Valley of Shadows
Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen
Between the sea and the mountains in a small village in Norway, Aslak lives with his mother Astrid. A tragic event occurs that Aslak can't quite understand and Astrid struggles to handle. Aslak's friend shows him a macabre scene: three half-eaten sheep killed in the forest on a night of the full moon. In a quest for answers, Aslak ventures into the menacing forest behind his house. Is what happens on his journey merely a boy's imagination or is it reality? Valley of Shadows is a film in the tradition of Scandinavian Gothic fables.
With : Adam Ekeli, Katherine Fagerland, John Olav Nilsen
scénario : Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen, Clément Tuffreau
image : Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen
son : Hugo Ekornes
montage : Mariusz Kus
musique : Zbigniew Preisner
scénario : Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen, Clément Tuffreau
image : Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen
son : Hugo Ekornes
montage : Mariusz Kus
musique : Zbigniew Preisner
Production : Alan R. Milligan
International sales: Pascale Ramonda, Celluloid Dreams
International sales: Pascale Ramonda, Celluloid Dreams
A journalism graduate, Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen studied directing at the Polish National Cinema School in Łódź. He writes and directs films, simple stories that he hopes will resonate universally. In 2010, he was selected for the Festival Premiers Plans in Angers with his graduation film Darek. He returned to Angers in 2013 with his first short Everything Will Be OK, where he won the Grand Jury Prize. In 2013 he took part in the Ateliers d'Angers where he developed his feature project, Valley of Shadows.
“I would describe Valley of shadows as a nightmarish version of the fairy tale Peter and the Wolf. I've always been attracted to stories with archetypal motifs and figures, and this particular fable resonates and has followed both Marius (director of photography) and I since our childhood. Mythologies and adventures are often coming-of-age tales that are deeply solemn with underlying morals. I am more interested in authors like Mircea Eliade, Jung, Campbell and Bruno Bettelheim. Growing up in the middle of the Norwegian Bible Belt may have had an indirect influence on me as well, considering my fascination by the Gothic” (Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen).
“I would describe Valley of shadows as a nightmarish version of the fairy tale Peter and the Wolf. I've always been attracted to stories with archetypal motifs and figures, and this particular fable resonates and has followed both Marius (director of photography) and I since our childhood. Mythologies and adventures are often coming-of-age tales that are deeply solemn with underlying morals. I am more interested in authors like Mircea Eliade, Jung, Campbell and Bruno Bettelheim. Growing up in the middle of the Norwegian Bible Belt may have had an indirect influence on me as well, considering my fascination by the Gothic” (Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen).