{{Short description|Norwegian film director (1940–2026)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Anja Breien | image = Anja Breien 2016.jpg | caption = Breien in 2016 | birth_date = {{birth date|1940|7|12|df=yes}} | birth_place = Oslo, Norway | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|5|10|1940|7|12|df=yes}} | death_place = | occupation = Film director, screenwriter | years_active = 1967–2026 }}
'''Anja Breien''' (12 July 1940 – 10 May 2026) was a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. One of the leading figures of the Norwegian film industry,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nfi.no/english/norwegianfilms/search/Person?key=30191|title=Anja Breien - English|website=www.nfi.no|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref> and one of the first women to rise to prominence as a writer-director in Norway,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Women Screenwriters: An International Guide|last=Kristjansson-Nelson|first=Kyja|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2015|editor-last=Nelmes and Selbo|location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York|pages=518|chapter=Norway}}</ref> Breien's body of work in fiction and documentary explores social and political issues, notably women's rights within the context of Norwegian society.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.movingimage.us/programs/2013/11/01/detail/anja-breien-games-of-love-and-loneliness/|title=Museum of the Moving Image - Programs - Anja Breien: Games of Love and Loneliness|website=www.movingimage.us|access-date=9 March 2016|archive-date=29 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629172308/http://www.movingimage.us/programs/2013/11/01/detail/anja-breien-games-of-love-and-loneliness/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Background == Born in Oslo on 12 July 1940, Breien was a daughter of writer Hans Breien and Dagmar Munch Søegaard.<ref name=nbl/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/82911/Anja-Breien/biography|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|publisher=Baseline & All Movie Guide|title=Anja Breien - Biography - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com|access-date=9 March 2016}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> She did not marry,<ref name=snl/> but was a partner of Thorvald Stoltenberg from 2014 to 2018.<ref name=nrk-obit/>
Breien died on 10 May 2026, at the age of 85.<ref name=nrk-obit>{{Cite news |title=Filmregissør Anja Breien (85) er død |first=Mathias |last=Revheim-Rafaelsen |url=https://www.nrk.no/norge/anja-breien-_85_-er-dod-1.17878707 |website=nrk.no| date=10 May 2026 |access-date=10 May 2026 |language=no}}</ref>
== Career == After completing her studies in French at the University of Oslo, Breien went on to graduate from the French film school L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) in 1964.<ref name=":0" /> She began working in film as a script supervisor on the Nils R. Müller film ''Det Store Varpet'' in 1961.<ref name=":0" /> She also worked as an assistant director on ''Hunger'' (''Sult'') (1966), directed by Henning Carlsen and based on the novel by Knut Hamsun.<ref name=":3" />
Breien's first film as a director and screenwriter was a short in 1967 titled ''Growing Up'',<ref name=":4" /> followed by her short documentary ''17. May – A Film about Rituals'' (''17. Mai – En film om ritualer)'' (1969), a satirical look at the celebration of the Norwegian National Day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nfi.no/english/norwegianfilms/search/Film?key=31884|title=17. mai - en film om ritualer - English|website=www.nfi.no|access-date=29 March 2016}}</ref> Her first feature-length film was ''Rape'' (''Voldtekt''), released in 1971.<ref name=":0" /> ''Rape'' was praised by critics,<ref name=":0" /> but also sparked debate due to its criticism of the Norwegian criminal justice system.<ref name=":2" />
Breien subsequently wrote and directed ''Wives'' (''Hustruer'') (1975), which became a box-office success and received critical acclaim throughout Scandinavia.<ref name=":1" /> ''Wives'' was inspired as a feminist response to John Cassavetes' ''Husbands'' (1972), and follows three women in their thirties who temporarily abandon their domestic responsibilities for a day of freedom.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Kindem|first=Gorham A.|date=1987|title=Norway's New Generation of Women Directors: Anja Breien, Vibeke Lokkeberg, and Laila Mikkelsen|journal=Journal of Film and Video}}</ref> Breien went on to write and direct two sequels, ''Wives - Ten Years After'' (''Hustruer 10 År Etter'') (1985) and ''Wives III'' (''Hustruer 20 År Etter'') (1996), featuring the same characters ten and twenty years later.<ref name=":0" />
In 1981's ''Witch Hunt'' (''Forfølgelsen''), Breien again critiqued her home country's patriarchal society through the story of a woman accused of witchcraft in 1630s western Norway.<ref name=":3" /> ''Witch Hunt'' was entered into the main competition of the 1981 Venice Film Festival.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nowehoryzonty.pl/tag.do?lang=en&tag=breien|title=16th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival - Hommage: Anja Breien|website=www.nowehoryzonty.pl|access-date=29 March 2016}}</ref>
