Utoya

A still from the film U – July 22. Photo: U – July 22 U – July 22, this year’s film about Anders Breivik’s 2011 massacre, is one of three contenders to be put forward for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.   U – July 22, directed by Erik Poppe, is vying against What Will People Say, by the Norwegian-Pakistani director Iram Haq, and Blind Spot, a film directed by the Swedish-Czech actress Tuva Novotny.    In its announcement, the committee said that Poppe's film had brought the tragedy to life.    "A large number of facts from AUF’s summer camp on July 22 2011 have already been published," it said. "But few of us know a lot about the unimaginable panic and confusion that occurred or the impossible choices the victims were faced with."    But the film faces stiff competition from What Will People Say, with Haq’s previous film I Am Yours put forward as … [Read more...] about Utøya film makes shortlist for Norway’s Oscar entry

A memorial for the victims of the July 22nd, 2011 terrorist attacks on the island of Utøya and in Oslo was unveiled on the seventh anniversary of the tragedy on Sunday. On July 22nd, 2011, neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik carried out the two attacks, first killing eight people by detonating a bomb at the foot of a government building in Oslo. He then killed 69 others by opening fire at a Labour Party youth camp on the island of Utøya, with the teenagers trapped by the waters of the surrounding lake. A memorial to the victims was unveiled at 10am on Sunday, the seventh anniversary of the murders, at Johan Nygaardsvolds plass in Oslo. The names and ages of each of the victims are inscribed on the memorial, which resembles broken glass as a symbol of the damage caused by the bomb in the Norwegian capital. Prime Minister Erna Solberg was among those who spoke at the unveiling and memorial ceremony on Sunday. “Seven years sounds like a long time, but many still live … [Read more...] about Norway unveils Utøya monument on day of remembrance