Last year at CPH:DOX we picked out some of our favourites documentaries, amongst them was Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind of Wilderness. It was very much a surprise and a delight to see that the film, over a year later, has managed to get a UK theatrical release in selected cinemas – something which does not happen often with Nordic documentaries.
Alex got to speak to the Norwegian director about her film and the incredible effect it seems to be having on its viewers.
The Director
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen is an acclaimed Norwegian documentary filmmaker with over 15 years of experience creating award-winning films and series. Her work often explores unconventional lifestyles, family dynamics, and human resilience.
Notable projects include Team Ingebrigtsen, Faith Can Move Mountains, and KRAFT/SPARK. Her latest feature, A New Kind of Wilderness, offers a poignant and personal portrait of a family navigating life and loss in the Norwegian forest. Jacobsen co-founded the Oslo-based production company A5 Film with producer Mari Bakke Riise, and continues to craft intimate stories that resonate deeply with audiences.
The Trailer
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen discusses A New Kind of Wilderness
Nordic Watchlist: I think one of the things I wanted to jump into first was just how exciting and important it is to see this kind of documentary come to the UK. A lot of Nordic documentaries don’t usually make it over here, so seeing this one in cinemas—and you even doing a tour with it—was really special. How did it feel to put the film on that kind of platform and get it out to a wider audience?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: It’s been amazing. When we made the film, it was co-produced by NRK, the national broadcaster in Norway, so we thought it would just go straight to television. Then it was selected for Sundance, which was a huge surprise. And then it won there, which was just one surprise after another! After that, we got the opportunity for a theatrical release.
Showing it in Norwegian cinemas is one thing, but then it started travelling—to the UK, the US, Japan, the Netherlands. For a small story like this to reach audiences all over the world… It’s been incredible. I can really see the difference between watching it in a cinema versus on television. The mood, the atmosphere, the sound, the music—it all lands so differently in a cinema setting.
Nordic Watchlist: That’s such a good point, and it’s an amazing achievement. I think it’s also been really interesting to see audience reactions, something you wouldn’t get if it had only aired on TV. It must’ve been powerful for you to witness those responses around the world.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: Absolutely. And since Nick is British and a lot of the setting has a very British feel—the house, the fields—I felt it was important that the film came to the UK too. So people here could relate to it in their own way. He represents a lot of people.
Nordic Watchlist: Yeah, completely. And it’s also so lovely to see how the kids have grown over the years. I actually want to circle back to the family in a bit. But first, going back to the beginning: when you started following Maria’s journey nearly a decade ago, how did your personal admiration for her evolve into this effort to preserve her legacy on screen?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: Well, around ten years ago I actually wanted to make a TV series about them, following their everyday lives. We pitched it to NRK. I had met Maria, filmed the family for a day—but unfortunately the project didn’t go through.
Still, I stayed in touch with Maria. So much was happening in the family, and I kept thinking, I need to film this. Then Maria got sick, and sadly, she passed away just a few months later. After that, I still felt this strong need to tell her story, but I had to rethink how.
I had her photos and her writings, which were so powerful. And I also had a family going through deep grief and change. I called Nik, who knew me from before, and I said, “Can I please come and talk to you about following your journey now?” I wanted to include more of Maria’s photos and stories—they say so much. In the end, I told the story in a very different way than I’d imagined ten years ago.
Nordic Watchlist: When I watched it, I genuinely thought, This could have been a TV series. The family, the story—it’s so engaging. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a real family like this on screen. They stay with you. You think about them after the film ends—What are they doing now? What are they thinking?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: That’s so true. Just as a side note—I filmed my own family over Christmas for a holiday documentary, and they were so much harder to film than the Payne family! The Payne family is just naturally interesting. The way they speak, the way they are in front of the camera—it’s very unique.
Nordic Watchlist: That brings me to another part I found fascinating: watching the kids respond to school, technology, grief—it’s all so layered. On my second watch, it hit even harder because I’m going to be a father soon. The moment that iPad arrived in the house really stuck with me.
As a filmmaker and a mother yourself, how did this shape your perspective on what children need during times of loss?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: I’m not sure it changed my views completely, but it definitely enlightened me. I haven’t experienced that kind of loss personally, so watching the children taught me something: as long as they have one adult who truly cares for them, they’ll be okay.
Children live in the moment. They’re instinctive. It’s often us adults who need more time to process and heal. Kids move in and out of grief, and as long as someone is there for them, they manage.
Nordic Watchlist: Yeah. There’s a beautiful moment between Nik and Freya where it almost feels like he’s leaning on her emotionally. I think it’s around her birthday when she’s starting to have doubts about school. You see how much he needs her on his side.
She almost takes on this matriarch role with her brothers, which was so compelling. That contrast between the off-grid lifestyle and the modern world—social media, technology—do you think there’s a balance to be struck?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: Yes, absolutely. I think what Nick did so well was give them a long stretch of time just to be children. You can’t keep them away from society forever—they need friends, they need to learn how the world works. But when and how you introduce that is up to each family.
He gave them a huge playground to grow up in. And Freya’s managing so well now. She’s 14, has friends, loves school. We were just at a TV awards event, and she was walking around with long nails, makeup, her phone—completely like any other teen. But she got to be a child until she was 13. That’s how it should be.
I think parents just need to think carefully about what works for their own kids. There’s no single right way. But we have to be conscious—we really don’t know yet what all this technology is doing to children.
Nordic Watchlist: It’s been so inspiring watching them navigate it all. Nik especially—he’s done an incredible job. What’s it been like reconnecting with the family now during screenings and Q&As? Have you always kept in touch?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: Yes, we talk a lot. Ra lives in Oslo, like me, so I see her more often. I speak to Nik a couple of times a month. I’ll see the whole family again after this event tonight, which is lovely. Especially with the younger boys—if I haven’t seen them in six months, they suddenly look like young men!
We’re really good friends. I care deeply for them, and I think they care about me too. If we win an award tonight, we’ll go up on stage together.
Nordic Watchlist: Fingers crossed! Which award is it?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: It’s the TV award in Norway—for Best Documentary on Television.
Nordic Watchlist: Brilliant. Fingers crossed. Have you considered continuing the story in some way? Maybe checking in a few years down the line?
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen: A lot of people ask me that. And I think the family would be open to it. But for me, when I finish a project, I really finish it. To start again—even if the story has changed—it has to come from a deep need to tell that story. It’s a big commitment. So right now, there are no plans, but who knows?
A New Kind of Wilderness is out now in selected UK Cinemas
Written by: Alex Minnis, Founder of Nordic Watchlist | All images courtesy of Maria Vatne
