Join Katherine S. as she interviews the cast of New Kind of Wilderness
4There is a persistent pensive tone in the ode to the virtues of pastoral life in A New Kind of Wilderness, a Norwegian documentary directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, which received its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The film opens on a buoyant yet deliberate note about the idyllic life for a couple and their four children who thrive on a small farm nestled in a Norwegian forest, away from the hectic modern and urban landscape. But, when the mother dies from cervical cancer, the loss compels the surviving members to adapt to a different living environment, as they realize the difficulties of keeping the hub of home life that Maria had cultivated.
Jacobsen is eminently respectful of the Paynes’ family focus on raising their four children to be self-sufficient and celebrating the gifts of nature and animals, with their education being conducted at home. Every voiceover in the film comes from a family member.
The genesis for A New Kind of Wilderness came more than a decade ago, when the director discovered a blog (WildandFree.no) by Maria, the mother. Maria, who is Norwegian, and Nik, who comes from England, chronicled many details of their unique pastoral life, while also outlining the challenges involved in homeschooling, self-sufficient agriculture and ensuring the children thrive in their environment.
Thus, the documentary project began and the film’s opening segment captures the liberating sense of their chosen lifestyle. The four children (Ulv, Falk, Freja, and Ronja) truly feel comfortable in their natural setting. But, those few scenes made it clear that a lot of hard work comes with it, a clear counterpoint to the acknowledgment how so many artificial conveniences make modern society life possible.
The documentary project was put on hold for various reasons but the most consequential one came after Jacobsen read a blog post that Maria had late-stage cancer. In 2019, when the director returned to the family, the members were grieving the loss of their mother. Premiered at 2024 Sundance Film Festival. https://youtu.be/HrR8EVCcT8Y
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