The two Norwegian documentary producers/filmmakers have teamed up with Oslo Pictures’ Head of Docs Tommy Gulliksen, in a major drive to create docs for the global market.

The hiring of the internationally established Tonje Hessen Schei and Bjarte Mørner Tveit is a major coup for Tommy Gulliksen (War of Art, Terror Island) who joined Joachim Trier’s production company Oslo Pictures in 2019 as partner and Head of Docs, with the ambition to up the stakes in non-fiction content, both in film and TV formats.

Bjarte Mørner Tveit comes from Piraya Film where he has produced major docs for the international market over the last two decades. His credits include Mads Brügger’s award-winning The Mole:Undercover in North Korea, Cold Case Hammarskjold, Ola Waagen’s Inside Fur and The Secret Life of Pigs, as well as Torstein Grude’s Mogadishu Soldier.

Hessen-Schei for her part has left UpNorth Film which she co-founded. Her films iHumans (2019), Drone (2014) and Play Again (2010) have won numerous international awards and screened in over 100 countries.

“I have been a big fan of both Tommy and Bjarte for years, and I am thrilled that we are joining forces” said Hessen-Schei who underscored her partners’ combined experience and international networks.

“Producing docs on a high international level demands a lot, from both team and partners,” added Tveit. "I love the projects in our slate, and I am super happy with the experience and ambitions of this core team. No doubt we complement each other, and the international team around us is such an asset. I’m looking forward to introducing our new projects to partners both at home and abroad.”

Oslo Pictures is one of Norway's most prominent production outfits, behind Joachim Trier's Cannes winner and Oscar-nominated The Worst Person in the World.

The company's current documentary slate includes Sound of Ice, directed by Gulliksen. The film follows musician Terje Isungset and his dream to play musical instruments crafted in ice, from some of the world’s most endangered glaciers. “The project has been delayed due to Covid-19, but now we’re back on track and planning to enter production very soon,” told Gulliksen to nordicfilmandtvnews.com.

The film written by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen (Everything Will Be Fine, Struggle for Life) is co-produced by Wim Wenders’ Road Movies in Germany. Dogwoof handles sales. The project won the Sunny Side of the Docs’ Ushuaia Impact Award 2021.