The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is coming off a successful — and at times turbulent — 26th edition, wrapping “amidst an explosive ambiance with episodes of violence and intolerance.”
10.03.2024 - 11:03 / deadline.com
The Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film A New Kind of Wilderness has bowed at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece, marking its European premiere.
Director Silje Evensmo Jacobsen attended the Thessaloniki premiere in person along with two of the film’s protagonists: Freja Vatne Payne and Ronja Breda Vatne. Freja and Ronja are the daughters of Maria Vatne, a gifted photographer who celebrated her family’s unorthodox lifestyle in a remote area of Norway through a blog called Wild + Free. The film begins with stunning footage and photographs taken by Vatne of her kids – in addition to the girls, boys Falk (Norwegian for “falcon”) and the youngest, Ulv (Norwegian for wolf).
But that opening sequence is punctuated by a bracing image – Vatne hooked up to tubes as she receives chemotherapy treatment. This idyllic life of farming, home-schooling, and communing with nature will be cruelly interrupted by tragedy.
“I discovered Maria’s blog 10 years ago,” Jacobsen explained at a Q&A on Saturday in Thessaloniki. “I called her because her photos and stories really grabbed me. They were amazing. I wanted to make a TV series and I reached out to her.”
Jacobsen said she met in person with Vatne but despite Maria’s enthusiasm for the TV project, it ultimately didn’t come to fruition. After the photographer’s untimely death, the director wanted to document the new and unexpected challenges facing Maria’s widower, Nik Payne and the kids (Payne is stepfather to the eldest daughter, Ronja). “I realized I had to make something,” Jacobsen said. “It was still a real-life project on their values, but they were going on a different journey now.”
That journey of grief and fitful healing has touched viewers beginning
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is coming off a successful — and at times turbulent — 26th edition, wrapping “amidst an explosive ambiance with episodes of violence and intolerance.”
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