“On top of the world, more than 2000 kilometres north of the capital in Norway, is the capital of fish, Båtsfjord. Despite snow blizzards, months of winter, polar darkness and closed roads, people from all over the world settle here in the search of a better life,” director Guro Saniola Bjerk explains the appeal of her Finnish Film Affair project In Cod We Trust.
“It does something to us, growing up on the stormy seashore of the Barents Sea, in a village that relies on the fishing resources and where all depends on fish. We grow stronger, become robust, and we clearly get a different understanding of the world, from here,” she continues.
In the film we spend a year in the town, and indulge in “a meditation on home and belonging,” a place where Cod is more important than God, reads the synopsis.
“It’s a mosaic film of people who are as unpredictable as the weather and the sea surrounding them, knit together by fish and nature. With an observational camera we dive into the village, and you will feel like you are there. It reveals that in the most remote and coldest places on earth, you find the warmest people with the most outstanding humour.”
The project has previously been pitched at North Pitch, Nordisk Panorama Forum, Doc Norway and also Sheffield Meet Market in June 2024. “Feedback after the pitch shows great interest in the project from several markets, financiers, TV stations and festivals,” says producer Benedikte Bredesen of f(x)produksjoner AS. This is triggered by “the authenticity, the film’s visual style, the humour, the real and honest people and the dramatic nature.” Bredesen points out that she has a letter of commitment for distribution in Norway and that SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland) and RUV (Iceland) have already bought 60-minute rights for the film.
Bjerk has decided to make her life up north, “making creative documentaries and short films that capture life in the Arctic region,” Bredesen says of her director. “Guro is creative and ambitious and her work often features a remarkable sense of humour, even when dealing with dark topics. She has the ability to knock on every door and get people to take part.”
“In Cod We Trust is constructed around several one-shot tableau scenes and we film according to certain rules,” she continues of Bjerk’s creative approach. “We have created some restrictions that limit us as we film most scenes on tripod. We use a small crew and the Båtsfjordians are extremely open-minded and familiar to the director. With an observational camera we dive into the village, and you will feel like you are there. The film has no sit-down interviews. Instead the director is there when people meet and have conversations that creates the story of the village.”
“In Cod We Trust is capturing the time, and becomes some kind of contemporary artwork, created by everyday life where all people are busy with the last hunt on wild proteins,” she adds.
The film may be set in Norway but its Finnish Film Affair credentials are very strong. “The director is part-Finnish and we co-produce with Wacky Tie Films in Finland – a match made in heaven. Even the village, the main character in the film, had around 700 Finnish inhabitants in the 80’s – mostly working in the fish industry.”
In Helsinki, Bredesen is looking for an international festival premiere and theatrical distribution, sales agent and TV presales. The film will be set for delivery in Autumn 2025 or Spring 2026.
“My ambition is to show how people are bound together by the primary industry and the resource that makes people settle – and stay – in Båtsfjord, namely the fish,” director Bjerk signs off. “They came because of fish and then they stayed, because of work and relationships.”
