn to each other, and their friendship slowly develops into something more.
Hubert Milkowski (Netflix’s Operation Hyacinth) embodies Robert with an intense gaze that suggests a rage simmering just below the surface. Ivar is portrayed with grace and confidence by Karl Bekele Steinland in his first film performance.