Fjernsynsbro – New Era

Fjernsynsbro – New Era

Barents Spektakel presents: Fjernsynsbro – New Era, a retro-futuristic contemplation on the present moment.

In 1988 a group of Norwegians and Russians communicated via satellite for the first time on live TV. In 2022, in a moment of pandemic separation and increasing political tension, they reach out to each other again.

“FJERNSYNSBRO – NEW ERA” is an experimental, hybrid short film and a performance that transcends the boundaries of documentary and fiction in an effort to explore how borders define and shape human contact.

Norwegian director, producer and artist Carl Christian Lein Størmer and Russian producers/co-directors Zhanna Guzenko and Oleg Khadartsev from Friday Milk have a long history of bilateral cultural exploration. During the pandemic, they wanted to create something that would explore how COVID-19 has created a new means of isolation between the two adjacent countries. By chance they stumbled upon the historic joint Norwegian/Russian broadcast from 1988 – entitled “Fjernsynsbro” – the idea of using this unique archival work as a starting point to create a piece of art that would comment and reflect on our joint past, present and future.

As an ongoing film project, the artists will extend the work into the performative arena under Barents Spektakel 2022, recreating the film set of the chat show and performing the satellite transmission within the space.
The talk show performance will happen physically in Kirkenes and Nikel – and will also be available online through our website.