14/05/2024 - The Norwegian professional zooms in on her work as a producer and the new projects she is working on, including Viktor Kossakovsky’s latest effort

We caught up with Anita Rehoff Larsen, producer at Oslo-based outfit Sant & Usant. This year, Rehoff Larsen has been picked as one of the participants in European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move initiative. During our interview, the Norwegian professional spoke about how she kicked off her career in the film industry, the challenges of doing her job and the rich slate of new projects she is currently working on.

Cineuropa: What pushed you to enter this industry?
Anita Rehoff Larsen: I have always been very interested in films and everything going on behind the camera. Originally, I wanted to become a director, and I did direct some documentaries before taking on my first film as a producer. I met so many talented directors and felt that I could do a better job by helping the directors get their films made. I really enjoy the process from taking what may seem like an impossible idea to enabling the film to find its audience.

What is the most challenging aspect of a producer’s job?
In a small company like ours, it is a challenge to handle all of the aspects of the company and [manage] productions, trying to strike a balance and have enough time to [dedicate to] all the films, directors and teams.

And which is the most rewarding?
Seeing how a film can prompt change when it meets the audience and after it goes through all the challenges involved – such as [being born of] a small idea, and later going through development, financing, production and post-production.

How would you assess the current state of Norway’s film scene?
Even though we are a small country, Norwegian films are in a very good place – especially documentaries, which have also been my focus for years. This year, Norwegian films won four awards at Sundance, and three of them went to two documentaries. We have also had great audiences for these in theatres. The paradox, though, is that the Norwegian Film Institute has cut the funding for documentaries, theatrical distributors are committing later and later on in the process, and TV [channels] are investing less and less. I am worried for the future of films, and there is a need to find new ways of financing creative and artistic movies.

How do you think being one of the Producers on the Move will benefit your career?
I’m looking forward to getting to know new colleagues from the industry whom I did not know from before, and to meeting new potential distributor partners. We know that our films’ success also depends on the whole team behind them, so having the opportunity to develop new relationships with producers across Europe for long-term partnerships is something I’m looking forward to. I’m happy to learn from them and to bring home new films for possible co-production partnerships.

What are the next projects that you have in the pipeline?
I’m bringing several films to Cannes that are looking for partnerships, funds and distribution opportunities. Together with Louverture Films, we’re producing the new movie by Viktor Kossakovsky, the second title in the “empathy trilogy”, of which Gunda [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], premiered at the Berlinale in 2020, was the first [instalment]. I’m also bringing along a film called The Other Side of Silence, looking at the life of children born during war and as a result of wartime rapes. They are from five countries, and we focus on how to fight for change when you are growing up as a child born of the enemy.