1906/1908:
The first film produced in Norway has been lost and source material is ambiguous. Produced by Hugo Hermansen in 1906 or 1908, it was entitled "Dangers of a Fisherman's Life" ("Fiskerlivets farer") or "A Drama at Sea" ("Et drama paa havet").
1931: Norway's first movie with sound, "The Big Christening," is released, written by Tancred Ibsen, grandson of authors Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The 30s were a time of growth and heightened popularity for the film industry.
1951: The documentary "Kon-Tiki" by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl wins an Oscar for documentary feature at the 24th Academy Awards. It is the only feature film in Norwegian history to win an Academy award.
1957: Film director Arne Skouen's "Nine Lives" is released. The movie is nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Palm. In 1991 Norwegian television audiences vote the movie the best Norwegian feature film ever made.
1949: Edith Carlmar, Norway's first female director, debutes with the film "Death is a Caress", a film considered to be Norway's first film noir." She made 10 feature films between 1949 and 1959.
1959: Liv Ullmann is cast in her first starring role in Edith Carlmar’s "The Wayward Girl" ("Ung flukt"). Carlmar’s critically acclaimed films often sparked public debate, and are today considered classics.
1965: "The Heroes of Telemark" starring Kirk Douglas is based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage at Rjukan, Norway, which denied the Germans the ability to develop a nuclear bomb during World War II.
1975: The most widely seen Norwegian film of all time, "Pinchcliffe Grand Prix" ("Flåklypa Grand Prix"), is released. The stop motion animated feature directed by Ivo Caprino has sold 5.5 million tickets since its release.
1985: The Norwegian equivalent of the Academy Awards, the Amanda award, is created. The award is presented during the annual Norwegian Film Festival in Haugesund.
1987: "The Pathfinder" ("Veiviseren") by Nils Gaup is nominated for an Oscar in the best foreign film category. He has made several films with and about indigenous Sami, including “The Kautokeino Rebellion,” the second most seen Norwegian film in 2008.
1997: "The Other Side of Sunday" ("Søndagsengler") by Berit Nesheim is nominated for an Oscar in the best foreign film category, and subsequently released in movie theaters in the United States.
2002: Director Petter Næss's "Elling" is nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. The film is based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen's novel "Blood brothers" from 1996, one of four books in a series about a neurotic Elling.
2005: Actor/director/writer Aksel Hennie is awarded the Silver Tower at the 2005 Palic International Film Festival in Yugoslavia for an "extraordinary combination of action, writing, and directing skills" in the feature film "UNO."
2006: The Norwegian/Canadian animated short film "The Danish Poet," directed by Norwegian Torill Kove, and narrated by Liv Ullmann, wins an Oscar in the animated short film category – the second Norwegian film to receive an Academy award.
2008: Director Erik Poppe’s “Troubled Water” (“De Usynlige”) wins both the Golden Starfish for best narrative feature and the audience award at the 16th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival.
2008: Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s biographic World War II drama “Max Manus” is released. It’s the most expensive film ever made in Norway, and the second most seen Norwegian film ever.