Private Project

The Conversation

Benjamin has run away to a rural town in hope of getting away from the questions that torments him, his battle with his personal faith and doubt. Then all of sudden he starts meeting people that seemingly knows everything about him, even more than he knows himself.

  • Daniel Paida Larsen
    Director
  • Daniel Paida Larsen
    Writer
  • BOM/Daniel Paida Larsen
    Producer
  • Rune Hagerup
    Producer
  • Marius Soma
    Producer
  • Thomas Ottersen
    Key Cast
  • Ida Ingels
    Key Cast
  • Eirik Willyson
    Key Cast
  • Ida Ingels
    Key Cast
  • Lars Reynert Olsen
    Key Cast
  • Runar Sørheim
    Director of photography
  • Mathias Hamre Askeland
    Edit
  • Kristin Blystad-Collins
    Costumes
  • Ragnhild Juliane Sletta
    Scenography
  • Knut Sævik
    Music
  • Ruben Åeng
    Sound
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Samtalen
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Norway
  • Country of Filming:
    Norway
  • Language:
    Norwegian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Elba Film Festival
    Elba
    Italy
    September 19, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Filmfest Bremen
    Bremen
    Germany
    April 14, 2021
    Official Selection
  • BLOW-UP · International Arthouse Filmfest Chicago
    Chicago
    United States
    October 1, 2019
    Official Selection
  • Caminho Festival do Cinema Portugues
    Coimbra
    Portugal
    December 9, 2021
    Official Selection
  • AARETALER KURZFILMTAGE
    Bern
    Switzerland
    November 13, 2020
    Official Selection
  • International Film Festival of Wales

    United Kingdom
    December 21, 2021
    Official Selection
  • 11th SKEPTO INT'L FILM FESTIVAL
    Cagliari
    Italy
    April 1, 2020
    Official Selection
  • 5th INT'L ALEXANDRIA SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
    Alexandria
    Greece
    June 26, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Annual Aarhus Film Festival
    Aarhus
    Denmark
    October 3, 2019
    Winner: Best Cinematography
  • Cannes Film Awards
    Cannes
    France
    July 15, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Pollino International Film Fest
    Castrovillari
    Italy
    March 3, 2021
    Best Screenplay & Best original score
  • Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest
    Bucharest
    Romania
    January 31, 2021
    Winnner Best Edit & Best Original Score. Nominee Beste Actor (Thomas Ottersen) & Best Cinematography
  • Paleochora Lost World Film Festival
    Paleochora
    Greece
    October 3, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Reel deal film festival
    New Smyrna Beach
    United States
    September 9, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Rome Independent Prisma Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    January 5, 2021
    Semi Finalist
  • San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    October 5, 2021
    Winner - Excellent short fillm
  • FilmFest
    Porsgrunn
    Norway
    October 5, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Couch Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    July 1, 2020
    Semi Finalist
Distribution Information
  • Aug & Ohr
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Daniel Paida Larsen

Daniel Paida Larsen is a director and still-photographer born in 1984, currently living in Oslo and Milano. He studied fine arts and film at the university UDK in Berlin and the Valand academy in Gothenburg. Daniel works with both with fiction and documentary with a strong visual focus, inspired by his background as a photographer. Central to his work is the inherit spirituality in both man and nature.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Conversation is based on an image of a man showering and the idea of having a conversation with god. Now as portraying god as an old man with a long white beard didn't appeal to me I started playing with the idea that he could appear in anyone and anywhere. So The Conversation is an inner conversation, but it takes place on an outer level, and god is all kind of different characters and he's free of any kind of religion or institutions. As I lived in Milan when I started working on the project, Italian cinema has had a big influence on me and on this film.

I have drawn inspiration from films like Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Eclisse and Luca Guadagnino's I am love, Italian fashion and the hard light and contrast the Italian summer offers. As I'm also working as a photographer still images is important to me. So when we were looking for a way to create a spiritual atmosphere I wanted to recreate that feeling a still image can give you, a feeling of another dimension that you can see and sense but not entirely grasp.