The greatest advantage of festivals organized in smaller places is that they receive accentuated attention, since in a small town like OS, Norway gala premiers, thematic screenings and other film related events are not as frequent as in big cities, where people often get tired of or, confused by the variety of programmes. That is the reason why the community of OS does whatever it takes so that their hometown is not mentioned as yet another ?boring small town’ but as a ?tiny cultural island’. The International Sculpture Symposium has been organized here for several years and it is visited by artists from all over the world, who come here to create something for the locals out of their material of choice. The town’s inhabitants cannot only sneak a peek into the creative process but are also welcome to participate in other related programmes and a solemn final exhibiton. There is also a recently created Jazz and Blues Festival here, through which the organizers try to bring a taste of New Orleans into OS. One of the most important events, at least for the young ones, is unquestionably the WT International Film Festival, which is organized by a handful of enthusiastic movie buffs. It has only been held in the last eight years but it’s becoming a more and more significant event. It is not only the local community who visit the screenings but there are several serious supporters and sponsors throughout Norway of this extraordinary initiative. All this may be the result of the organizers’ serious efforts to introduce new colours into the life of the otherwise quiet little town and bring some glamour and warmth into the rainy November nights.

WT is not unique in Norway because of its large stretch of red carpet, the big spotlights, the elegant parties or the numerous bottles of champagne which can be consumed during screenings but also because all this is entirely for free. The primary aim of the organizers is to appeal to many, since they know well that for a new festival the main priority is to captivate the audience first. That is, of course, because it is easier to find sponsors for an event which attracts a lot of people. In order to attract the widest possible range of viewers there are morning screenings for children, for example, with a lot of sweets and junk food to please them. The festival also provides opportunity for the works of local filmmakers to get exposure, as well as for vintage films and documentaries on the history of the region, which always gets considerable attention from the local festival-goers every year. ?So far, our aim has been to make locals aware of the festival and show people that we can bring Hollywood glitz and glamour into OS. In the future, we would like to keep our free programmes because, in our opinion, that is what makes WT unique. On the other hand, we are also striving to become an internationally recognized festival. That is why we are working hard on trying to bring more ?big’ movies and, hopefully, some celebrities here in the future. We would like to become a festival with a strong competition programme, attractive prizes and a jury compiled of experts from all over the world. Not too many Norwegian festivals can boast with having famous filmmakers visiting them and that is what we would like to change by all means.’, says Frode Sirevĺg, Artistic Director of the festival. It may sound like an ambitious statement, but seeing how fast the festival is growing and the increasing support and media coverage, it might really turn out to be something big.

This year, their first big step to achieve their goals was that they put more emphasis on feature films and full length documentaries although hundreds of short films had been submitted too.

The opening film of this year’s festival was a surprising and bold choice in a lot of people’s eyes. (Opening night movies are usually real crowd-pleasers definitely address a wide range of movie-goers). However, the programming team of WT chose a documentary about a rather controversial topic, which reflects how much our life is penetrated by current world political events. However, it is necessary to see things from different perspectives other than the news programmes, and we must try to get a fuller picture of what is going on in other parts of the world. This is especially important if the topic is war. The basis of the openening documentary, More than 1000 words by Solo Avital, is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This documentary essay follows a well-known photographer-correspondant to the war-zone, who is trying to represent through his camera what is going on there and how people live their lives in the shade of it. It also shows how this courageous or rather reckless man, Ziv Koren, risks his life day by day to be the first to capture the horrors of this long-term conflict and the victims who are only mentioned as figures in news programmes. The photographer sees his work as a mission reporting from the frontlines and showing people the reality of war, terror and suicide bombings. Ziv Koren’s pictures have been released all over the world and the readers of the best-known newspapers have witnessed these horrible events due to his work. In the film, we could hear Koren’s wife, a mother of two young children, speaking about how she copes with the fact that her husband is in the frontline day by day. She says that on the one hand, she understands and accepts that this is the profession, vocation and obsession of her beloved one, but on the other hand, she lives in constant fear of whether his husband will return unharmed or not. Even though the film tries to remain objective, the filmmaker’s deep admiration for this photographer is undeniable. As regards the objectivity of the events, well, we can definitely see things from an Israeli perspective, not judging the other side openly, but perspective itself says a lot. By the way, the intention of this dynamically structured and all the way tense movie is not so much to reveal details of the conflict, but rather to introduce this extraordinary person, who is not only a great photographer but also an extremely determined and brave man, who does his best to show the events in an objective and even-handed way. Although, as regards the narrative, the movie is by far not coherent, all in all, thanks to its subject, it is an interesting piece of work.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not the only source for documentary filmmakers with political interests. There are plenty of films about the American occupation of Iraq as well as about the desperate conditions of African countries. Arturo Cisneros’ Bagdad Rap is a good example for the former. This movie documents the events from the moment the American troops started their military operations in Iraq. The main focus is on the situation of the civilian population, poverty, lives threats and the immediate and long-term consequences of bombings. To say that this film is shocking would definitely be an understatement, since – just like Ziv Koren’s pictures – it represents with cruel and revealing honesty, the horrors of this highly controversial war, which, apart from the immediate effects, have several long-term consequences in the region. As I have already mentioned, it is not an optimistic, or uplifting programming selection but it may reflect what is going on around us quite appropriately. The filmmakers wish to look behind, the often distant, factual style of news programmes and show things directly, confronting the viewers with the inconvenient truth by showing shocking images and interviewing the people concerned, especially the civilians who are innocent victims of the situation.

