Åse Svenheim Drivenes

Åse Svenheim Drivenes
Born (1977-01-03) 3 January 1977
CitizenshipNorwegian
Occupationdocumentary film director

Åse Svenheim Drivenes (born 3 January 1977)[1] is a Norwegian documentary film director.

Life and career

Drivenes is from Tromsø.[2][3] Her twin sister, Erin Drivenes, is a paediatric psychiatrist.[4]

She worked on assignment for Médecins sans frontières in 2008 at Mount Elgon in Kenya, documenting local people's accounts of attacks on civilians,[5][6] for Atlas Alliansen, a foundation assisting people with disabilities, on Young Voices, documenting young people in Tanzania and Uganda,[5] and as a director for the second season of the Norwegian documentary television series Thaifjord (Et lite stykke Thailand), shown in 2011, about Asian immigrant women married to Norwegian men.[6][7] She has also worked with Mobilfilmene, a children's film workshop, and together with Tone Andersen started a project to provide children seeking asylum in Norway with the means to make their own films about their experiences.[6][8]

Since 2017, she has been an associate professor at the Norwegian Film School[3] in the special course on Creative Documentary Directing, which began in 2015.[9][10][11]

Works

In 2006, as part of a four-woman collective with Andersen, Anita Larsen, and Kari Anne Moe, called Roger, she made three short films for a project documenting the unsavoury side of life in Oslo: Nattskift ("Night Shift"),[5] which followed a prostitute for a night, Rester ("Leftovers"), and www.anna.no.[12]

Vår mann i Kirkenes (2010)

Drivenes' solo directorial debut was Vår mann i Kirkenes ("Our Man in Kirkenes"), which premièred at the 2010 Tromsø International Film Festival and was subsequently shown at other film festivals.[11] The film is a commentary on globalisation and outsourcing; its protagonist, Hallgeir Henriksen, is the newspaper Finnmarken's sole employee in small-town Kirkenes, unhappy with the minutiae he must cover, until management brings in a younger journalist and he finds himself even more frustrated.[5][13]

Jeg er Kuba (2014)

Jeg er Kuba or I am Kuba, originally titled Around My Family Table,[6] studies the impact on families in poor countries within the European Union when adults leave to work in service jobs in wealthy countries, from the perspective of two Polish children, Kuba and his younger brother Mikołaj. When the film begins, Kuba is 12, Mikołaj is 8, and their father is working in Scotland and their mother in Austria; Kuba objects to the responsibility and the boys later join their mother in Vienna. Drivenes followed the children for two and a half years.[14][15][16]

At the 2015 Tromsø International Film Festival, the film won Tromsøpalmen, the prize for the best Nordic short or documentary film.[2] It also won the award for best short or medium-length documentary at Den norske dokumentarfilmfestivalen, best medium-length documentary at Nordic/Docs, Die Grosse Klappe at Doxs!, and the German–Polish Tadeusz-Mazowiecki-Journalistenpreis.[3][17] It was shown on NRK television in March that year,[15] and provoked discussion of the plight of Euro-orphans, children left alone or with elderly relatives because of the European market in migrant labour;[18][19] it was also shown on Yle in Finland.[20]

Maiko's Dance (2015)

Maiko's Dance (also known as Maiko: Dancing Child)[21] is Drivenes' first feature-length documentary.[20] The protagonist is Maiko Nishino, the Japanese-born prima ballerina at the Norwegian National Ballet (her name means 'dancing child'), who decided in her early thirties to have a child and then struggled to return to her top position. Drivenes followed her for four years.[20][22][23] The film premièred at the Los Angeles Film Festival[21] and had its Norwegian première at the Bergen International Film Festival;[23] it was subsequently shown on NRK television.[3] Drivenes' production company, Sent & Usent, released two other dance documentaries the same year.[24]

Teenage Life Interrupted (2025)

Drivenes's 2025 feature-length documentary Teenage Life Interrupted is about teenagers receiving treatment at University Hospital of North Norway by Hans Petter Fundingsrud and Drivenes's sister, Erin Drivenes, for unexplained chronic ailments.[4][25][26] Produced by Kari Anne Moe and Gudmundur Gunnarsson of Fuglene AS,[27] it was available to stream on Norwegian television from 13 January 2025 as a 3-part miniseries titled Uten synlige tegn,[25][28] premièred as a film at the Tromsø International Film Festival on 15 January 2025,[29][30][31] where it was awarded the inaugural "Films from the North" prize for a feature-length film,[32] and had its première in cinemas on 19 March 2025.[27] It had its international première at the Copenhagen international Documentary Film Festival[33] and was subsequently shown at several other film festivals: the Reykjavík International Film Festival,[34] the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention for Best Film,[35] Nordisk Panorama,[30] and the 2026 One World Film Festival.[26]

