BEFORE THE OIL, 11min., Netherlands
Directed by Roel Swierenga
Deep in the mountains in southern Norway Odd Kvinen runs a husky farm. Teaching about the energy transition from before the oil was found until the present day, about respect for nature and choices we have to make.

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Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I came across Odd Kvinen and his Norwegian husky farm in preparation for a possible program during one of our events in Scandinavia to showcase sustainable solutions. We got to talk about the energy transition, respect for nature and the choices we as humanity will have to make if we want more energy but at the same time we want to phase out our oil. Odd told me about the history of Norway from the time before the oil was found, before hydro power plants were build. The country was poor at that time. He told about the changes that came with the discovery of oil, with the first hydro power plant built in his area deep in the Norwegian mountains in the beautiful nature, forcing his family to sacrifice their home so that a water dam could be build and their home was put under water. The family was compensated and Norway became rich due to this energy transition. But did they become happier? A story so pure and true and so relevant in our present time that I just wanted to capture his story.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
From establishing first contact, discussing ideas and agree on shooting the film was approximately 3 months. The actual shooting of the film in Norway was done in 2 or 3 long working days, but it took two more months to sort out all materials and edit the film.

3. How would you describe your film in 2 words?
Environmental awareness

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
We had to re-do the voiceover. The English version just wasn’t good, didn’t sound natural and authentic so we wanted to switch to his native language and record it again in Norwegian but we were already back in the Netherlands. We solved that with a local Norwegian company with a recording studio, online meetings, it worked out very well.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talk about your film in the feedback video?
Overwhelmed and emotionally moved by watching total strangers talk about my movie and what it meant to them. Proud to see and hear their feedback, very valuable and I am very happy with it!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
During the pandemic. The idea of making a film was already in my mind as we filmed our Hansa Green Tour events in northern Europe since 2011. But we never filmed our events with the idea of making films, we did it to capture our events for aftermovies and to thank our participants and event partners. The pandemic stopped our events and travel programmes, that made me think about what other options I would have to showcase sustainable solutions. At that time I decided that I wanted to make films, not just video recording of events but make cinematic short documentary films and possibly even (documentary) feature films.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
That is not just one, but the films I have seen the most in my lifetime are the James Bond movies, especially the last 5 movies with Daniel Graig. I am a great Bond fan and I love the beautiful animated film openings, the stunning film locations in combination with instrumental orchestra music and great cinematography of these 5 films. I guess it is the total package that grabs me.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further in your filmmaking career?
I guess the highest added value for me is live festivals. Seeing films live with an audience, watching their reactions and emotions, feeling the vibe in the theater and doing live interactive Q&A sessions with filmmakers. This is something that cannot be replaced by online only festivals. Your feedback video was great and very helpful, when combined with a live festival where we could meet & greet with film industry professionals … that could help me further in my filmmaking career.

9. You submitted to the festival via filmfreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Submitting to FilmFreeway is a very easy and fast process, that is good. But there are also a lot of not public listed festivals that are not transparent, non responding or even fake festivals that only try to make you submit and take your money but do not deliver anything at all. That is not good at all and I am quite surprised, and disappointed that FilmFreeway allows that kind of festivals to (mis)use their platform.

10. What is your favorite meal?
My favorite meal is moose stew, slowly cooked in cognac, haha. My uncle in Sweden makes this very traditional meal and I love that.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
My next project will be a series of short environmental documentaries in Scandinavia and Iceland. And in addition to that, for 2024 I am planning to make my first feature film. But too early to tell you more about that, so stay tuned