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Norway
18+ (exemption)

Norwegian Dream

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Norwegian Dream
Australian Premiere
2023 | 97 min | Drama | Norway, Poland, Germany | Director: Leiv Igor Devold | Cast: Hubert Milkowski, Karl Bekele Steinsland, Edyta Torhan, Øyvind Brandtzæg | Language: Norwegian, Polish, English with English subtitles

Nineteen-year-old Robert (Hubert Milkowski) is a Polish immigrant working at a fish factory on the coast of Norway. Far from home, he plans to work hard and pay off his mother’s debts. Here, he meets a local colleague, the openly gay and aspiring drag queen Ivar, for whom Robert develops feelings. Caught between his feelings for Ivar and his fear of losing the security of a place in the Polish worker group, he hides his sexual orientation and keeps his relationship with Ivar a secret. 

When a labour dispute breaks out at the factory, Ivar, a member of the workers union, helps the Polish workers start a strike for better working conditions. So, Robert is faced with a tough decision, as he must choose whether to continue working to solve his financial troubles or join the strike with Ivar. 

Set against the backdrop of economic migration, Leiv Igor Devold’s first feature film Norwegian Dream is an observant, queer coming-of-age drama about the search for identity, internalised shame and the difficulty in loving others when you cannot accept yourself.

A quiet, understated drama about young souls yearning to be free.
That Shelf
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival 2023
NOMINEE
Best First Feature Film, Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival 2023