“Folktales,” in theaters right now, is one of the most moving and beautiful movies of the year.
It follows a few kids as they attend Pasvik Folk High School in Norway. This is where kids come from all over to learn fundamentals while also taking part in camping, hunting and working with sled dogs.
In TheWrap’s exclusive clip below, the group of Gen Zers are shown in the classroom absorbing the teachings of one of the sled leaders; it wonderfully encapsulates the movie’s singular power. (There’s a reason this movie was one of the breakouts from this year’s Sundance Film Festival.)
We also sent some questions to Ewing and Grady, who graciously answered below.
How did you know about the school? And when did it first come to you to make a film about the school?
During COVID, Heidi had heard Blair Braverman, an American dog sledder on a podcast, talking about her adventures and was intrigued. In Braverman’s biography, “Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube” she reveals that she had gone to a “folk high school” in Northern Norway when she was 17, and that the experience changed her life. Intrigued, we did more digging and found that there are over 400 Folk high schools in Scandinavia and their sole purpose is to help build a young person’s character. As the principal says in the film “it’s a lot more than a gap year.” We thought that perhaps this was an unusually cinematic way for us to make a portrait of Gen Z in this uncertain moment. So, in March 2023 we ventured to Norway to check out several of these schools, and when we landed in Pasvik, with its mystical vibe, punishingly cold environment and charismatic and dedicated dog sledding teachers, we knew we were on to something.
How did you zero in on the three kids that you ultimately chose to focus on? Was there a much wider net before focusing on them? Did it happen during the edit or did you know while shooting?
Like most documentary filmmakers undertaking an observational film, we cast a wider net during the start of production but we zeroed in pretty quickly on the three main subjects because it was clear that each of them had something they wanted to change about themselves. They were going all the way north of the Arctic circle to somehow find a better version of themselves. On top of that each of the three were tender, open and bracingly frank with us and we fell in love with their honest vulnerability. We became deeply invested in their journey and we hope the audience does too.
What was it like being around the dogs?
These Alaskan Huskies are true beasts in every way! Demanding, loud, affectionate. Huge personalities overall. They were always ready for their closeup and would knock us over sometimes if they were not getting the attention they felt they deserved. They clearly loved to run and were at their very best when mushing through the arctic forests. They were a joy to film and to be around.
Where did the string and the fates motif come from?
Norse mythology and folktales play an important role in Norwegian culture. Students and teachers would offhandedly refer to myths they had learned growing up, sometimes mentioning Odin, the king of the gods or Fenrir, the giant Wolf monster. Several of the dogs in the dog yard were named after Norse gods. It felt of the place. Many of these tales talk of overcoming fear and searching for knowledge, which the students at Pasvik were in the process of doing themselves. Early in the production, we were hiking to a location and we passed this magical, ancient-looking tree that could have sprung right out of Guillermo del Toro’s mind. We began calling it Yggdrasil (the sacred tree of life in Norse cosmology) where the fates weave human destinies out of bits of yarn. It was the tree that led us to begin experimenting with the motif that you see in the film. So, the concept was really inspired by the place, its culture, and this experience that these students were having. When you’re there, you feel as if there could be ice giants around the corner. So, we went for it.
“Folktales” is in theaters now.
