The series was produced by Rubicon Television for Norwegian pubcaster NRK, in co-production with Arte France and support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Countrymen (Jordbrukerne) is the biggest project ever for Macedonia-born writer/director Aliu, whose feature debut Hunting Flies collected a national Amanda Award for Best Director (2016) and a nomination at the Nordic Council Film Prize 2017.

Together with seasoned writer/creator Anne Bjørnstad (Lilyhammer, Beforeigners), Creative Director at Rubicon, Aliu has written a daring fish-out-of-water and politically incorrect comedy about prejudice and radicalisation.

Countrymen (Jordbrukerne) follows four men with dubious plans who move from Oslo to a picturesque village in Telemark, south-eastern Norway. They have specific plans for settling in the isolated farm, but life in the tight-knitted farming community comes with unexpected twists. More or less against their will, they end up as the founders of Norway’s first halal cheesemaking business.

In the title roles are Nader Khademi (Ninjababy), Ayaz Hussain (Hotel Cæsar), Ravdeep Singh Bajwa (Exit), Arben Bala (Lilyhammer), Jonas Strand Gravli (22 July, Ragnarok), Erika Strand Mamelund, Syeda Hina Zaidi and Kristin Grue (Beforeigners). The series was directed by Aliu, together with episodic directors Aurora Gossé and Brwa Vahabpour.

The Rubicon production was co-financed by the Nordic 12 pub-casting alliance, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute and the Fund.

Banijay Rights handles world sales.

We spoke in Cannes with co-writer/director Izer Aliu and actor Arben Bala.

Izer were you involved in the series from its very inception? What is it about?
IA: Anne [Bjørnstad] had already developed the idea for the show when I was offered to come on board. I suggested to make some adjustments to the story, which Rubicon accepted. It’s been a bit of a balancing act to tell the story which deals with a sensitive subject [radicalisation] but told with humour. I have enjoyed playing with the worst stereotype in people - including villagers, to see the fun in them, but never to laugh at them.

It must have been challenging to tackle religious radicalisation with humour…
IA: Together with Anne and our commissioners, we had a lot of discussions. Religious rituals can be a bit absurd and perceived as weird by non-believers. We played with this and made sure we would always deal with religion with respect.

The reality is that people with immigrant backgrounds see their adopted country differently than true natives. Each individual is unique and sees things through his/her own prism, tainted by their own cultural baggage.

We did focus groups on the series and saw that different people laughed at different things.

With my own foreign origin [Albanian/Norwegian, born in Macedonia], I have a different viewpoint on Norwegian society. I have also become more aware of my own background as a Muslim through people’s perception. You’re often faced with people’s prejudice, about one’s different ethnicity or religion, but that can also open doors to satire.

With Anne, we tried to depict a reality that can be talked about. Our goal was not to step on people’s toes.

Anne is a seasoned TV drama creator and writer. Can you tell us more about your collaboration with her?
IA: I learnt a lot from working with her on the script, as this was my first ever long-form drama. Anne has an amazing structural overview, knowledge of plot mechanism and conflicts. Coming from feature film, I tend to follow just 1-2 characters and the late Danish writer and film school teacher Lars Kjeldgård, taught me about a plot, being there to push the characters-nothing else. But I’ve been thrilled to learn more about playing with plot and structure, about how to jump between episodes.

Arben, how would you describe your character? How did you get the role of Khabib, the leader of the group?
AB: I’ve known Izer a long time and we’ve worked together in the past. When he offered me the role, he told me he saw me as this tough guy with an underlying sensitivity and big heart.

Khabib is someone who has big plans that never go the way he wants. He has difficulty trusting people and tends to be paranoid.

How did you prepare for the part?
AB: It was very challenging to film in the middle of Covid. I started preparing for my role six months before shooting. I trained several hours a day as I wanted to be in good shape. I also learned Muslim prayers, went to the Mosque with an Imam who taught me a lot. During filming, it was quite difficult to concentrate as we were constantly reminded about social distancing and Covid protocol. It was all an amazing experience and I did my best for Izer and for the entire team.

Izer can you tell us about your visual style and decision to use the technique of breaking the fourth wall, with characters directly addressing the audience?
IA: That was on the table very early. We then moved away from this idea, but after we had filmed, we decided to do it. I do tend to take long shots, so this was a way to give the feeling of cutting without cutting, to get inside the characters and to add an interesting contrast.

What’s next for you?
IA: Countrymen has really opened my appetite for TV drama. I love the fact that serialised drama is a way to extend the life of characters, and I hope that with Countrymen, we have created characters that people want to be with in the long run.

I have also received funding to do a conspiracy thriller. I want to get more into genre filmmaking.