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Anja Breien (born 12 July 1940)[1] is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. One of the leading figures of the Norwegian film industry,[2] and one of the first women to rise to prominence as a writer-director in Norway,[3] Breien's body of work in fiction and documentary explores social and political issues, notably women's rights within the context of Norwegian society.[3][4]
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After completing her studies in French at the University of Oslo, Breien went on to graduate from the French film school L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) in 1964.[2] She began working in film as a script supervisor on the Nils R. Müller film Det Store Varpet in 1961.[2] She also worked as an assistant director on Hunger (Sult) (1966), directed by Henning Carlsen and based on the novel by Knut Hamsun.[5]
Breien's first film as a director and screenwriter was a short in 1967 titled Growing Up,[6] followed by her short documentary 17. May – A Film about Rituals (17. Mai – En film om ritualer) (1969), a satirical look at the celebration of the Norwegian National Day.[7] Her first feature-length film was Rape (Voldtekt), released in 1971.[2] Rape was praised by critics,[2] but also sparked debate due to its criticism of the Norwegian criminal justice system.[3]
Breien subsequently wrote and directed Wives (Hustruer) (1975), which became a box-office success and received critical acclaim throughout Scandinavia.[4] Wives was inspired as a feminist response to John Cassavetes' Husbands (1972), and follows three women in their thirties who temporarily abandon their domestic responsibilities for a day of freedom.[5] Breien went on to write and direct two sequels, Wives - Ten Years After (Hustruer 10 År Etter) (1985) and Wives III (Hustruer 20 År Etter) (1996), featuring the same characters ten and twenty years later.[2]
In 1981's Witch Hunt (Forfølgelsen), Breien again critiqued her home country's patriarchal society through the story of a woman accused of witchcraft in 1630s western Norway.[5] Witch Hunt was entered into the main competition of the 1981 Venice Film Festival.[6]
Breien's 1979 film Next of Kin (Arven), also known as Heritage and The Inheritance,[2] a drama about a Norwegian family in conflict over an inheritance,[8] was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival;[2] it ended up winning the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.[6]
Breien has directed most of the films produced from her screenplays, one exception being 1994's Second Sight (Trollsyn), directed by Ola Solum.[3]
In addition to her extensive work in fiction cinema, Breien has continued to make documentaries throughout her career, many of which have been screened internationally.[2] Her short documentary Solvorn (1997), constructed around a series of photographs taken by Breien's grandmother, screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1998.[9]
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Breien is noted for her realist approach to storytelling, her use of the long take, and her use of a slow, contemplative pace.[5] Rape (1971) uses a non-chronological storytelling technique and has been compared to Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (2011).[4]
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| Year | Film | Role | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Growing Up / Vokse opp | Writer/Director | Fiction short |
| 1969 | 17. May – A Film about Rituals / 17. Mai – En film om ritualer | Writer/Director | Documentary short |
| 1971 | Rape / Voldtekt | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1975 | Wives / Hustruer | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1977 | Games of Love and Loneliness / Den allvarsamma leken | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1979 | Next of Kin / Arven | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1981 | Witch Hunt / Forfølgelsen | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1984 | Paper Bird / Papirfuglen | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1985 | Wives - Ten Years After / Hustruer 10 År Etter | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1990 | Twice Upon a Time / Smykketyven | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1994 | Second Sight / Trollsyn | Writer | Fiction |
| 1996 | Wives III / Hustruer III | Writer/Director | Fiction |
| 1997 | Solvorn / Solvorn | Writer/Director | Documentary short |
| 2001 | To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil | Writer/Director | Fiction short |
| 2005 | Untitled – Sans Titre / Uten tittel | Writer/Director | Fiction short |
| 2009 | Etching / Riss | Writer/Director | Documentary short |
| 2009 | Yezidi / Jezidi | Writer/Director | Documentary |
| 2012 | From the History of Chewing Gum / Fra tyggengummiens historie | Writer/Director | Documentary short |
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| Year | Festival | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Cannes Film Festival | Prize of the Ecumenical Jury | Next of Kin / Arven (1979) | Won |
| 1979 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Next of Kin / Arven (1979) | Nominated |
| 1984 | Chicago International Film Festival | Silver Hugo | Paper Bird / Papirfuglen (1984) | Won |
| 2001 | Berlin International Film Festival | Prix UIP Berlin | To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil (2001) | Won |
| 2001 | Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival | Best Live-Action Short | To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil (2001) | Won |
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