2023 FHFF Director Series "Best of the Fest"

The Painter and the Thief

Expired December 14, 2020 7:45 AM
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Young Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova relocates from Berlin to Oslo to launch her career as a painter. In April of 2015, her two most valuable, large-format paintings are stolen - with care - in broad daylight from the windowfronts of Galleri Nobel in Oslo's city center.


Desperate for answers about the theft of her paintings, Barbora is presented with an unusual opportunity to reach out to one of the men involved in the heist - Norwegian career criminal, Karl-'Bertil' Nordland.


Filmmaker Benjamin Ree begins to document the story after Barbora unbelievably invites her thief to sit for a portrait, capturing the unlikely relationship that ensues as the equally damaged duo find common ground and form an inseparable bond through their mutual affinity for art.

  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    102 minutes
  • Language
    English, Norwegian
  • Country
    Norway
  • Premiere
    Sundance 2020
  • Director
    Benjamin Ree
  • Producer
    Ingvil Giske
  • Executive Producer
    Morgan Neville
  • Cast
    Barbora Kysilkova (The Painter), Karl-Bertil Nordland (The Thief)
  • Cinematographer
    Benjamin Ree, Kristoffer Kumar
  • Editor
    Robert Stengård
  • Composer
    Uno Helmersson
  • Sound Design
    Svenn Jakobsen