28/03/2014 - In Håvard Bustnes’ new documentary, two American ladies simply want to know: “How do we get out of this economic mess?”

Two elderly American ladies, Shirley Morrison (91) and Hinda Kipnis (84), who play the leads in Norwegian director Håvard Bustnes’ documentary, Two Raging Grannies [+see also:
trailer
film profile], will on Saturday (29 March) open a Norwegian tour of 19 previews and audience discussions in Tromsø, to be concluded in Haugesund on 11 April.

A combination of curiosity and frustration has driven the two gutsy grandmothers to seek answers to the burning question on many people’s minds: “How do we get out of this economic mess?” They travel across the US to engage everyone, from recently homeless people to economics students, and from growth economists to Wall Street tycoons, armed with courage, humour, a long friendship and a zest for life. “I think it's important that we all begin to question the way we live and consume, and the consequences of this. My goal with the documentary is to get the audience to ask themselves the same questions as Shirley and Hinda,” Bustnes explained. 

Politicians and bank experts will participate in discussions with Shirley, Hinda and the audience. “The desire for material growth is strong in Norway at the same time, so you can see how distressing the increased use of resources has been to the environment over the last 20 years. This cannot go on forever. We need to focus on the qualitative growth of the community, which can improve people’s lives in other ways – for instance, education and care,” said Cultura Bank manager Lars Hektoen.

Bustnes, whose Big John (2008) won Best Nordic Documentary at Nordisk Panorama in Malmö and returned with a Crystal Heart Award from Indianapolis, wrote Two Raging Grannies with Lars K Andersen and produced it with Christian Falch for Faction Film. The title was launched at this year’s Göteborg International Film Festival.