Atle Knudsen on Afterglow and creating joy in sadness

After Countrymen which tackled radicalisation through the daring prism of comedy, NRK‘s Canneseries competition entry Afterglow succeeds in bringing joy and lightness to a story about terminal illness.

Director Atle Knudsen who was inspired by his own experience of losing his wife to cancer, co-created the series with Kjetil Indregard, his partner on Netflix’ Bloodride. Indregard then co-wrote the script with Mads Løken (Young & Promising).

The story centres on Ester Sand, a bright, sunny and lively woman whose contagious joie de vivre spills onto everyone around her. Yet on her 40th birthday, she receives the news that will turn her world upside down. She ́s got cervical cancer, and it could go either way. But after the initial shock, it is Ester who comforts her husband, her children, her father and her friends. For life is to be lived to the fullest and she has no intention of leaving the world just yet.

The series was produced by Monster Scripted ‘s Ida Håndlykken Kvernstrøm (Pørni, Young & Promising, Bloodride), with NRK’s Marianne Furevold-Boland (Skam) serving as executive producer.

In the title roles are Nina Ellen Ødegaard, Torbjørn Harr (Norsemen, The Tunnel, Vikings), Sara Khorami (Witch Hunt, Nothing to Laugh About), Per Kjerstad (State of Happiness), and Hermann Sabado (Home for Christmas, The Third Eye).

The series will premiere on NRK later this fall. REInvent International Sales handles global distribution.

We spoke to Atle Knudsen in Cannes.

How was the official screening and reaction from the audience at Canneseries?
AK: Many actors hadn’t seen the finished series, so it was super exciting for all of us to watch it on the big screen [in the Grand Palais’ Theatre Lumiere]. Then after the screening, there was a long standing-ovation and many people came to congratulate us, which was heart-warming and moving. I almost cried!

I believe the series is based on your own experience. Can you tell us what gave you the courage to tell this personal and emotional story?
Atle Knudsen: It was super important for me to tell this story because it’s my wife who died of cancer four years ago. But she had an amazing positive outlook and huge hunger for life, as well as an immense hope until the very last minute.

When I sat down with co-creator and one of the writers Kjetil Indregard and first mentioned how we could perhaps do a series inspired by what I had been through for five years with my wife that I loved so deeply, we immediately decided we wanted to give a positive - not negative message. It would be a show inviting people to live life to the fullest, not about darkness and grief. Of course, there is grief and sorrow, but the main character Ester goes through this difficult period with all her heart.

Kjetil also always said that Ester and her husband Arild are like Moomin Pappa and Moomin Mamma going through the land of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings, where everything is dark and frightening.

How much of your own experience is actually in the storyline?
AK: It is very fictional, but of course we’ve used things from my life, and also from the scriptwriters’ lives. It was crucial for us to put Ester at the heart of the story, and when she breaks the news about her illness, we explore how this impacts the other characters’ lives and views on their own existence It’s really an ensemble story.

It is not my story and when I worked with the actors, I wanted them to take control of their characters. So when Torbjørn [Harr] asked if we could have a coffee to discuss my own experience, I said: no. This is not my life-you have to create your own character. Therefore when on set, I never talked about my experience. We simply tried to make every scene as realistic as possible by putting a bit of joy, and light in everything, even when things weren’t that good.

Nina Ellen [Ødegaard] also used the script to make a kind of music sheet, to explore a wide range of feelings to make her character complete and complex in her own way.

How did you navigate the fine line between laughter and tears?
AK: This was very important. We tried to find these mixed emotions, whereby you cry and at the same time experience some joy that makes you laugh. It helps you to feel a bit lighter. Life is not always harsh.

How did you find Nina Ellen who hadn’t done much on screen before this show and how did you work with her?
AK: Indeed, she is most well-known as a stage actress and I saw her in the documentary Peer Gynt [by Elisabeth Nord and Andreas Archer Dreyer, 2017] in which she plays the green clad woman. I was stunned by her light, power, goodness, with a tint of darkness, which was interesting. That was four years ago. So I had her in mind before pitching the idea to NRK.

Regarding our collaboration, it wasn’t so much based on discussions. We would try stuff, read together, try to find out if this was the right direction to go. I did the same with the other actors.

It was about every actor giving their heart, and wanting to interpret these characters as well as possible. Everyone in the series gave their best and all their heart. It was a very special magical production in that sense.

I believe it’s the first time as well you’ve worked with Torbjørn Harr?
AK: Yes. But I’ve followed him closely over the years - he is sooo good. With him and Nina Ellen, we put them in situations, so that it would look like they had lived together for 20 yeas. And I think we fully succeeded. There is a great chemistry between them on screen.

Visually, the show has a distinct brightness and wide colour palette. How did you work with your heads of departments to create the Afterglow feeling and universe?
AK: I worked closely with production designer Tuva Holmebakk, who was actually a close friend of my wife, since they were children. We discussed how to bring colour and joy in every scene and to create contrasts. Also, with my DoP, Torkel Riis Svenson, every day, we decided to set a frame, let the actors play freely their scene, and then move to another frame. We tried to minimise the number of shots.

How long was the shoot and where was it shot?
AK: It was shot over 65 days, mostly on location in Oslo.

What’s next for you?
AK: We have various projects in mind, but we’re hoping for a season 2 AND season 3 of Afterglow!