"Thomas Østbye is a filmmaker and an activist who lives and works in Oslo. He primarily works with documentaries, often with a strong political drive and strives towards exploring the topics he's passionate about through film.Thomas and I crossed paths while were were both studying at Nordland College of Art and Film, around the year 2000. He then went on to study editing at the Norwegian Film School in Lillehammer.

Our first collaboration came 20 years later, in 2020, when we started shooting his film Weight, he was the director and sound recordist, and I was the cinematographer. It was only the two of us, plus the actor Terje Strømdal, and for a week we filmed in Ljørdalen in Trysil, day and night. Some of it was planned beforehand, while other parts were more spontaneous.

I see Thomas as an extremely productive person, who's always willing and wanting to work harder and give more of himself,always wanting to improve his work. He has a lot to say about process and has many thoughts around film as an art form. He's always open to conversations which raise questions that don't have an easy answer. I find that there's a strong sense of intimacy and friendship within his openness.

I would perhaps say that friendship within filmmaking collaborations is something I consider just as important as having a professional relationship. It's even occurred to me that I might be a better collaborator and friend than I am just being a cinematographer.Or at the very least, all the valuable work I have done in regards to moving images have been a result of working in close and developing collaborations. For me, friendship involves attention, quality time, and showing interest and trust towards each other. I think these aspects open the door to creating genuine and powerful work, regardless of the theme.

Thanks for listening!"

- Marte Vold

Thomas Østbye (b. 1979) works with documentary and art film, often in the form of cinematic reflections on documentary filmmaking linked to acute political conditions. Works such as Imagining Emanuel, Out of Norway,In Your Dreams and Human have been shown at a number of film festivals and exhibitions such as Hotdocs, IDFA, CPH:DOX and New Directors/New Films at MoMA. He's currently working on the documentary Sivil ulydighet, which is part two in his climate trilogy.
Østbye runs his own production company PLYMSERAFIN.

In Your Dreams (Film)

Weight & First Voice (Trailer)

Imagining Emanuel & Out of Norway (Trailer)

Human (Trailer)

The Play of Everyman (Trailer)

17000 Islands (Website)

Thomas Østbye (Website)

Vakkert arbeid is a podcast series in eight parts where Marte Vold talks to filmmakers about how they work, think and to what degree they doubt their own work. She tries to get answers to questions she frequently asks herself as a filmmaker: Where and what is it that makes a film come alive? How do you grab a hold of it? And how do you balance artistic, material and emotional aspects in the border zone between the art world and the commercial film industry?