Erik Poppe's Quisling to get Toronto Special Presentation
Quisling – The Final Days marks the first occasion that Erik Poppe is in Toronto with a film featuring in TIFF’s Special Presentation program.
It's a gripping drama delves into the life of Vidkun Quisling, the infamous Norwegian politician whose name became synonymous with treachery during World War II*.
In Quisling – The Final Days, we follow Vidkun Quisling, the notorious traitor awaiting trial in a dark cell, grappling with his actions and the horrors of Nazi ideology. His only visitor is Peder Olsen, a war-scarred priest tasked with guiding Quisling towards redemption. Can Olsen help this man, once close to Hitler, find peace? Is Quisling capable of remorse?
Based on extensive research and unique sources, the film explores this historical figure’s final days, offering a gripping psychological and claustrophobic battle about truth, lies, faith, and doubt.
But the story goes far beyond Quisling. World War II is finally over, and peace has returned, but so many ordinary people still have to come to peace with some of the actions or decisions they took and the consequences these had or lead to.
Gard B. Eidsvold stars as Vidkun Quisling. He is also expected to attend the film’s international premiere at TIFF. Peder Olsen is played by Anders Danielsen Lie (The Worst Person In The World, Utøya 22 July), while Lisa Carlehed (Maria Quisling), Lisa Loven (Heidi Olsen) and Arthur Hakalathi (Arvid) complete the main cast.
Erik Poppe (°1960) is one of Norway's most seasoned and awarded film directors. Originally a photographer, he has garnered significant acclaim for his feature films both among audiences and critics, nationally and internationally. He debuted as a film director with Schpaaa in 1998, and since then, he has received numerous international film awards. Poppe won the Amanda Award for Best Film with Hawaii, Oslo in 2004 and A Thousand Times Good Night in 2014. In 2016, he directed The King's Choice, which was shortlisted for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and selected for the Panorama at the Berlinale in 2017. The film won the Amanda Award for Best Film in 2017. Poppe was also awarded the Critics' Prize for The King's Choice in 2017, marking the fourth time he received this prize. The film Utøya: July 22 participated in the main competition in Berlin in 2018. His latest film, The Emigrants, premiered in August 2022.
Click meInternational sales: REinvent
*It was actually Winston Churchill who immortalized the term “quisling” in his 1941 speech, condemning collaborators with invading forces as “a vile race of Quislings.” He predicted the term would carry the scorn of mankind for centuries.
PRESSKIT_QUISLING_THE_FINAL_DAYS_EN-compressed.pdf
PDF 540 KB
Christian De Schutter