Norwegian manager Nina Nag Don’t call me mom He will become involved with asylum seekers who have come to the area, centered around Eva, the respected pillar of the community and wife of the town’s mayor. One of these is 18-year-old Amir, who soon begins the event. Both must face the consequences of the forbidden liaison immediately.
The film is set for its world premiere at the main crystal glove competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Wednesday (July 9th).
KNAG has many highly acclaimed short films behind her, experiencing the Norwegian TV directing series. After fellow Norwegian director Lilja Ingolfsdottil, the film is highly hopeful Adorable Last year it became one of Karlovy’s most talked about titles.
Don’t call me mom Produced by Eléonore Anselme and Ingrid Skagestad of Norway-based The Global Ensemble Drama. The film stars Pier Tigerta as Eva and Tarek Zayat as Amir. Sales are handled by Linevent in Denmark. Scanbox Entertainment is distributed in Scandinavia.
Where was your inspiration? Don’t call me mom Birthplace?
Nina Nag: While I was researching TV dramas on asylum politics, the idea emerged, and I came across several news articles about Norwegian women who volunteered at an asylum centre and ended up in sexual relations with young male asylum seekers. I previously met both the young asylum seekers and the women who helped them, but it never crossed my mind that this could happen. I was shocked at first, but then I began to ask myself: what drives someone to cross such boundaries? It was the starting point for exploring relationships where love, power, and the need to be seen began to blur.
This is your debut feature. Please tell us about the path you took to raise funds.
It was a long journey. I got the idea in 2018, but now almost seven years later, the film is finally ready for its premiere. Writing scripts was a long process. For me, scripting has always been the most difficult part and really took time to get under the skin of the main character Eva. If I felt there was a clear and compelling story, I pitched it to producer Eleanor Anselmet. She quickly connected with the project and has since been an invaluable creative partner. We received support from Neo, a talent program at the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) that supports innovative debut features.
The support I received from the NFI helped me to cover about half of my budget (the film’s total budget was 1.1 million euros (NOK13M). At the same time, I had a baby and producers continued to work on fundraising during maternity leave. It was a long process, but I came across a lot of enthusiasm and support. Both distributors and sales agents made significant contributions in the early stages, but I consider this a big vote of confidence.
Please tell us more about the casting of Pia Tjelta and Tarek Zayat
Pier wasn’t the first name we considered – I thought she might be too young for the role. I also encountered hesitation from the actors because of the subject. Ultimately, my co-casting director, Camilla Greyster and I decided to approach Peer, truly one of Norway’s best actresses. She read the project material and said, “Finally! A director who wants to say something important.” That’s when I found out she was the right choice.
Amir was difficult to find. We looked at Norway and eventually searched Sweden and Denmark. I remembered Tarek from the movie called Execution – He was amazing. When I saw how he matured, I felt he was our Amir. He came to Oslo to audition with Pier. Shortly afterwards she called me and said that the chemistry between them was very strong, she would have given him the part quickly. That meant a lot to me, I wouldn’t have been able to cast him unless the peers were very certain.
How conscious were you trying to balance the elements of the film’s tone?
Eva is a character that captivates and makes me uneasy – she forces us to stand up to unpleasant truths about longing, freedom and identity. I am drawn to her contradictions. I want the audience to feel the same ambiguity. Recognise the vulnerable line between empathy and judgment. Desire and destruction.
That balance and complexity was something I worked on continuously, from script to editing, from post-production to music to sound. I wanted to emphasize the dynamics of structural and social power.
The audience believes they can handle complexity. I think we can portray an entire person with good and bad sides that stay in the grey zone and without providing a clear answer. I would like to raise a difficult question about the meaning of power, morality, and the meaning of being truly seen – especially in the temporary life that many women have begun to feel invisible.
What are you working on next?
I’m currently developing a youth movie dealing with forbidden love, but in a completely different universe. I also write more personal projects inspired by sadness, loss and new love. Maybe, in the end, it will be a trilogy about boundless relationships.
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