Aspects

Aspects follows Rosa and Xenia, who share a dysfunctional relationship. As Rosa’s insecurities cause her to fail to listen to her inner voice, she puts Xenia above herself. Feeling superior, Xenia exploits the situation, continuously feeding the dysfunction between them.

It was originally produced and presented as the opening to Øyunn’s full-length work Aspects, a performative concert combining music and film. Aspects was performed live in its entirety at Ultima Festival in 2022.

  • Caroline Johansen
    Director
  • Cassandra Niki
    Director
  • Karoline Finnema
    DOP
  • Siv Øyunn Kjenstad
    Producer
  • Thorbjørn Tønder Hansen
    Producer
  • Øyunn
    Key Cast
    "Rosa"
  • Gine Cornelia Pedersen
    Key Cast
    "Xenia"
  • Mathias Dehn Middelhart
    Sound design
  • Nicholas Bjørneboe
    Editor
  • Øyunn
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    9,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Norway
  • Country of Filming:
    Norway
  • Language:
    Norwegian
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Ultima Festival
    Oslo
    Norway
    September 21, 2022
    Norsk premiere
    Commission Work
Director Biography - Caroline Johansen, Cassandra Niki

Siv Øyunn Kjenstad, also known as Øyunn, is a versatile artist and drummer, who creates expressive and honest music, incorporating elements of drumming, synths, rap, and vocals. She has collaborated with a wide array of musicians and bands, including Efterklang and Bugge Wesseltoft. Further, she has worked both as an actor and composer in theatre, dance, and film. Aspects is her debut as a filmmaker.

Caroline Johansen is an improviser, actress and director from Alta, Finnmark. She started her improv career in Oslo in 2009 and still performs as a part of the ensemble at Det Andre Teatret. She also obtained a degree from Westerdals Film and TV (2013-16). Caroline has directed several successful comedy productions, including "Sølvrekka", "Hvite gutter", "BABLO", "Basic Bitch” and "KNEK".

Cassandra Niki, an Indonesian-American director, started her career as a writer and gained notoriety for her first book about youth culture in Jakarta. She then earned a degree in photography from San Francisco and worked as a photographer and art director for various agencies and tech companies. After working as a director's assistant for several years in Oslo, she signed with Fantefilm in 2021 to launch her own directing career.


Karoline Finnema is a freelance cinematographer specializing in documentary, music video, and live music projects. She holds an MFA in Visual Design from the Norwegian Film School, and a Bachelor's degree in Television and Multimedia Production from the University of Stavanger.

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Director Statement

The film portion of Aspects was created through the concept of "premise-driven filmmaking." During pre-production, we carefully crafted the character's premise, the story, the locations, colors, and visual style. Once on set, we relied on the predetermined premise but used improvisation and set each other loose to organically discover where the characters will take us. Our goal was to create a free and enjoyable environment for all of the artistic voices involved. Mirroring the music, vision, and message of Øyunn's work, we found ourselves also feeling a sense of unpredictability, lightness, and heaviness — intertwining between humor and pushing boundaries. Trusting each other throughout the entire process allowed us to align with the overall vision of the project from start to finish.