email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

Ingunn Knudsen • Producer

"Old age is a golden age"

by 

- Cineuropa interviewed Ingunn Knudsen, producer of the documentary The Optimists

Ingunn Knudsen • Producer

The Optimists [+see also:
trailer
interview: Ingunn Knudsen
film profile
]
is the title of a documentary recently presented as the closing film of the Haugesund Festival. Gunhild Westhagen Magnor is the director of the film produced by Skofteland Film, a production company created in 2006. We have met Ingunn Knudsen, one of its producers.

Cineuropa: Who are The Optimists?
Ingunn Knudsen
: The Optimists are a volleyball club in Hamar, a small Norwegian town north of Oslo, whose members are young women aged 66 to 98 years old, who have been training regularly for forty years. Since they never played a game, one day, they decide to measure up to a team of valiant senor Swedish players, only men, the Kruttgubbarna. The film follows the lives of the Optimists for a year, from the intensive preparation to the day of the big game, which will take place in Sollentuna, near Stockholm.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

How did this film come about?
Gunhild had the idea when she saw the players practicing, including her mother. She was very impressed, fascinated even by their energy and joie de vivre. There are still too many people who are afraid of getting old, starting with her... and me. With this film, we wanted to show that old age is a golden age where laughter, friendship, challenges, fantasy and also personal enrichment still have a place. For having worked with her previously, we knew that Gunhild, who is also a cinematographer, knows how to tell a story, and graft subsidiary stories to it. She manages to film her actors up close, in a relaxed atmosphere. For The Optimists she straightaway wanted a feature film and big theatres to reach a wider audience, without however giving up on her artistic demands. For example, the choice of the music was the result of a long reflexion.

What music did she choose?
Gunhild wanted to have lively and happy Mexican music to play with contrasts, because humour is important in the film. Furthermore, Stefan Nilsson, a famous Swedish composer who made the music for several films by Bille August, also participated in The Optimists by creating warm musical themes that go well, in my opinion, with the landscape of the Norwegian Hedmark in the film.

Was funding this film easy?
Oh no, it is often very difficult for documentaries. I needed a lot of time and procedures to find the necessary funding. Sometimes the old age of the participants generated scepticism, remarks such as: Will they last until the end of the filming? But we chose to take risks, even if it meant going into debt, and thanks to the participation of about 15 partners, but also the backing of the Norwegian Cinema Institute and councillor Stig Andersen, we were able to finish our project in time. I would also like to mention our Swedish coproducer, Stina Gardell from Mantaray Film.

The Optimists don’t have a trainer?
Not really. But volley specialists, Nila Håkedal and Jon Grydeland, advised them. We should also mention the support given to the film’s team by the Norwegian Volleyball Federation, and the active participation of several players in the film’s promotion: press conferences, interviews, photos, nothing scares them. The filming, the cameras? They hardly noticed them. What surprises them though is the curiosity they inspire everywhere.

A joyful event took place in Hamar a few days ago.
Yes, we organized it with the retirees’ association. Our Health Minister came to play volleyball with our champions, and he received a team jersey specially knitted for him, with his name and age on the back. This official support is precious during the release.

The release of The Optimists in Norwegian theatres?
On September 27, in about a hundred theatres, because the response to the film in Haugesund was fantastic. A true frenzy! It was like being in a stadium, with whistling and clapping, even during the screening. One of the Festival’s directors tlod me he never saw anything like it. The Optimists won a Prize in Haugesund, that of good humour, awarded by theatre operators, a kind of Sunshine Prize.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

See also

Privacy Policy