Director Hallvar Witzø. Photo: Paradox
Witzø emphasizes that the nomination is important not only to the filmmaker himself but also for the entire film industry in Norway: “2011 was definitely a good year for Norwegian film and it will be an honor to represent our film industry at the upcoming Academy Awards. Not only did we produce a high number of quality movies, but we saw a rise in people wanting to see them; Norwegians came to the movie theaters to see Norwegian films.”
Door opener
Witzø’s movie was a graduation project at Lillehammer University College’s Film School in 2010. And with one Student Academy Award and a nomination for an Academy Award, Witzø is hoping that this will open doors in the future. “I am of course hoping that it will make it easier to showcase my ideas for new movies. But in the end, and even though ‘Tuba Atlantic’ is incredibly important to me and many others, this nomination is first and foremost making me proud of being Norwegian,” he says.