Internationally-driven Norwegian Stær Film makes debut in Tromsø

Stær Film’s aim is to provide opportunities for both new and established talents who want to challenge the film landscape with their artistic output, with a focus on indigenous cinema from around the world.

“Our focus will be on new voices and arthouse independent cinema, especially from the Arctic”, emphasised Guatemala-born Fernanda Pirir who will run Stær Film from Tromsø, the biggest city above the arctic circle.

Explaining the symbolic meaning of ‘Stær’, Pirir said: “Stær (Starling in English) are migratory birds that flock together to support and protect each other when they fly in flocks from Scandinavia to South Europe and back. Together they stay strong and reach their goal after a long and demanding journey. This is the inspiration behind and the heart of STÆR,” she pointed out.

Pirir has solid credentials as producer. Her graduation film from Lillehammer film school Generation Mars directed by Alexander Turpin was nominated for a Student Academy Award and she was associate producer on the multi-awarded Birds of Passage by Ciro Guerra and Fleeby Jonas Poher Rasmussen.

Most recently, she served as co-producer of Colombia’s Oscar entry The Kings of the World by Laura Mora and producer of the upcoming Sami music drama Arru directed by Elle Sofe Sara for Mer Film.

Discussing her move away from Mer Film, Pirir said it was “not only time but a necessity” for her to start her own shingle, “especially in Northern Norway where there are so many great new voices and talents, but few companies that work with features and international co-productions.”

“I will continue working with many new Scandinavian voices such as Marte Vold, Anders Emblem, Elle Sofe Sara, Linda Bournane and international experienced directors as well,” Pirir added.

KriStine Ann Skaret herself is a well-known figure in documentary filmmaking as former commissioner at the Norwegian Film Institute (2012-26) and co-founder of Stray Dogs Norway.

Her production credits include Merethe Offerdal Tveit’s award-winning Villagers and Vagabond, Signe Rosenlund-Hauglid’s Not That Kind of Guy and Teresia Fant’s short film Stories from the Shower, as exec producer.

Commenting in her new partnership with Pirir, Skaret told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “Elisa is a strong and talented producer, who shares my motivation to tell brave stories from new perspectives. I see the need for new producers to build their own company where they can manage their own investment and risk, and build their own network and profiles, and I wanted to help Elisa do so.”

“My main focus will still be producing documentaries with Stray Dogs, but the ‘Starlings’ (Stær) are also moving freely together in groups strengthening each other, so I’m looking forward to exiting collaborations between the two companies in the near future.”

Stær Film will be at the Berlinale Forum with the company’s first feature documentary, the minority Norwegian co-production Calls from Moscow by Cuban director Luis Alejandro Yero. The film follows four young people from Cuban, living in a pre-fabricated estate and transit stop for youngsters in Moscow-until war in Ukraine radically shifted their outlook.

Stær is also co-producing Touda, a new film by French-Moroccan Nabil Ayouch, behing Morocco’s Oscar entries Mektoub and Ali Zaoua,The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder by Mozambique-born Inadelso Cossa, and Where the River Begins by Colombian/Canadian Juan Andrés Arango.