Directing
Anja Breien
Born July 12, 1940 · Oslo, Norway
Died May 10, 2026 · aged 85
Anja Breien (1940-2026) was educated at the French film school L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC), graduating in 1964, after first having studied french at the University of Oslo, as well as having had her start in the movie-business working as a script supervisor on Nils R. Müllers film Det Store Varpet in 1961. She made her directorial debut with the short film Growing Up i…
Known For
Wives - Ten Years After · 1985Wives - Ten Years After
★ 5.01985
MovieDramaComedy
Ten years have passed since our three heroines' first outing in 1975. Now the women meet at yet another class reunion. Not surprisingly, they are still unwilling to call it a night after the party is over. Husbands and children must celebrate Christmas as best they can, while the women spend quality time drinking and taking stock of their lives.
Untitled · 2005Untitled
★ 6.52005
MovieDrama
A poetic film about a cruel theme, told in a way that doesn't make the spectators close their eyes.
Next of Kin · 1979Next of Kin
★ 4.81979
MovieDrama
Gathered at a funeral for a successful business man, the testament is to be read. They will all inherit, with a big IF; if the family company is to be joint run by all the heirs.
The Witch Hunt · 1981The Witch Hunt
★ 5.91981
MovieDrama
The year is 1630. A young woman in Laupstad comes to a small mountain village. She witnesses a woman being hunted and captured.
Untitled · 2004Untitled
★ 4.52004
MovieDrama
A man covers his head with several headscarfs, one by one... .
Games of Love and Loneliness · 1977Games of Love and Loneliness
★ 4.21977
MovieDrama
Arvid falls in love with Lydia but puts the budding romance on hold to pursue a career and material wealth. Lydia is willing to wait for Arvid, until her father dies, leaving her finances in a dire state.
The Art of the Impossible · 2017The Art of the Impossible
2017
MovieDocumentary
Director/actor Eugenio Barba returns to Oslo, where he started Odin Teatret, to Opole, where Jerzy Grotowsky's " theatre of the poor" developed a new physical play style, to avoid communism's censorship. And to Holstebro, where Odin Teatrets presence has greatly influenced the city's development.
Smykketyven · 1990Smykketyven
★ 3.31990
MovieDrama
Jan Strøm has always been popular with women and is used to getting what he wants. But one day he is drawn into dramatic events beyond his control, and suddenly finds himself at a crossroads in his life.
Movies
Wives - Ten Years After · 1985Wives - Ten Years After
★ 5.01985
MovieDramaComedy
Ten years have passed since our three heroines' first outing in 1975. Now the women meet at yet another class reunion. Not surprisingly, they are still unwilling to call it a night after the party is over. Husbands and children must celebrate Christmas as best they can, while the women spend quality time drinking and taking stock of their lives.
Untitled · 2005Untitled
★ 6.52005
MovieDrama
A poetic film about a cruel theme, told in a way that doesn't make the spectators close their eyes.
Next of Kin · 1979Next of Kin
★ 4.81979
MovieDrama
Gathered at a funeral for a successful business man, the testament is to be read. They will all inherit, with a big IF; if the family company is to be joint run by all the heirs.
The Witch Hunt · 1981The Witch Hunt
★ 5.91981
MovieDrama
The year is 1630. A young woman in Laupstad comes to a small mountain village. She witnesses a woman being hunted and captured.
Untitled · 2004Untitled
★ 4.52004
MovieDrama
A man covers his head with several headscarfs, one by one... .
Games of Love and Loneliness · 1977Games of Love and Loneliness
★ 4.21977
MovieDrama
Arvid falls in love with Lydia but puts the budding romance on hold to pursue a career and material wealth. Lydia is willing to wait for Arvid, until her father dies, leaving her finances in a dire state.
The Art of the Impossible · 2017The Art of the Impossible
2017
MovieDocumentary
Director/actor Eugenio Barba returns to Oslo, where he started Odin Teatret, to Opole, where Jerzy Grotowsky's " theatre of the poor" developed a new physical play style, to avoid communism's censorship. And to Holstebro, where Odin Teatrets presence has greatly influenced the city's development.
Smykketyven · 1990Smykketyven
★ 3.31990
MovieDrama
Jan Strøm has always been popular with women and is used to getting what he wants. But one day he is drawn into dramatic events beyond his control, and suddenly finds himself at a crossroads in his life.
Å se en båt med seil · 2001Å se en båt med seil
★ 7.02001
Movie
A weathered face, an old man skiing in Rondane ... Neapolitan song, music over the snow - memories of childhood summers, a boat ... The landscape is snowy now - a boat here ... In the snow?
