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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], her body of work in fiction and documentary explores social and political issues, notably women's rights within the context of Norwegian society.[3][4]

Career

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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 work in film as script supervisor on the Nils R. Müller film Det Store Varpet in 1961.[2] Her first film as a director and screenwriter was the 1967 short film Growing Up, followed by the feature-length 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.[4] Breien subsequently wrote and directed Wives (Hustruer) (1975), which became a box-office success and received critical acclaim throughout Scandinavia.[3] 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]

Breien has directed all of her screenplays with the exception of 1994's Second Sight (Trollsyn), directed by Ola Solum.[4]

Style

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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).[3]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Anja Breien - Biography - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Anja Breien - English". www.nfi.no. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  3. ^ a b c "Museum of the Moving Image - Programs - Anja Breien: Games of Love and Loneliness". www.movingimage.us. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  4. ^ a b c Kristjansson-Nelson, Kyla (2015). "Norway". In Nelmes and Selbo (ed.). Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 518.
  5. ^ a b c Kindem, Gorham A. (1987). "Norway's New Generation of Women Directors: Anja Breien, Vibeke Lokkeberg, and Laila Mikkelsen". Journal of Film and Video. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)