There are two Norwegian film documentary companies who have done great work in filming stories from WW2. The companies are Gammaglimt AS and Ekkofilms. Gammglimt produced a great film on Orkla Mines Raid in Norway, which was shown in the actual mine in 2011. Titled, Treason and Sabotage the story is a controversial one based on official cover-ups by the mine owners. ‘Treason and Sabotage’ is the first documentary movie to tell the story of the most important industrial sabotage in Norway during the Second World War. Their goal was to terminate the export of pyrites destined for the German war-industry. Some of the saboteurs did not survive to see results of their daring work whilst others were captured in the attempt.
See also: Link to You Tube video
Gammaglimt are also working on a second documentary titled, ‘Gulosten’ aka ‘The Yellow Cheese’. Please see: Yellow Cheese
30th April 2014: just received news from Christian Falch at Gammaglimt that Gulosten is now ‘in shoot’. Will update the site as soon as I have further news.
May 2014 – Gulosten update: Gammaglimt are now entering the final phase of shooting so it is close to being ‘in the can’. See their Facebook status for further info:
May 2015: Gulosten has now been broadcast in Norway and received superb feedback and reactions from viewers. Congratulations to Gammaglimt – looking forward to seeing it broadcast in the UK.
The second company is Ekkofilms, who have also specialised in documentary film making. The Holst Mystery, is regarded by many as very controversial but Ekkofilms have not shied away from their commitment. The result has seen new information being presented. To set the scene:- Just a dew days before the end of June 1945, Kai Holst, a resistance fighter, was found dead on a landing, shot in the head with his own weapon. Despite the mysterious circumstances the police quickly concluded it was suicide and the case was dropped. This film re-investigates the circumstances of June 1945 using secret documents, old witness statements and police reports, and in turn reconstructing Holst’s last day alive to uncover what really happened. The Holst Mystery was first shown in the UK on BBC1 Easter 2013.
See the following links for trailers:
Currently, Ekko are working on a second documentary about the German invasion during April 1940. It’s titled, ‘Alliert og Alene’ aka ‘Allied and Alone’ and is due for release soon. I will update as soon as I have news.
May 2015: ‘Alliert og Alene’ aka ‘Allied and Alone’ has now been broadcast in Norway and the feedback on social media has been excellent – congratulations to all at Ekko Films!
Another exciting film is currently in production and it also focuses on events in April 1940. It’s titled, ‘Three Days in April’ and is an epic war drama. Initial filming has already taken place at Oscarsborg Fort – guarding the narrows to Oslo – which was the scene of the sinking of the German cruiser, Blucher. The decision to fire on the cruisers, by the fort commandant, Colonel Birger Eriksen, gave the Norwegian Royal Family, the government valuable time to escape followed by the dramatic rescue of 50 toms of gold. The dramatic filming was watched over by Film Director, Erik Poppes. See: Three Days in April
April 2017: StorylineNOR are a new film production company in the north of Norway. The company is run By Trond Eliassen and Tom Vidar Karlsen. Recently, they made contact with me concerning their proposed tV series production of The Battle of Narvik. The series will look at all aspects of the battle from the Norwegian, British, Polish and French perspectives. They already have a writer onboard as well as various researchers.I look forward to assisting them with their research.
June 2017: Battle for Narvik film. I have now completed writing up four pieces on characters who were at the battle. These are now being looked at by the writer, who will then get back to me with questions on those characters and the roles they played in the battle. As I write this, StorylineNOR have recently returned from the Cannes Film Festival where their proposal generated a lot of interest from global players. Fingers crossed.
