Swimming Lessons

We meet Saira and Aleena. Two immigrant girls who are sitting on the sideline during their class’s swimming lesson. Saira is infatuated with Geir, but her future is about to change forever.

  • Tommy Naess
    Director
    Brother, The Apartment, Communicate
  • Tommy Naess
    Writer
    Brother, The apartment, Communicate
  • Erlend Haarr Eriksson
    Producer
  • Yasmin Melody Moussavi
    Key Cast
  • Anna Pauline Sharma
    Key Cast
  • William Myrmellom
    Key Cast
  • Ghopi Prabaharan
    Key Cast
  • Bjørn Leirhol
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Svømmetimen
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 11, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    60,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Norway
  • Country of Filming:
    Norway
  • Language:
    Norwegian
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Palm Springs International Short Fest
    Palm Springs
    United States
    June 24, 2016
    World Premiere
  • Nordic Panorama
    Malmø
    Sweden
    September 19, 2016
    European Premiere
  • San Jose International Film Festival
    San Jose, Ca
    United States
    October 16, 2016
  • Julian Dubuque FF
    Dubuque
    United States
    May 21, 2017
  • Savannah FF
    Savannah
    United States
    October 25, 2016
  • Western Nordic IFF
    Aalesund
    Norway
  • Souq FF
    Milano
    Italy
  • Bergen IFF
    Bergen
    Norway
    September 29, 2016
Director Biography - Tommy Naess

Tommy Naess started out as a as a commercial still photographer in New York and Norway. He has had a long and successful career working on a wide range of projects. The transition into working with film as a media began by creating music videos for bands that he photographed and commercials that where filmed at the same time as an advertising campaign was photographed.
He has made music videos for such legendary black metal band’s as, Gorgoroth, Audery Horne and Sahg .

“With my films I want to tell stories of real people that we meet or pass on the street everyday.
Quite often, the ideas originate from stories I hear on the news or read in the newspaper. It’s my way of making a statement about the society we live in. I want the stories I tell to make people think, I want my films to matter.”

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I got the idea for Swimming Lesson after reading an article in a local newspaper about a Kurdish immigrant girl that had been killed by her father after dating a Norwegian boy. Right away I wanted to write a story on how these girls must feel. How it must feel to be Norwegian, Danish, French or simply European in everyday life but to also belong to the culture of the region or religion you parents belong to.

Not to be able to chose whom you marry or fall in love with I see is the case in many cultures. As arranged marriage it might be more dramatic and forceful in some cultures we will also find this in some cultures and religions here in the west.

In this film you meet two Norwegian immigrant girls and the cultural differences they meet in their everyday life by being Norwegian in a school situation and at the same time belonging to their parent’s culture.

To be able to choose whom you love is for me a human right witch I put as one of the highest values for a human being today. Love should be independent of politics and religion.
With this film I set out to make people think about how our values are different, how our cultures define who we are. I hope that people can look at this film and feel Saira’s situation.