Extremists on film: Propaganda or information?

March 13 2018

Fritt Ord, Norwegian Film Directors and HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival 2018 invite the public to a debate on extremists in film on Tuesday, 13 March, from 5 to 7.30 p.m. at the House of Literature.

There is a great deal of talk about extremism – also in documentary films. Both at the cinema and on TV, Norwegian film-makers take us into communities with extreme attitudes and ideologies. What is it that attracts directors to these topics, and what do they achieve by making films that follow extremists closely? Do they become spokespersons for extreme attitudes or contribute to understanding and enlightenment?

Programme

The directors
The panel of directors will discuss how they work and how they deal with extremism in their films. What ethical, security-related and practical challenges have they encountered in the process?

Adel Khan Farooq (The Norwegian Islamist)
Henrik Evertsson (The Race Warriors)
Pål Salahdin Refsdal (Dugma – The Button)

The producers
The panel of producers will discuss what kind of assessments they have made as the production has progressed. How does the producer-director relationship work in the face of such volatile topics and groups? What concerns have they had to take into consideration in the role of lead producer, and what kind of thoughts have they had about reactions from audiences, distributors and broadcasters?

Christian Falch (Golden Dawn Girls (Cradle of Hate))
Jonathan Borge Lie (The Norwegian Islamist)
Eirin Gjørv (Exit).

Moderator: Erik Aasheim

Tickets are available for purchase here
Link to the Facebook event

News

Eirin Larsen and Hadia Tajik join the Fritt Ord Board

August 5 2025

Eirin Larsen (36) and Hadia Tajik (42) bring valuable experience from journalism, technology, politics and jurisprudence to the Fritt Ord Board.

Making the film «Farouk» – on the geologist that secured Norway its oil

July 1 2025

Geologist Farouk Al-Kasim joined the the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in 1968, shaping Norwegian petroleum resource management for decades afterwards. Now, documentary film director Halkawt Mustafa and producer Janne Hjeltnes are making a film about Al-Kasim’s life and reflections.
“Farouk tells me something in this film that he has not talked about before, because he has always told the version he feels Norway wanted to hear,” recounts Mustafa, who has Iraqi roots himself.

Read the interview with the director and see the list of grants awarded by Fritt Ord in June 2025.

Bård Vegar Solhjell new chair of the Fritt Ord Board

July 1 2025

Bård Vegar Solhjell (53) has taken over as the new chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation Board.

Cultural newspaper TBATBA.no and new journalism grants – June 2025

June 19 2025

– Cultural journalism is under pressure. Part of the problem is media outlets failing to cover culture in formats and ways that appeal to people under 30, says Ida Madsen Hestman, editor, freelance critic, and founder of TBATBA.no. Last year, she started the kind of publication she herself would want to read.

The magazine TBA is among those awarded funding in June 2025. See the full list of grants in Norsk Journalistikk.