From the perspective of a neighbouring country, Norwegian Dag Johan Haugerud seems to have achieved a national breakthrough with his first feature film I Belong, which won Amanda Awards (Norway’s “Oscars”) for best film, director, and screenplay in 2013. On a Scandinavian level, a similar thing happened with his next feature Beware of Children, which was shown on Finnish TV and screened at the Midnight Sun Film Festival. It won both the 2020 Nordic Council Film Prize and the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the Gothenburg Film Festival. Though the film also received attention elsewhere, such as at the Venice Film Festival, it is Haugerud’s new trilogy on sexuality and the role of men that is set to secure his international renown, as the first instalment Sex triggered the momentum with its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
Haugerud uses fairly minimalist means to observe the behaviour of the characters in his films and creates tension between them with artful subtlety. But “sparsity” does not apply to the dialogue: Haugerud’s films are full of conversation, and he excels in developing an expressive, rich tapestry of dialogue that often propels the narrative on. This talent likely stems from his experience as an author since 1999. Haugerud, who grew up in the small town of Eidsberg, originally trained as a librarian, and has long been employed as such at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He has also pursued film and theatre studies at university level, both in Norway and Stockholm.
Haugerud’s early career followed a familiar path in that he directed his first short film in 1998 and made several more before transitioning to feature films. His filmography also includes hour-long specials such as the monologue drama I’m the One You Want (2015) and the musical comedy The Light from the Chocolate Factory (2020). Both in his films and, reportedly, in his novels, he reflects on the fundamental questions of existence in everyday situations, amidst social pressures and norms. His affinity for collaborating with trusted actors from the outset is evident in the final product. Dag Johan Haugerud’s thoughtfully captivating output has reflected the lives of teachers, nurses, and other urban middle-class Oslo residents but now, with the chimney sweep families in Sex, it is tempered with a flavour of contemporary working-class Norwegian life.
Timo Malmi