Artistic Research Week: Norwegian Dream

The NTNU Film Prize is awarded in collaboration between NTNU and Kosmorama and honors individuals who promote film production in Trøndelag and contribute to highlighting and developing the film community in Trondheim and Trøndelag. On Tuesday, September 22 and Friday, September 25, we will highlight four previous award winners and their film work: Mari Nilsen Neira (2025), Leiv Igor Devold (2023), Bente Maalen (2021), and the first recipient of the NTNU Film Prize, Håvard Bustnes (2016).

The award winners will be present at the screenings and give a brief introduction to their work on the films.

The screenings are free and open to everyone.

NTNU Artistic Research Week is an initiative that aims, among other things, to showcase art and artistic research at NTNU and strengthen collaboration between NTNU and the city’s art institutions.

HEIM (2025), produced by Bente Maalen, recipient of the NTNU Film Prize 2021

Bente will give a brief introduction to the making of the film before the screening.

HEIM is a quirky and beautifully rough-around-the-edges romantic comedy about friendship, grief, and love. When Anni (39) loses her job and has to move back into her childhood bedroom at her mother’s house in her hometown, her life is turned upside down. This is in no way part of Anni’s carefully planned career and personal life. Suddenly, she is single, broke, and unemployed. After spending her entire adult life running from her past, she is forced over the course of one summer to confront what she has always tried to escape. Can she deal with old friends, ex-lovers, and ghosts from her youth, or would it be easier to run away from it all and return to the capital? What initially appears to be a disaster turns out to be a new opportunity – but only after she confronts her past.

HEIM is directed by Julie Skaufel and produced by Bente Maalen/Blaane Film. The cast includes Hanne Skille Reitan, Hermann Sabado, Øyvind Brandtzæg, Hildegunn Eggen, Evy Kasseth Røsten, and Leo Ajkic.

Bente Maalen is a film producer and founder of the production company Blaane Film AS. She has a background with, among others, Kosmorama and Ramaskrik and has worked on a wide range of Norwegian film and TV productions. When she received the NTNU Film Prize in 2021, the jury highlighted her role as a bridge-builder and unifying force in the Trøndelag film community, her extensive network, and her ability to create a sense of security and bring out the best in those around her.

She founded Blaane Film in 2018 and had already produced several short films through the company by that time.