Nordic Watchlist reviews FOLKTALES by Oscar-nominated documentarians Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
In FOLKTALES, Oscar-nominated documentarians Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp, One of Us) return with a deeply immersive and emotionally resonant portrait of adolescence, identity and the healing power of nature. Set in the remote Pasvik Folk High School in Finnmark, Norway, 200 miles above the Arctic Circle, the film follows three teenagers navigating a transformative “gap year” in the Scandinavian wilderness.
Through its character-driven lens, FOLKTALES becomes more than a documentary; it’s a meditation on reconnection, resilience and the quiet rebellion against the overstimulation of modern life.
At its core, the film explores the tension between modernity and tradition. The film suggests that in a world dominated by screens, noise and social anxiety, healing and growth may lie in looking backward – not to regress, but to reconnect. The folk school’s curriculum, which includes dog sledging, bushcraft and solo camping, is designed to “wake up your Stone Age brain,” as one teacher puts it. This isn’t nostalgia for its own sake; it’s a deliberate act of restoration, a way to rethread the severed ties between young people and their ancestral wisdom.
The film’s emotional centre rests on its three subjects: Hege, grieving her father’s death and struggling with self-image; Bjørn Tore, socially isolated and self-conscious; and Romain, a Dutch teen battling anxiety and self-doubt. Their journeys are not framed as heroic arcs but as quiet, personal reckonings. The message is clear: growth doesn’t always come from grand gestures: it can emerge from building a fire, caring for a dog or simply surviving a night alone in the Arctic wild.
Ewing and Grady’s approach is observational and intimate. They eschew traditional documentary tropes: there are no talking heads, no overt narration, and no imposed narrative arc. Instead, they embed themselves in the rhythms of the school and the lives of the students, allowing moments of vulnerability and transformation to unfold organically.
The direction is sensitive and non-intrusive, yet emotionally potent. When Hege admits, “My fire was shit,” after her first solo camping night, it’s not played for drama. But when she’s later shown lying in her tent beside her dog, fire blazing, the moment resonates with quiet triumph. Similarly, the evolving friendship between Bjørn and Romain (two boys who feared they’d never connect) is captured with warmth and subtlety.
FOLKTALES speaks in a poetic, almost mythic voice. The film incorporates Norse legends – Odin, the Norns, and the Three Fates – through symbolic imagery like red threads winding around trees. These motifs aren’t over-explained; they’re woven into the visual tapestry, inviting viewers to draw their own connections between past and present, myth and reality. This voice is reflective rather than didactic, encouraging contemplation rather than conclusion.
The documentary also uses nature as a silent narrator. Frost-tipped leaves, the icy gaze of Siberian huskies and the aurora borealis become visual metaphors for the emotional states of the characters. The cinematography by Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo and Tor Edvin Eliassen is essential here, capturing the primal beauty of the Arctic landscape in ways that elevate the film’s emotional resonance.
The film’s structure is loose and non-linear, mirroring the unpredictability of personal growth. Rather than following a strict timeline, FOLKTALES drifts between seasons, moods and moments. This collage-like approach allows the viewer to experience the ebb and flow of the students’ emotional journeys. There’s no forced climax or resolution; instead, the film builds a cumulative sense of change through small, meaningful interactions.
This structure also reflects the ethos of the folk school itself: learning is not about grades or milestones, but about presence, effort and connection. The lack of conventional drama may frustrate some viewers, but for others, it’s a refreshing departure from formulaic storytelling.
The key takeaways are both emotional and philosophical. The film gently argues that healing and personal growth are often found in nature, away from the overstimulation of modern life. The folk school’s emphasis on character development over academic achievement challenges conventional education models, suggesting that emotional intelligence and resilience are just as vital as grades. The evolving friendships, especially between Bjørn and Romain, underscore the human need for connection and belonging, while the presence of animals, particularly the sled dogs, serves as a mirror to the students’ emotional states, offering silent companionship and unconditional acceptance. Ultimately, the film invites viewers to consider that sometimes, the most profound transformations come not from external achievements, but from quiet, internal shifts nurtured by solitude, nature and community.
FOLKTALES is a gentle, evocative film that invites viewers to reconsider what it means to grow up in the 21st century. It doesn’t offer easy answers, but it does suggest that sometimes, the path forward begins by looking back.
FOLKTALES is in UK and Irish cinemas from 5th December