The full-length feature film category was also dominated by ?tough movies’. The first of all there was a British gangster movie, which was certainly not for the faint-hearted. James Marquand’s directorial debut, Dead Man’s Cards, uses the traditional elements of the genre with a strong socio-realistic background, which is a typical characteristic feature of British gangster movies, still it does not fall into the trap of lining up all the overused clichés. Although the story has a cliché like beginning about a boxer who is forced to retire and find a ?civil’ job, and he then becomes a nightclub bouncer and makes new friends and sworn enemies at once. He soon finds himself surrounded by local thugs, deviant teenagers and petty drugdealers, and he has to adapt quickly because – just like in the boxing ring – you are lost, if you are not the one to make the first punch. The real strength of Dead Man’s Cards is not only the atmosphere, which the director builds up so well, but also the way this film is able to convey human values even in this tough underworld life. (This is most apparent in the friendship of the boxer and an older bouncer.) It is also interesting to see a devastated and down-on-his-luck man, whose masculine pride is seriously challenged by his inability to father a child, who, by the end of the day, becomes a ?man in full’ again and wins his rather ragged self-esteem back. One of the most memorable moments of the film is when we see the old bartender wearing a cowboy outfit, listening to country music through headphones with a blissful smile on his face, while there is a techno party thumping on around him. It is a nice allusion to the conflicting values represented in the film. Dead Man’s Cards is a remarkable representation of how traditional moral values collide with the cruelties of our times, and how an individual fights for his own values and dignity while trying to survive the brutality of life in the streets.

One of last year’s Sundance favourites was a low budget and minimalist movie called Special by Jeremy Passmore and Hal Haberman. There is no child who has not imagined themselves as superheroes, wanting to capture the other’s attention by exhibiting superpowers. A medical experiment brings rather strange and unexpected twists and turns into the, otherwise boring, life of traffic warden, Les Franken (Michael Rapaport): as the ?side effects’ of the pills he is subscribed to take as part of an experiment, he begins to discover superpowers in himself. What is more, he is fully convinced all this is for one reason, i.e. to do good to mankind, just like other superheroes. Of course, first you have to start small and pay careful attention to details because it is not enough to possess superpowers, you also have to have ?the look’. So Les makes himself a costume and in full confidence of his newly acquired abilities he devotes his life to saving others, though very few people actually appreciate his attempts. In the news he is referred to as a dangerous madman, and even his friends stand in disbelief, sometimes frightened other times laughing their heads off at his deeds. However, Les sticks to his ?mission’ and, as the film goes on, some events make the viewers wonder if it is not only his imagination playing tricks on him but he really is a victim some mad scientists’ manipulation . The special thing about Special is that the moment the audience would be ready to accept something as a fact, there is an event which throws them into doubt. Even in the very end, we do not get any closer to the ?truth’ and the confusion only grows in us. Still, the entertainment is guaranteed by Rapaport’s character.

The most eagerly awaited event of the OS Film Festival is, undoubtedly, the Awards’ Ceremony, hosted by possibly the funniest guy in Norway. The guests arrive in limousines and the party goes on till dawn. The awards are all works of famous sculptors and not only directors and films are honored, but, every year, the Grand Prize goes to a person who has done a lot for the Norwegian film industry or has helped to advance cinema-culture. This year the prize went to the Artistic Director of Bergen International Film Festival for heading the most significant film festival in Norway. It is also a friendly gesture to show that the people behind WT-International Film Festival do not perceive Bergen as a rival, much rather as an example to follow, which keeps inspiring them.