A New Kind of Wilderness
A beautiful and deeply moving documentary about a Norwegian-British family whose idyllic wilderness lives are suddenly and brutally upended.
On a farm in a Norwegian forest, the Payne family live an isolated life, aiming to be wild and free. They’re self-sufficient, practice home-schooling and strive for a closely-knit family dynamic in harmony with nature.
Director Jacobsen captures the family as they come to terms with a new reality. Her camera unobtrusively observes the vulnerability and compassion they show to each other, the land and their animals. Sensitively charting how they deal with grief and the challenges of new ways of living, the film is at times heartbreaking, but it’s also a deeply humane and optimistic portrait of what it means to be a family.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival.
Norway 2024. Director Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. With Maria Gros Vatne, Nik Payne and family. 84 mins. 12A. Content warning: contains scene of animal killing and butchery.
Tickets from £5. 10% off for BAC Supporters
Special offer
Buy tickets for 5 or more films and receive a 25% discount.
All tickets will need to be purchased at the same time. This offer only applies to full priced tickets in the Sep-Dec 2025 programme and cannot be used in conjunction with other offers (eg BAC Supporters’ discount). Offer excludes Metropolis and Met Opera broadcasts.
Reviews
★★★★★
A deeply humane and emotionally literate piece of work.
Beautiful, heart-wrenching and ultimately hopeful.