Beta Cinema has joined as the world distributor for Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland’s Growth of the Soil, which will have its world premiere in the Special Presentations section of the Toronto Film Festival.
Growth of the Soil is an epic love story set against the breathtaking but unforgiving landscape of the Norwegian mountains, based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Knut Hamsun. The film stars Herbert Nordrum (The Baddest Man in the World) and Asta Kamma August, who was selected for the Berlin Film Festival 2024 Shooting Stars program.
The story unfolds in the remote wilderness of Norway, where Isaac seeks a place to settle. High above the tree line, he found a barren but promising piece of land. As the harsh terrain tests his limits, he meets Inger, a lonely woman with resilience and a quiet secret. Together, they build a life from the ground up, cultivating the land and raising their families as the seasons change. But as the years pass and the world approaches, time, hardship, and desire reshape them.
Moreland’s breakthrough film Zero Kelvin (1995), starring Stellan Skarsgård, won the Jury Prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and his collaboration with Skarsgård continued across several films, including Aberdeen (2000), Some What a Gentleman (2010), Disappearance Compliance (2014), and Out Stealing Horses. (2019). Moreland’s films have been nominated for the Golden Bear four times and won twice. Morand is a three-time Amanda Award winner and received the 2025 Amanda Lifetime Achievement Award.
Morand co-wrote the script for “The Growth of the Soil” with Gard B. Eitsvold, based on Hamsun’s “Markens Grøde” (The Growth of the Soil), which won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. Hamsun’s works have been translated into over 40 languages.
The cinematography was by Oskar Dalsbakken (Possession, Munch and the North Pole), and the original music was by Danish composer Kasper Kahe (The Fjord, The Disappearance).
Mr. Nordrum’s credits include The Baddest Man in the World (2021), as well as Ernst de Geer’s Hypnosis (2023) and upcoming titles such as Sense and Sensibility. August productions include “Hypnotism,” