Interview: Ragnhild Nøst Bergem and Ola Henningsen on their touching new documentary, Being Ola

Being Ola is a new documentary film coming to UK theatres this year. It is a Norwegian film (premiering there in 2023) that follows Ola Henningsen, a resident of a small village set up for people with learning disabilities. The original title in Norwegian translates as Ola: A Completely Ordinary Unusual Guy, and that is the idea central to the film. The film’s director, who is also its cinematographer, editor and writer, Ragnhild Nøst Bergem and star Ola spoke to me all about the film.

“It actually started ten years ago,” Bergem tells me. “I was a film student at that time, so I made a short documentary from the village. So the village came first. I made a short documentary following Ola and some of the other people living there. I was really fascinated about the place and the people, because I didn’t know that we had this type of village in Norway.”

“I had to make this short documentary and then move on. But I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to do some more. So when I was finished with my studies, I went back and I started filming again, I started filming with you [addressing Ola], but also with some of the other people living there. But it ended up being more and more material with [Ola]. And eight years later, we ended up having a documentary about [Ola]”

I ask Bergem about her decision to be both the director, and the one holding the camera, she tells me the reason is twofold. “I didn’t have a production company, producer, anything. I just had myself and I didn’t want to hire someone I couldn’t pay fairly.”

“But also when it’s just me in the room and not a camera department, lighting and sound people et cetera, people would feel more comfortable and it would feel natural for those involved. It also allowed me and Ola to become such good friends over the years and have some really honest conversations.”

I ask Ola what it was like for him, being the subject of the documentary and having Bergem’s camera around. “It was really difficult in the beginning because I didn’t know what Ragnhild wanted. I knew she wanted Ola’s story, but I didn’t know if I was telling my story as another person, a character or as me.”

“I don’t know when but in some part of the process there was a turning point and I started to understand more that she wanted Ola and to tell this story as Ola and not anyone else. Because that is what makes me different.”

I ask Ola about coming to that realization, something he tells me was “very nice”. “I think it was interesting to have faith in me, in myself. That my story is not as boring as I thought it was. And I also heard from many people who tell me my story is inspiring and touching to watch.”

“I think it’s still a bit difficult for me to take in because that’s my story they’re talking about. But what’s so interesting about it, I didn’t understand at all but I’m starting to more and more understand what people see. But today, I don’t see it really,” he says, bursting into laughter.

Having heard that this was a project ten years in the making, I asked the pair how long they spent together on the film. “I went to the village and stayed there for three or four days at a time, but then it could be like maybe half a year where I was not there at all and then it would be every month. It’s difficult to say because I had other projects in between and all sorts. But it has been a lot of hours and days and weeks all together over the years.”

“And also when it came to COVID we were afraid to bring it in to the village,” Ola adds. I ask whether those gaps made it difficult to adjust back into filming. “It never felt uncomfortable,” Ola says.

Bergem says, “When we came back from our long gaps we never went straight into deep conversations, even if those things came up we would leave them and come back to them later.”

However Ola does say that sometimes he would feel “a bit guilty”. “When I was supposed to go back to my workshop [the village is organised so that the people that live there don’t have a strict job, rather attending various workshops and activities that feed together to support the community] I was not quite myself for maybe the rest of the day after having such deep conversations.”

“I was still thinking about the things I said thinking, ‘Was it right for me to say that?’ and then it had me thinking about lots of things I never thought about before and it was sometimes really hard. But Ragnhild was always very supportive and it was always comfortable even if I said these things I found hard.”

I ask Ola what it was like to watch the final product, having taken the film to various festivals and screenings across Europe with Bergem. “In the beginning I was watching it like I knew the guy who was on the screen but I couldn’t connect the things he was talking about to me. I didn’t know I had these kinds of thoughts and feelings inside me.”

“We’re really excited we’re going to the UK,” Ola tells me. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, but it’s going to be interesting.” When the film has been touring it is always accompanied by a Q&A session, something that Bergem tells me was always part of the plan and something which informed the decision to make the film only 73 minutes, to allow time for lengthy Q&As.

“We’ve done a lot of Q&As together in Norway,” Bergem says, “But being outside Norway it’s really interesting to hear what people take out of the film and how they react differently. And I mean, I really like the process of travelling around with the film.”

I ask them if there’s been a favourite spot they’ve played the film thus far. Ola takes a beat to think but confidently answers that it is Tromsø in Norway where they had the world premiere. “It was a really big thing for me, because we could show it to the whole world, not just some selected people like before but the whole world was invited to see us.”

Bergem nods in agreement, “I’m glad you reminded me that screening it was very special. We also played it in Bologna two years ago. I loved that trip and the screening, it was a beautiful place and the first time we did a Q&A in English which opened up a lot of new perspectives.”

Ola adds that another highlight had been a screening organized for the Tottenham Hotspur fan club. “As a big Tottenham supporter, I was really really delighted.” There is a lot of Spurs merch in the film, Ola clearly being a massive fan.

We had a good lengthy chat about Spurs. When I asked if he had a favourite player, he tells me, “For me right now, it’s difficult to say because we are shite. Sorry to say-” at which he bursts into laughter. “Nowadays it’s Kolo Muani. But I miss a lot of the old ones like Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen. He was my favourite of all time”

We bond, as well as form a rivalry, over the fact that I am a Forest supporter and our two teams are equally low down in the league.

We end by talking about what Bergem and Ola’s hopes are that people take from the film. “I would say hopefully that people see we are all more alike than we think. We have the same feelings, we worry about the same things. And that we all need to take care of each other,” Bergem says.

“For me I would like to say that everyone needs to be and deserves to be the star of their own life and not let anyone else be. Because I think that’s the message I got from the movie screening, I got this reaction that for once Ola is not afraid to be a star in his own life. And that’s a really important message to give to the world, I think.”

“Good luck to your team on Sunday,” Ola says to me as we part. Unluckily for Ola, Spurs lost 3-0.

Being Ola comes to UK cinemas on 3rd April.