Paper Bird · 1984Paper Bird
★ 7.01984
MovieDramaCrime
The young Oslo lawyer Helen sees a man fall from a balcony, and realizes afterwards it's her father. Suicide or murder?
Det store varpet · 1960Det store varpet
★ 8.01960
MovieDrama
Brothers Ola and Jon waiting for his father's new boat to go out fishing for herring. The father has invested a lot of money in the boat and is hoping for the big catch, but Ola is heartbroken and goes on a drinking binge.
Rape · 1971Rape
★ 6.61971
MovieDramaCrime
It's winter in a suburb. A housewife is brutally raped. A young woman becomes a victim of attempted rape. The Police tighten noose on Anders, a young road worker who was seen on the site in both cases. The two women think they recognize him in the lineup, and police investigators use all their strength to solve the case. Anders is a common and simple individual. He could be any youth. The meeting with the ongoing investigation and the solid judiciary, forces him out of a seemingly monotonous, habitual life and forces him to react and think.
People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart · 1967People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart
★ 5.11967
MovieDrama
A dancer and a Danish student meet on a train; she is going on tour to Rio, and he decides to follow her. Based on the novel by Jens August Schade.
Herbergistene · 1973Herbergistene
★ 5.01973
MovieDocumentary
A political short from Norwegian director Anja Breien.
Wives · 1975Wives
★ 6.01975
MovieDramaComedy
Following a drunken school reunion, Mie, Kaja and Heidrun, three school friends now in their 30s, realize how they're dominated by their husbands’ needs and demands. Aching for a taste of freedom, the trio go off on a spree.
Oslofilm: Ansikter · 1969Oslofilm: Ansikter
1969
MovieDocumentary
A film about faces, about expressions, about situations. The film is based on a poem by the Danish poet Poul Borum. The recordings are made in the Munch Museum in Oslo and based on the faces of Munch's pictures.
Dager fra 1000 år · 1970Dager fra 1000 år
★ 5.71970
MovieDramaScience Fiction
An episode film initiated by Erik Borge, the fresh director of Norwegian Film, giving fresh film makers a chance of being seen by a big audience. Anja Breien, Egil Kolstø and Espen Thorstensons got the chance with very diverse films.An episode film initiated by Erik Borge, the fresh director of Norwegian Film, giving fresh film makers a chance of being seen by a big audience. Anja Breien, Egil Kolstø and Espen Thorstensons got the chance with very diverse films.
Solvorn · 1997Solvorn
★ 6.01997
Movie
Anja Breien came across a box of glass plate negatives that her grandmother had photographed, many of them with remote trigger. Breien made contact copies of them and discovered a poetic talent. This film is an attempt to get a piece of her grandmother's life, of family life? an attempt to grab a forgotten past. Can we remember others' memories?
Second Sight · 1994Second Sight
★ 4.91994
MovieDramaHistory
Maren, a young girl, is the sole survivor of the Black Death in her Norwegian village. Using instincts, folklore, luck, and the clairvoyant powers granted her by being born with a "Victory Cap," Maren survives on her own, waiting for other people to discover her plight.
Crimes of the future · 2019Crimes of the future
★ 1.02019
MovieDocumentary
Through conversations with an array of Norwegian writers, filmmakers, psychiatrists, artists and more, Izquierdo investigates the impact of both the film and novel Sult by Knut Hamsun on generations of Norwegian culture and artistic practice, while exploring how it could speak about what it means to be an artist today.
Et øye på hver finger · 1961Et øye på hver finger
★ 9.01961
MovieComedy
A surveillance radar is to be placed at the Norwegian coastline. Three soldiers volunteer to guard it, but only so that they can have a party afterwards.
Gamle · 1975Gamle
★ 4.01975
MovieDocumentary
A documentary short about elders in Norway.
Fjellet · 1989Fjellet
1989
MovieDocumentary
A short essay from Anja Breien about her father
Wives III · 1996Wives III
★ 5.71996
MovieDramaComedy
This mellow comedy is the third entry in filmmaker Anja Breien's "Wives" series and stars the same three actresses who appeared in the first two. This episodic film begins with flashbacks to the 1975 film Wives and scenes from 1985's Wives: Ten Years Later. Now ten more years have passed and they are comfortably ensconced in middle age. They have gathered to hold a surprise birthday for Kaja aboard an Oslo streetcar. The three haven't seen each other in ages and much of the story focuses on their discussions of their disparate lives. Every word, smile and tear they share affirms the depth of their lasting friendship.
