Being Ola: A Heartwarming Norwegian Documentary Experience – Nordic Watchlist reviews the new documentary by rom Award winning Norwegian filmmaker Ragnhild Nøst Bergem
Amongst the darkness and drama we often cover on Nordic Watchlist, there is always beauty and light to be found in the region. Being Ola is a shining example of that.
It is a rarity to see a Norwegian documentary receiving a UK theatrical release—a feat we haven’t seen since A New Kind of Wilderness. Director Ragnhild Nøst Bergem, known for her intimate and “brave” cinematic voice, turns her lens toward Ola Henningsen, a 30-year-old man living in the village of Vidaråsen.
In this community of just 150 inhabitants, people with and without disabilities live in harmony with nature, founded on values of empathy and mutual interdependence. As Ola explains of their work ethic, they share everything: “Sorrow, joy… fiascos.” Whether working in the herb workshop or pulling carrots from the ground, the film highlights a space where the traditional line between those needing help and those providing it beautifully blurs.
We join Ola as he enters his fourth year in the village. He is a witty, sincere, and inquisitive protagonist whose open nature makes it incredibly easy to enter his universe. However, a shadow looms over his idyllic daily life: his best friend, Lasse, reveals he is moving back to Denmark. This catalyst forces Ola to face a difficult crossroads—staying in the comfort of Vidaråsen or bravely considering a life of his own elsewhere.
The film vibrates with a kindness that feels essential in the current global climate. Typically, in modern documentary filmmaking, one might expect the rug to be pulled out from under them with a tragic revelation. Instead, Bergem allows the story to continue on its positive orbit. While Ola’s challenges regarding his disability are shared, they are handled with the same non-sentimental sensitivity Bergem brought to her previous award-winning works like Remember Me? and Stay.
The film truly lights up during the interactions between Ola and Lasse. Their friendship is genuinely sweet, grounded in the “sincere and honest” conversations that Lubna Jaffary, the Norwegian Minister of Culture, noted as being so universal.
Being Ola is a “real sunshine story” (as described by Klassekampen) that reminds us of the power of seeing the world through a slightly different, yet deeply human, perspective.
“Being Ola vibrates with a kindness that feels essential in the current global climate”
In conjunction with the upcoming release, Bergem will head off on a short screening tour of the UK where she will be hosting Q&A sessions alongside the film’s subject, Ola Henningsen. The tour is set to start at the Oska Bright Film Festival launch night on March 28th and will include a special guest and keynote speech which will take place at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange. The film marks the debut UK and Irish cinema release for Oska Bright Film Festival and will be released in partnership with UK distribution and exhibition agency, Tull Stories.
The dates and venues for the tour are:
- Brighton Dome Corn Exchange (part of Oska Bright Film Festival) – Brighton – Saturday 28th March
- Electric Palace Cinema – Hastings – Sunday 29th March
- Barbican Centre – London – Monday 30th March
- Hyde Park Picture House – Leeds – Tuesday 31st March
Being Ola will be released in UK And Irish Cinemas from April 3rd
