Rotterdam 2026: Sisters, Spirits and Invented Truths: Itonje Søimer Guttormsen on Her Sophomore Feature “Butterfly”
Premiering in the Big Screen Competition at IFFR (29 January–8 February), “Butterfly” marks Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s return to feature filmmaking five years after “Gritt.” Set in Gran Canaria, the film follows estranged sisters Lily (Renate Reinsve) and Diana (Helene Bjørneby) as they reunite after their mother’s death and inherit an unfinished resort-cum-esoteric retreat connected to […]
Renate Reinsve, star of “The Worst Person in the World,” on her stunning new film, “Armand”
Getting to interview one of my favorite actors, Renate Reinsve, was a certifiable “pinch me” moment. She starred in one of my all-time favorite films, 2021’s “The Worst Person in the World,” and it was in picture that I first took note of her. Whenever she is onscreen, it is electric in a way that […]
Sundance 40: Thea Hvistendahl on her bold zombie film “Handling the Undead”
When you watch “Handling the Undead” you have to deconstruct your way of viewing the film. The film involves dead people and it touches on tropes of zombie films, but it’s not necessarily about the “zombies,” it’s about the loved ones and their relationship with these beings. It’s about the left behind, and how we […]
Sundance 40 Review: “Handling the Undead” feasts on existentialism in this unconventional horror drama
“Handling the Undead,” directed by Thea Hvistendahl, mainly follows a trio of isolated vignettes. Anna (Renate Reinsve) and her father, Mahler (Bjørn Sundquist), mourn the loss of her young son. Anna’s grief is distant and angry, while her father’s is desperate and emotional. When visiting the boy’s grave, Mahler begins to hear a knocking from […]
Editor’s Picks: Top 25 Films of 2022
As a movie lover, I can’t help connecting the meaning in my life to what I’m seeing on the screen. Sometimes films expand my meaning, and sometimes they confirm it. That mirror reflection is what draws me to certain films and is what motivates which films I put in my top list of the year. […]