Breien's 1979 film ''Next of Kin (Arven)'', also known as ''Heritage'' and ''The Inheritance'',<ref name=":0" /> a drama about a Norwegian family in conflict over an inheritance,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nfi.no/english/norwegianfilms/search/Film?key=38835|title=Arven - English|website=www.nfi.no|access-date=29 March 2016}}</ref> was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival;<ref name=":0" /> it ended up winning the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.<ref name=":4" />
Breien directed most of the films produced from her screenplays, one exception being 1994's ''Second Sight'' (''Trollsyn''), directed by Ola Solum.<ref name=":2" />
In addition to her extensive work in fiction cinema, Breien continued to make documentaries throughout her career, many of which have been screened internationally.<ref name=":0" /> Her short documentary ''Solvorn'' (1997), constructed around a series of photographs taken by Breien's grandmother, screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nfi.no/english/norwegianfilms/search/Film?key=37842|title=Solvorn - English|website=www.nfi.no|access-date=29 March 2016}}</ref>
== Style == Breien is noted for her realist approach to storytelling, her use of the long take, and her use of a slow, contemplative pace.<ref name=":3" /> ''Rape'' (1971) uses a non-chronological storytelling technique and has been compared to Asghar Farhadi’s ''A Separation'' (2011).<ref name=":1" />
== Selected filmography == {| class="wikitable" !Year !Film !Role !Genre |- |1967 |''Growing Up / Vokse opp'' |Writer/Director |Fiction short |- |1969 |''17. May – A Film about Rituals / 17. Mai – En film om ritualer'' |Writer/Director |Documentary short |- |1971 |''Rape / Voldtekt'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1975 |''Wives / Hustruer'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1977 |''Games of Love and Loneliness / Den allvarsamma leken'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1979 |''Next of Kin / Arven'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1981 |''Witch Hunt / Forfølgelsen'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1984 |''Paper Bird / Papirfuglen'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1985 |''Wives - Ten Years After / Hustruer 10 År Etter'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1990 |''Twice Upon a Time / Smykketyven'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1994 |''Second Sight / Trollsyn'' |Writer |Fiction |- |1996 |''Wives III / Hustruer III'' |Writer/Director |Fiction |- |1997 |''Solvorn / Solvorn'' |Writer/Director |Documentary short |- |2001 |''To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil'' |Writer/Director |Fiction short |- |2005 |''Untitled – Sans Titre / Uten tittel'' |Writer/Director |Fiction short |- |2009 |''Etching / Riss'' |Writer/Director |Documentary short |- |2009 |''Yezidi / Jezidi'' |Writer/Director |Documentary |- |2012 |''From the History of Chewing Gum / Fra tyggengummiens historie'' |Writer/Director |Documentary short |}
== Awards and nominations == {| class="wikitable" !Year !Festival !Award !Film !Result |- |1979 |Cannes Film Festival |Prize of the Ecumenical Jury |''Next of Kin / Arven'' (1979) |Won |- |1979 |Cannes Film Festival |Palme d'Or |''Next of Kin / Arven'' (1979) |Nominated |- |1984 |Chicago International Film Festival |Silver Hugo |''Paper Bird / Papirfuglen'' (1984) |Won |- |2001 |Berlin International Film Festival |Prix UIP Berlin |''To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil'' (2001) |Won |- |2001 |Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival |Best Live-Action Short |''To See a Boat in Sail / Å se en båt med seil'' (2001) |Won |}
==References== {{reflist|refs= <ref name=snl>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Anja Breien |first1=Trond Olav |last1=Svendsen |author1-link= |first2=Lillian |last2=Bikset |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |editor-last=Bolstad | editor-first=Erik |publisher=Norsk nettleksikon |location=Oslo |url=https://snl.no/Anja_Breien |language=no |access-date=10 May 2026}}</ref> <ref name=nbl>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Svendsen |first=Trond Olav |author-link= |year=1999 |editor-first=Jon Gunnar |editor-last=Arntzen |editor-link=Jon Gunnar Arntzen |title=Breien, Anja |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon |language=no |volume=1 |edition=2nd |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |pages=449–450 |isbn=82-573-1003-4}}</ref> }}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0106908|Anja Breien}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breien, Anja}} Category:1940 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Norwegian film directors Category:20th-century Norwegian screenwriters Category:Norwegian women film directors Category:Norwegian women screenwriters Category:Film people from Oslo Category:University of Oslo alumni Category:Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni Category:21st-century Norwegian screenwriters Category:20th-century Norwegian women writers Category:21st-century Norwegian women writers