Sølvrev and Kode create short film about the artist Harriet Backer.

In connection with the travelling exhibition "Harriet Backer. Every Atom is Colour", premiering at the National Museum in Oslo on 30 September, Sølvrev won the tender to create a short film about one of Norway's most important painters. The task was to depict the artist's time and works from Uvdal Stave Church, and to bring Backer to life for viewers, along with the location, its interior and the surrounding nature.

The film was made possible through funding from the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB foundation, which had allocated money for the digital communication of the exhibition.

• Under anbudsprossen leverte Sølvrev et bunnsolid tilbud, som var tydelig og transparent i alle ledd. Vi har jobbet med video og film på Kode i noen år, men sjelden med slike budsjetter. Det var veldig viktig for oss å være trygge i denne prosessen, med folk som kunne drive prosjektet framover og «ta hånd om» alt det praktiske. Dette skjønte vi fort at Sølvrev kunne gjøre, men aller viktigst: Vi var trygge på at de kunne levere den kvaliteten vi så for oss at filmen skulle ha, sier kommunikasjonsrådgiver i Kode, Anette Basso, om prosessen bak utvelgelsen.

A painterly film

• Backer is considered one of the foremost colourists in Norwegian art, and her interest in capturing the light in an interior at a particular time of day means her paintings are often described as "outdoor painting brought indoors". Backer's paintings were above all to be enjoyed as studies of light and colour, and with this in mind we wanted to create a painterly film in which we worked actively with light, colour and contrast, says art director Mariann Lunde.

• "One requirement for the film was that we use extracts from Backer's own letters from her years in Uvdal, and it has been particularly enjoyable to read through the correspondence she had with friends and acquaintances. There was a great deal of minor drama around meals, weather and the elements that gave a fascinating insight into who Backer was as a person. One thing that comes through clearly is her need to have intellectually stimulating people around her – something she greatly missed. We have been especially fortunate to have a solid team from the Kode museums alongside us throughout, providing their expertise on everything from the selection of quotes to props," Lunde continues.

A church over 800 years old

The filming itself took place in the stave church from the 12th century, which has an exceptionally colourful and richly decorated interior.

• "Filming in such an old building was quite extraordinary. Everything around us in there had been standing for a very long time. That also means things are fragile, and we had to follow clear safety protocols. We were given a list from the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments that we had to adhere to when filming, covering everything from electrical equipment to the moving of objects. But this put no damper on what we could achieve inside the stave church – we had a very skilled team with us who managed to find alternative solutions to most things," says director William Glandberger.

From Paris to Bergen

The exhibition, which opens at the National Museum, will travel on to the National Museum in Stockholm and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, before finally coming "home" to Bergen and Kode. As part of the exhibition material, the film will accompany it throughout.

• "For us this has been an incredibly exciting opportunity, where we have been allowed to bring an important part of Backer's artistry to life and make it known to even more people. The fact that the film will also be shown at the Bergen International Film Festival in October has been a very welcome bonus for the whole team – who naturally also hope for screenings in Stockholm and Paris. That would be something very special," say the team behind the film, Glandberger and Lunde.

• "As a client we are very proud and pleased with the film! We have received a film of lasting quality – one that extends beyond the exhibition project and represents our core mission as an art museum. We are here to share stories with people, and now we are doing that in a way that honours both the research and the communication, and that is truly about the art we steward. We were actually talking about it in the office a while back – that we can barely recall a more 'painless' film project or project in general. It has been so wonderful to work with people who have shown genuine interest in the story, who have listened to our ideas, and shaped and lifted them into the world in a wonderful way. From planning meetings to filming and post-production, Sølvrev has maintained the process and been clear and patient with us as a client," the communications adviser concludes warmly.