One of Norway’s hottest female directors, currently working on an episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror, Anne Sewitsky will return for the third time to the Sundance Film Festival where she won a Grand Jury Prize for Happy, Happy in 2011 and screened Homesick in 2015.

Sonja-The White Swan tells of Sonja Henie, the iconic Norwegian athlete, inventor of modern figure skating, ten-time world, six-time European and three-time Olympic champion, who moved to Hollywood in 1936 to become a movie star. In Hollywood, she signs a contract with 20th Century Fox, and becomes one of the richest women in her time. As she gets older, the spotlight is fading, but she refuses to quit.

In the title role as Sonja is Ine Marie Wilmann, ‘Shooting Star’ at the Berlinale 2019. The film is co-written by Mette M Bølstad and Andreas Markusson for Maipo Film, with support among others from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Nordisk Film is launching the film on Norwegian screens on December 25. TrustNordisk handles sales.

Who came up with the idea for a biopic about Sonja Henie, who despite her fame in Hollywood in the 30s and in ice-skating circles is still relatively unknown to a wider audience?
Anne Sewitsky: Andreas Markusson came up with this idea some 10 years ago. Shortly after Mette [M. Bølstad] came on board and I followed right after. It’s been a very long process, with many drafts. In the US, many people over 50 know of her, but in Norway, she was known mostly as an athlete. I think Europe missed out on the scale of her achievements and fame at that time, perhaps because she was a woman, or because of her alleged Nazi sympathies.

…so was she a Nazi sympathiser?
AS: I think she was more an opportunist than a sympathiser. At the time, quite many people would do the Nazi salute without being a sympathiser. I don’t think she was very political, although she was ‘close friend’ to Hitler and Goebbels. In Norway, what became a big problem is when she was asked to financially support the Norwegian resistance and she refused. That brought her shame.

What fascinated you about Sonja Henie? What were her biggest assets and biggest flaws?
AS: Sonja was the most winning athlete in the world and became one of the richest women of the time, with the highest wage in Hollywood.   c She had no fears and followed her ambition. She couldn’t care less about what people thought and perhaps lacked social skills. That probably brought her down. Her biggest asset - besides her athletic qualities - was that she never gave up, and always found new opportunities. Her flaws were perhaps that she didn’t know when to stop.

How much research did you do? 
AS: I read her biographies, watched documentaries. There is lots of material about her. Views differ, both in the US and Norway. We could have made 10 different films about her. But ultimately we had to choose and decide what to focus on…

So what choice did you make?
AS: Early on, we decided that we wanted to explore her Hollywood career and the last half of her life, also because her athlete championships and Olympic medals were unknown in Hollywood and her shift in career into Hollywood ice-skating was intriguing for us.

How challenging was the filming of the ice-skating scenes?
AS: It was very challenging, as we knew very little about ice-skating. We wanted to make sure the dance scenes were part of the narrative. We were lucky to have a fantastic figure skating choreographer Catarina Lindgren. She gave me options, drawings, helped us chose the music and figure out how to physically get on the ice with cranes, without damaging people!

You’ve collaborated with Ine Marie Wilmann before. What makes her the perfect Sonja? How long did she train for her role?
AS: She has the perfect combination of vulnerability and strength. She is an amazing actress, determined, perfectionist and she trained for years to skate convincingly on-screen. It was hard work for her.

How was your experience of shooting your biggest epic film so far, in different countries?
AS: The whole shoot was exciting and intense. We shot the film for 37-38 days, one-third in southern Spain, two-thirds in Bucharest where we rebuilt a house interior, a hotel, etc, the rest in Norway. The heads of each department were mainly Scandinavian - Norwegian/Swedish, and we added crew from each country in each department. The multi-territory filming did have problems of contingency and we had to adapt to larger crews than in Scandinavia, but we did fine in the end.

What were your inspirations for the film?
AS: There wasn’t one film that inspired us. We watched many films, from arthouse to mainstream, including Black Swan. However Busby Berkeley dance films and choreographies were a big source of inspiration. We wanted our film to be full of energy, with a mix of hyperrealism, eccentricity, and craziness to capture Hollywood at the time.

Ultimately who is the film is for? In what way will it attract younger generations and a male audience?
AS: It’s both for a female and male audience as it is emotional and fast-paced. We have done test screenings and young audiences have responded positively. The music is quite modern, with a mix of rap, iconic tunes and classical music.

Are you excited about attending your ‘lucky’ festival, Sundance for the third time?
AS: It’s amazing! The festival has been very important for my career and I feel Sonja The White Swan is perfect with a Sundance feel to it, as a mainstream film with artistic quality.

What are you currently working on?
AS: I’m working on an episode of Netflix’s cult series Black Mirror. Each episode is self-contained, like a small film, which allows me to bring my own vision. It’s a real fun experience!