Céline Roustan

When Semira, a young upcoming director, is given the opportunity to direct a play at the National Theater, she begins to wonder if this could be the big break she’s been hoping for, or is it just too good to be true. With Regissøren (The Director), writer/director duo Ingrid Liavaag and Linda Gathu craft a clever satire of the current cultural industry where inclusivity is (sometimes) more performative than genuine. 

With the protagonist of their short a black woman in the arts, it’s easy to imagine that the filmmakers, unfortunately, did not have to use a lot of imagination to come up with the idea at the core of the film. Exploring issues of gender, race and power dynamics in the arts world may not initially seem like the most original topics, but in The Director the duo tackle it with a sharp, but not over the top, dark humor, making the story simultaneously enjoyable and a conversation starter, as it questions our principles. 

The Director is supposed to be satirical, and the way the white guys are portrayed definitely confirms that, however, there is an undeniable element of truth that is conveyed authentically throughout the film, making it bittersweet. I especially enjoyed the ridiculous conversation over the word “interesting”, which seemed pointless, yet accurate. Even the narrator contributes to the specific brand of humor they’ve crafted, giving the narrative an almost self-aware cautionary tale tone. For a lot of the dialogue, Liavaag and Gathu made it a collaborative process with the actors, prioritizing improvisation to allow the actors to bring their own experience to the creation of the lines.

“we try to address the visible and invisible power structures that surround us both in the cultural industry and elsewhere in life” – Gathu & Liavaag on the aims of their film

The racism and misogyny are woven through the narrative in subtle enough ways that it prevents the film from being farcical and allows the audience to grasp the complex situation Semira finds herself in. As viewers, we’re guided by the narrator, who gives a broader context to her life and struggles as an artist, but the direction the narrative takes is actually quite realistic and quickly reminds us that nothing comes without strings attached. The titular director, Semira, manages to keep surprising us, right up to the last second, where we’re presented with a metaphorical ending to her journey, concluding her tale on an empowering note. 

We are excited to host the online premiere of The Director, following a festival run which included a selection at the 45th Norwegian Short Film Festival, where it won the Norwegian Film Critics’ Award. Following the success of their short, Liavaag is currently working on a her first feature film, Nor, which will follow a freshly graduated medical student who falls in love with a woman for the first time and how she becomes a parental figure in the life of her partner’s child. While Gathu is working on theater production Sugar, which delves into Norwegian colonial history and Afro-diaspora with the parallel stories of a young, black man who arrives in Norway at the end of the 17th century and a young artist attempting to navigate the challenges she faces in modern times.