Portrait of a Confused Father
Gunnar Hall Jensen / Norway / 2025 / World Premiere / 92 min
An unusual father/son story takes an unexpected and tragic turn in a film shot over 20 years, that turns into a (self-)portrait of a Norwegian filmmaker in the biggest crisis of his life.
Gunnar Hall Jensen is one of Norway’s most recognized documentarians. Always with a wry take on life, existence and the biggest topics – and with a sure and forgiving eye for the ability of all of us to screw up and fail while doing everything as well as we can. He puts all his skills to use in his new film, which in a devastatingly tragic and completely unexpected turn ends up as a (self-)portrait of a man in the crisis of his life.
Gunnar has spent the last 20 years filming his son Jonathan growing up. From child to boy to young man who wants to conquer the world. As he grows up and becomes wilder and more headstrong, the distance between father and son grows. Gunnar himself does what he does best to reach his son: He films him and talks to him.
But when Jonathan is seduced by the promise of success and easy money in a world of influencers and hyper-masculinity, he loses his grip on reality. And one day, Gunnar gets the call that every parent fears the most.