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Silje Evensmo Jacobsen | Norway | 2024
Filmmaker Silje Evensmo Jacobsen shares a personal story of a family who lived off the grid in the Norwegian forest, loving their wild and free existence, until tragedy rocked their world in A NEW KIND OF WILDERNESS.
Several years ago Jacobsen began following Maria Vatne Payne’s blog, Wild + Free (www.wildandfree.no) that Maria captured through her photos and stories of a Norwegian-English couple raising their four bilingual children in the woods in pursuit of their dream: to live close to nature, be together, be self-sufficient and independent, far away from the trappings of city life.
Jacobsen recalls, “Maria described so earnestly what her children were learning, showing both the magical and the challenging aspects. I admired her, as the family represents a lifestyle and mindset that I found inspiring.”
Jacobsen was fascinated with their lifestyle and intrigued as to how this existence could work in our modern world. Jacobsen wanted to make a documentary about their life project, and Maria wanted to share with the world their joyful life. Once Jacobsen was allowed to shadow the Payne family with her camera rolling, she was drawn into a deeper dimension of living showcasing their role model.
Jacobsen’s film had to be on hold for a while and then the news appeared on Maria’s blog that she was diagnosed with cervical cancer that had spread. Jacobsen said, “When I reunited with the family 2019, after a decade, Maria wasn’t with us anymore. When I asked Nik, Ronja, Freja, Falk, and Ulv if I could film them after Maria’s passing, they said yes, adding, “The family was ready to resume filming because they knew Maria would have wanted it, as well as feeling in some way keeping her spirit close.”
Jacobsen’s journey with the Payne family resumed. Their story shed light on a remarkable journey of personal loss and how each family member moved forward because they had different experiences to combat. Jacobsen shares up-close how children deal with grief along with Nik, as the sole parent, tries to hold it together. Jacobsen offers, “It’s a film that can spark deep conversations about the meaning of life.”