When Norwegian director Maria Sødahl (“Hope”) was first contacted by the Danish screenwriter duo about the seeds for “The Last Resort,” which later won the Gothenburg Dragon Award, she was “fascinated” by the provocation.
This movie is set in a luxury resort. There, a Danish family is forced to reevaluate their moral compass after an accident involving Afghan refugees. Sordal co-wrote the screenplay with Thérèse Hussmann and Eske Troelstrup, and the film stars Esben Sumed (Follow the Money) and Danica Curcic (Mrena). After his win in Gothenburg, Thordahl said in an interview with Variety that what initially drew him to the story was its “very consistent point of view.” “This is a story of us, for us, by privileged white Scandinavians. That’s the purest thing about this film, and it’s also provocative. You have to understand the privilege of that situation.”
“I was very intrigued to explore our well-intentioned humanistic gaze towards Scandinavians sitting safely in the north. You can believe in all these great theories about immigration, but when theory and practice meet, a subconscious challenge arises,” she added. Dealing with xenophobia can be very ugly and primitive, but we don’t have the awareness of it because it’s not something we deal with on a daily basis. We live in a bubble with our theories and virtues. ”
However, the director has made it clear that The Last Resort is “not about the immigration crisis.” “This film is about how we, as privileged people, deal with those who are less fortunate. It’s about our self-image of being good people and how it changes when we see reality up close.”
“There are no answers in this story about what’s right and what’s wrong, because no matter what you do, it’s wrong,” she points out. “All I really want is for people to empathize with the characters. What would I do in this very uncomfortable situation?”
Thordahl says the film is also about a kind of “Scandinavian naivety.” “If you go to the Mediterranean, they’ve had immigrants and refugees for hundreds of years who themselves have fled their countries. They know what it feels like to be an outsider. We’ve never experienced that. The Norwegians immigrated to the United States.”
Recalling the production itself, Sodahl said that the challenge was to “keep the drama quiet the whole time and make sure the underlying flow continued until everything exploded in this very ugly situation.” “It was difficult to find the right tone because it’s a drama and not a satire. You have to really believe in this movie. It’s fiction, of course, but it has to feel true so you don’t feel manipulated.”
last resort team
“The Last Resort” team won top prize at Gothenburg Festival 2026
Filmed in the Canary Islands, The Last Resort gave the Norwegian director the opportunity to cast a large ensemble of non-professional actors, real-life immigrants who worked closely with Thordar in the production. The film features two child actors for most of its running time, a difficult challenge logistically, but no less important when it comes to the film’s sensitive themes. The director emphasizes that the children “learned very quickly” that they were on a movie set. “Adults were very aware that the same conditions that immigrants saw in the movies were happening in real life, right next to them.”
Regarding the premiere near his home in Gothenburg, Thordahl said he was “grateful” for the space, especially given the “challenging nature” of the film. “This film, because of its DNA, is not an easy film to get distributed or play at A-list festivals.”
“This is not a documentary. It’s a moral fable,” she added. “It could be any island where there are resources for the privileged. Someone said to me that it really is like the ‘White Lotus’ (lol). Some people compare this to Ruben Östlund, but this It’s different because it’s not a thorn. Shame, guilt, and fear of others are timeless. From the beginning, I always saw the island as the world, and the resort as this gated fortress, off limits.”
Asked about the current momentum in his home country’s film industry after Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value was nominated for nine Oscars, Thordahl, who co-starred in the 2021 Oscar finalist Hope, alongside star Stellan Skarsgård, said: “I love seeing what’s going on.”
“The Danes have passed their peak and this is Norway’s moment,” she added. “I hope it’s good for all of us and good for Sweden too, because it’s bringing attention to our part of the world and how we tell our stories. We can also create stories for the world.”
“At the same time, the film politics in Norway are so hopeless that even though there is momentum for the arts, there is no momentum for how the country approaches the arts. Norway is a sports country, not a culture nation. If[the Oscar attention]had happened in sports, the money would have flowed in. And this doesn’t happen in film.”
The Last Resort is produced by Thomas Robsam (The Baddest Man in the World) and Sigurd Michal Karolissen (Twin) for Nordisk Film Productions. Co-produced by Norway’s Eye Eye Pictures (‘Armand’) in collaboration with TV2 Denmark, with support from the Danish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond. TrustNordisk will handle international sales.
