Critics' Seminar

This seminar focuses on the censorship mechanisms among filmmakers, writers, journalists and audiences: Are we developing a self-censoring anxiety when cultural topics feel uncomfortable?

We live in a time when freedom of expression is facing new challenges. It is no longer just a dictatorships' powerful tool to limit the public debate and put a stop to challenging statements and expressions. Moralization and political correctness in the cultural sector potentially exert renewed pressure on what is accepted to express, and how issues are brought up to the public.

How does the audience censor themselves? Some argue that we are experiencing a wave of neoconservatism when it comes to films with bold artistic expressions and marked elements of sex and violence. In addition, we see tendencies towards a culture of cancellation among the audience, with for example the question,"Can we still watch films by this and that director in the same way as before?"

It is important to talk about how this can limit culture. We have put together a panel of people from three different cultural fields - film, music and literature - to debate these issues.

Panel:
Music journalist and commentator Maja Sojtaric from Nordlys
Writer Maria Kjos Fonn
Film critic Lars Ole Kristiansen from Montages
Film critic Øyvor Dalan Vik

A conversation moderated by freelance journalist / film critic / music journalist Ida Madsen Hestman. NB: The Critics' Seminar will be held in Norwegian.