The story behind A New Kind of Wilderness, Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s Sundance-winning portrait of love, loss, and life off-grid.
When director and cinematographer Silje Evensmo Jacobsen discovered wild+free - Maria Vatne’s blog documenting her family’s self-sufficient life deep in the Norwegian countryside - she was captivated. But when Maria died of cancer, Jacobsen decided to work closely with Maria's widower, Nik Payne and his kids to create a film honouring her legacy. A New Kind of Wilderness follows the family as they navigate grief and grapple with the pressures of modern society - a deeply personal story that has resonated globally, earning the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2024. Laura Stratford spoke to Jacobsen about nature, ethics, and the impact this film has had on audiences around the world.
Has nature always been a meaningful space for you - or did your connection to the outdoors deepen through the process of making this film?
It’s always been important. Nature is where I find my creativity and energy, and if I ever get stuck on a project I’m working on - being with nature and going to the forest for a run or walk can really help. A lot of Norwegians have nature in their bones; we like hiking in the mountains and sleeping outdoors. But I also think we believe we’re more ‘in the wild’ than we actually are. When I discovered Maria’s blog, I was in the process of wanting to become a mother myself and something about the family's way of life intrigued me - it was just so natural for them.
It’s funny because since the film was released in Japan last November, I’ve heard that some Japanese tourists will visit Nik’s farm later this year, which is amazing; the film has inspired people to come and visit Norway and learn about the environment here, which is great.
You clearly built a strong bond with the family over the course of filming. One moment that really stood out was when Freja, Maria’s second eldest, spoke about wanting to go to school rather than be homeschooled - contrary to what her dad, Nik, and Maria would have wanted. How did that land with you, both as a parent and as someone coming in from the outside?
As a mother and as a friend to the family, I personally felt they should be in school. It’s really rare in Norway to be homeschooled. It’s quite controversial, even. Eventually, I reminded myself that I’m here as an observer and as a filmmaker and that I need to be open-minded; it’s not about what I believe is best for them. But I was happy when Freja said: “I want to do this. I want to do this for me”. I think it was good for her to make that decision on her own and not in conflict with her dad.
Left to Right: Ulv, Ronja, Maria, Freja, Nik, Falk
Did you witness that same sort of growth with the other kids during filming?
A little. Maria would refer to her kids as ‘four wildings’: Ronja, Freja, Ulv (known as Wolfie) and Falk. So, initially, I wanted to follow each kid all year-round as they were born in different seasons and that’s something that she would talk about in her blog: Falk was Winter, Freja was Spring. But I soon realised that the boys were too young and they weren’t interested in being filmed so much. That’s when I started to follow Freja and Ronja (Maria’s elder daughter from her previous partner) and their story as sisters.
How do you think the ethics of documentary filmmaking have evolved in recent years?
Ten years ago, I made a documentary series called Team Ingebrigtsen about a Norwegian family of professional athletes. Now, it’s a huge media thing in Norway because the children have filed a lawsuit against their father for domestic violence, which has led to discussions around the ethics of filming families so closely. But with A New Kind of Wilderness it was a little different because Maria had this blog and there was already so much on there about her and her family, so they were used to the exposure. But of course, working closely with children and filming them whilst they’re dealing with grief and pain; it’s a tender thing. It’s important to take care of your subjects and respect them when you show the edit, so if they find something problematic, they have the opportunity to take it out.
You’ve described some of the cut scenes as ‘darlings’ - was there one that was especially hard to let go of?
Yes, there were two and they were so different. We had a scene where Freja was looking at photos of her mum from her birthday the previous year with the voiceover of her mum talking about Freja – and every time we played it, I cried. It was a really beautiful and moving scene but when it came to the edit, it was a bit too much within the context of the other scenes where Maria’s voice also features. I also felt sorry for the other kids because they didn’t have a similar kind of scene, which didn’t feel fair, so we removed it in the end.
The other scene was when Wolfie drills a hole into his rod for fishing, he catches a fish, he prepares the fish and then he eats the fish in pure delight; and it was just this little story with a 6 year old boy who really enjoys nature and fishes everything by himself - it was a shame to have to cut it.
What was it like to win the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize award at Sundance?
A surprise! I never expected it. This film was made with a very small budget and crew (me, another DP and two editors) and when we finished it, we got in touch with a small Norwegian film festival but they weren’t sure whether they could include it. So, that’s when my sales agent suggested that we wait for Sundance and I’m grateful that they stuck by that. I love Sundance, so to win the award there - it was surreal. Also, when I went to Japan in November, this woman came up to me and said how much the film meant to her, how she’d watched it with her children just after she lost her husband and how they hadn’t talked about it as a family as it’s not really in their culture to speak up and be vulnerable about these kinds of feelings… And I just thought, 'wow', getting that award helped us to share this film internationally and then to see how it resonated with so many people - I could never have imagined that.
If you could choose a name to add to the Girls on Tops collection, who would it be and why?
Suzie Lavelle! Cinematographer of Normal People. I think she’s great. I actually asked her to film in England for me whilst I was in Norway. She couldn’t in the end as she was busy, but I just think she’s amazing - the way in which she effortlessly captures human sensitivity on screen is beautiful.
A New Kind of Wilderness is in UK and Irish cinemas from 16 May.