Simone Hooymans

Visual Artist

Simone works mainly with drawing and animation. Inspired by natural and organic forms, the artist draws elements that change over time and become part of a larger universe where imagination, sensuality and awareness of nature’s fragility are central. With a fascination for ecology and life’s inexplicables, she explores how to translate and convey the essence of her research on a visual imaginary level.

Hooymans creates synergies between innovative music and art with her animations and video installations. She has collaborated with several Norwegian musicians and has participated in a series of international group exhibitions and film festivals.

“In ́Beneath The Surface Touch The Sky ́ I react on a deeper emotional understanding and connection I have with the fjord landscape that is surrounding me. I am interested in the power of nature that is diﬃcult to capture with the logic of reason. Familiarity or unfamiliarity with nature arises unconsciously, leaving space open for the mystery of life.”

Jon Fosse

Photo: Agnetha Brun.

Author and Playwright

Jon Olav Fosse is a Norwegian author, translator, and playwright. In 2023, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable." Fosse's work spans over seventy novels, poems, children's books, essays, and theatre plays, which have been translated into over fifty languages.

Bill Pullman

Actor

William Pullman is an American actor of stage, screen and television. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting.

His first movie role was in Ruthless People. Movies include: Spaceballs, The Accidental Tourist, Singles, Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, Casper, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Lake Placid and Titan A.E.

Bill's numerous TV credits include The Sinner. He has also had a long stage acting career. He has been on Broadway many times, including in Edward Albee’s The Goat. He has been the Lead Actor in numerous renown films and with diverse Directors from Mel Brooks to David Lynch.

Margreth Olin

Director and Producer

Margreth Olin (b. 1970) is a director and producer with a large cinema audience in Norway. She has made 15 films, which have received critical acclaim, participated at numerous festivals abroad, and she’s won several Norwegian and international awards. Margreth has managed to catalyze important dialogues with the topics her films shed light on. She has personally received 26 honorary awards for her commitment and focus on human rights.

Her credits include In The House of Angels (Yamagata 1999), My Body (Tribeca 2002), EFA- nominated Raw Youth (2004),The Angel (TIFF 2010), Nowhere Home (IDFA 2012), Cathedrals of Culture, The Oslo Opera House (Berlinale 2013). Olin was one of 6 directors in Wim Wenders series Cathedrals of Culture, among Wim Wenders and Robert Redford. Her film Doing Good (2016) is the second highest grossing documentary ever in Norway. Her film Self Portrait (DOC NYC 2020) won seven awards internationally. Olin was one of the recipients of the 2022 Chicken & Egg Award. She was awarded the Anders Jahre Culture Award 2022 together with Joachim Trier, Deeyah Khan and Nils Gaup, which is Norway’s biggest honor for outstanding cultural effort. Olins latest feature length documentary Songs of Earth (2023) premiered in 2023. Wim Wenders and Liv Ullmann are Executive Producers. Songs of Earth was selected as Norway’s Oscar entry in the category of Best international film.

The film was awarded funding by Vestnorsk filmsenter in the summer of 2024
https://vestnorskfilm.no/filmer/produksjon/beneath-the-surface-touch-the-sky

Collaborators