BEING OLA.

Being Ola

A Documentary by Ragnhild Nost Bergem

and with Ola Henningsen

‘Being Ola’ is a pure gem, a movie that will gather tears in your soul and a beautiful smile on your face. Ragnhild Bergem teamed up with Ola Henningsen to bring forward a beautiful tale about a young man with some challenging developmental disability but who finds the courage to talk about it and to share his life in this unique village of Vidarasen in Norrway. This is a unique documentary about the force it takes to be different and to face oneself with this difference. Ragnhild seizes the moments of Ola’s existence with beauty, emotion and love. Not one single image is not expressing the joy and the toughness of ‘Being Ola’. Praise to this beautiful movie we invite you to watch when it’s available near you. 

Q: How did this film come to be and what inspired you?

Ragnhild: Eleven years ago, I visited, Vidarasen, where Ola lives. I was a film student at that time, and I made a shot documentary from this village. I didn’t know that type of place existed in Norway. I was fascinated by this place and its people when I went there. There are 150 people living there, with and without disabilities. I thought this was important to show this is also a way of living. But I went back two years later as I wanted to make something more than the short, I had made. I had filmed Ola in the short, so I decided to film again with Ola when I went back. It took me 8 years but at the end the Documentary was all about Ola. I didn’t know when I started it was going to be on Ola. I think it’s because the way he lives his life and how brave he is.  He is a wise guy reflecting on life.

Q: What challenges did you face?

Ragnhild:  The main one was funding which is a classic one. This is why it took me 8 years from start to finish. And of course, it was also to see what is happening to Ola over the years. When you film so many years you have so many hours of footage, so the difficulty is also about making sense of all of this material. Editing was a big challenge. At the beginning I film several other people, but I realized I  was going to focus on Ola, so I was able to cut down to lots of footage I had filmed about other people. I wanted to make sure the whole story of Ola was told, including vulnerable moments of his life. 

Q: Ola, how was the experience for you to be part of this film?

Ola: In the beginning, I was not really understanding what this film was about. At first It felt II was just a character in a movie but then I felt, at one point, I was telling my story as me.  And not as another character. Now I owe that story as me. It was a very nice experience. 

Q: What is the movie truly about or you? What does it say? Any messages?

Ola: The message, I think, is about true friendship. It’s also about “don’t let yourself down even so it goes to crap sometimes”. It’s about learning how it went wrong and go from there. Don’t pass the blame on someone else. 

Ragnhild: For me it was to show that people with or without disability are more alike than what we think. We have the same challenges, and we think about the same problems. I’m a very good friend with Ola and we are the same age. We have the same questions about life. We all need help about our lives, and we need people around us to support us. That’s how it is for all of us. This film highlights that we need to be there for each other. 

Q: How important is to screen in a film festival like Oska Bright? 

Ragnhild: Oska Bright is at the end of this month of March. And we are going there, at this festival in England. After touring many festivals in Norway, it will be great to show the film somewhere else and meet other people. 

Ola: I remember being in a newspaper with a big picture of me and a small one of Tom Cruise. It’s a highlight of this experience being part of this film. 

Q: What is the takeaway with this film and hope people get?

Ola: I hope people who have a similar story will be able to do so without sugarcoating it. I think it shows we need to listen to each other stories. Maybe there wouldn’t be any war if people would listen to each other stories. 

Ragnhild: It’s really a film about helping each other out and being a good person. I hope people feel some kind of love when they watch our movie. And, also, that diversity is important to have in the media and in the industry. 

By Emmanuel ITIER.