Back in October, Dag Johan Haugerud’s film, ‘Sex’, had its premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. It was the first time one of his films had been screened in the UK despite his previous film Barn (Beware The Children) winning awards in his native country of Norway.
Since the screening, the director has gone on to win the Nordic Council Film Prize, which is his second time winning the award after previously winning it with Barn. The film had some stiff competition for the prize, with Levan Akin’s Crossing and Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves among the nominees.
‘Sex’ begins with two colleagues, played by Gunnar Røise and Thorbjørn Harr, who are both in heterosexual marriages, but have unexpected experiences that challenges them to reconsider their understanding of sexuality, gender, and identity.
One has a sexual encounter with another man, without considering it an expression of homosexuality or infidelity, and therefore discusses it with his wife afterwards. The other finds himself in nocturnal dreams where he is seen as a woman, stirring confusion and questions. Both share their thoughts and views on these experiences and explore complex questions, making the viewer also contemplate questions about fidelity and sexuality.
We then follow the two men as they go about their daily lives after this chat, in their homes, and in their relationships. We see more conversations, contemplation, and the consequences of sexual encounters, sexuality and sexual identities.
After the BFI London Film Festival finished, Nordic Watchlist caught up with the director to discuss details about the film, which will see a UK release in 2025 through Modern Film.
Haugerud uses a lot of conversation scenes between characters and he knew the main would be keeping the audience engaged. He and the cinematographer, Cecilie Semec, spent considerable time planning and timing the shots to determine when the camera should move. They wanted the film to have a static and formalistic aesthetic, with an emphasis on long takes.
He also felt that using long shots was more interesting because it allowed the actors to establish the scene’s rhythm and dynamics. He believed this approach, which he described as ‘film theatre’, would result in more compelling viewing experiences.
“Editing the long conversations presented a challenge, as the excessive cutting made the scenes less engaging, which ultimately lead to the decision that less editing resulted in a better outcome,” Haugerud explains.
We have seen a lot of awkward encounters in Nordic film; some of our favourites include The Square and the more recent film The Hypnosis can make your skin crawl in embarrassment. Sex features some difficult conversations, but the approach is very different. They are not used for comedic effect or satire, but more to explore important subjects in the film and generate empathy for the characters.
He contrasts his films with 2021’s Gritt (which stars Birgitte Larsen, pictured above with Thorbjørn Harr, who also appeared in Sex), which he sees as taking its main character seriously and treating them with empathy, despite containing humorous elements.
Dag uses music to complement the film’s visual style and create what he describes as a ‘space for reflection’.
The film features what the director refers to as ‘pillow shots’ – scenes devoid of dialogue where only music and visuals are present. These scenes allow the audience to take a moment to pause, reflect and contemplate on what they have just seen and heard.
The music plays to the narrative, emotional tone, and the location of Oslo, but Dag also enjoys using music independently from the narrative. He wanted the music to have a presence of its own, almost like another character in the film – similar to how the city features. There are scenes of the city where it is heavily under construction, which he says also reflects how the characters are under construction themselves.
The composer, Ola Fløttum, discussed what kind of music people might hear in their heads while driving to Oslo, wanting to evoke a sense of familiarity for the audience. Belonging to the same generation, they share similar musical taste and drew inspiration from 1970’s jazz rock. This style of music complements the film’s cinematography, which uses techniques common in 1970’s suspense and paranoia films.
Sex is part of a trilogy that the director has completed, with the titles of the films being ‘Sex‘, ‘Dreams‘, and ‘Love‘. Sex will be released in the UK in 2025, which will hopefully be followed by further releases from the trilogy.
Sex will be released next year through Modern Films
