Genre: Documentary
Running time: 1 h 58 min
Country: Norway 2020
Director: Benjamin Ree
Language: Norwegian
Subtitles: English

 

One screening only. Tickets are available on site at Kai or online.

 

October is Mental Health Month, and Kai Cinema is bringing our inner worlds into frame.

 

The Painter and the Thief is an extraordinary and moving documentary whose events are so unbelievable that it plays like a feature film.

 

The story begins in Oslo, where two large and valuable paintings by Czech photorealist artist Barbora Kysilkova are stolen from a gallery in broad daylight. The police quickly catch one of the thieves, Karl-Bertil Nordland, a career criminal struggling with drug addiction. He was so heavily intoxicated at the time of the theft that he remembers nothing about the paintings or where they are.

Instead of confronting the thief in court, Barbora becomes deeply curious about him. During a break in the trial, she approaches him and asks something completely unexpected: could she paint him? Karl-Bertil agrees. This marks the beginning of an unusual and profound friendship that lasts three years.

 

This is not an ordinary crime story about the search for lost artworks. Instead, the film explores the meeting of two broken and vulnerable souls, the creative process, addiction and compassion, and the gap between how we see ourselves and how others see us.

 

The Painter and the Thief was met with exceptionally warm reviews from critics. Internationally, it received more than 40 nominations and won 18 awards.

 

The screening is held in cooperation with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tallinn.