Filmography

  • 2006: Nattskift, Rester, www.anna.no (collaborations; shorts)
  • 2010: Vår mann i Kirkenes
  • 2013: Jeg er Kuba / I am Kuba
  • 2015: Maiko's Dance / Maiko: Dancing Child
  • 2025: Teenage Life Interrupted (also a TV miniseries, Uten synlige tegn)

References

  1. ↑ "Åse Svenheim Drivenes". Filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 Linn Blomkvist (18 January 2015). "Dette er årets TIFF-prisvinnere" [These are the year's TIFF prizewinners]. iTromsø (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Martin Parker. "Åse Svenheim Drivenes". Nordic Women in Film (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  4. 1 2 Tomm Pentz Pedersen (29 January 2025). "'Mine pasienter opplever at de må levere på alle arenaer'". Dagsavisen (intervies with Erin Drivenes) (in Norwegian).
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Our Man in Kirkenes". Bergen International Film Festival. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "IDFA Forum – Work in Progress: Around My Family Table". Norwegian Films. International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. 2013. p. 8.
  7. ↑ "Thaifjord II". Skofteland Film. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Olga Stokke (12 October 2011) [10 May 2010]. "Selvgjort film om livet på asylmottak" [Self-made film on life in asylum reception]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Helene Aalborg (25 June 2018). "Et historisk kull forlater filmskolen" [A historic class leaves Film School]. Rushprint (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Employees: Åse Svenheim Drivenes". Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Faculty: Åse Svenheim Drivenes". Norwegian Film School. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  12. ↑ Gerd Elin Stava Sandve (28 December 2006). "I skyggen av juleglansen" [In the shadow of the Christmas lustre]. Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Vår mann i Kirkenes" (in Norwegian Nynorsk). Bergen International Film Festival. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  14. ↑ Hanne Brønmo (19 March 2015) [16 March 2015]. "Sønnene på 8 og 12 måtte bli igjen alene da foreldrene dro fra Polen for å jobbe" [Sons aged 8 and 12 once more have to be alone while parents leave Poland to work]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Programm: Jeg er Kuba" (in Norwegian). NRK. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "About the Film". I am Kuba. Sant & Usant. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "Dagsrevyen" (video; piece starts at 19:27). NRK. 19 March 2015.
  18. ↑ Ingrid Brekke (19 March 2015) [14 March 2015]. "Forsker: Ikke bare negativt med mor, far og barn i ulike land" [Researcher: Not only negatives when mother, father, and children in different countries]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  19. ↑ Hanne Brønmo (20 March 2015). "'Å etterlate barn uten omsorg bryter med FNs barnekonvensjon'" [Leaving children without care violates the UN child convention]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 "LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Åse Svenheim Drivenes — 'Maiko: Dancing Child'". Women and Hollywood. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  21. 1 2 "'Maiko: Dancing Child' to Premiere at L.A. Film Fest". Rafu Shimpo. Los Angeles. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  22. ↑ Daniel Nylund (8 December 2016). "En prima ballerina med familjedrömmar" [A prima ballerina with family dreams] (in Swedish). Swedish Yle. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  23. 1 2 Ørjan Nilsson (25 September 2015). "Gjorde comeback i en av verdens tøffeste roller" [She made a comeback in one of the world's toughest roles]. Bergensavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  24. ↑ Marte Stapnes (30 October 2015). "'Et barnepublikum ønsker også å se de gode filmene'" [Children's audience also want to see good films]. Rushprint (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  25. 1 2 Ida Skjelderup (24 January 2025). "'Uten synlige tegn': Syk eller viktig opprør mot et samfunn ute av kurs?". Mentalt Perspektiv (in Norwegian). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  26. 1 2 "Teenage Life Interrupted". One World Film Festival. March 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  27. 1 2 "Teenage Life Interrupted". Norwegian Film Institute. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  28. ↑ "Uten synlige tegn". TV 2 Play (in Norwegian). 13 January 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  29. ↑ "Teenage Life Interrupted". Tromsø International Film Festival (in Norwegian). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  30. 1 2 Aurelie Geron (10 November 2025). "Nordisk Panorama 2025: Teenage Life Interrupted (dir. Åse Svenheim Drivenes)". Film Fest Report (review). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  31. ↑ Olivia Popp (20 January 2025). "Tromsø 2025: Review: Teenage Life Interrupted". Cineuropa. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  32. ↑ Davide Abbatescianni (21 January 2025). "It's a wrap for this year's Tromsø International Film Festival". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  33. ↑ "Teenage Life Interrupted". CPH:DOX. March 2025. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Interview with Dr. Elin Drivenes". Reykjavík International Film Festival. September 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  35. ↑ Marta Balaga (19 November 2025). "Nordic co-production Silver shines at Ji.hlava, with Teenage Life Interrupted and Mr. Nobody Against Putin also picking up awards". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
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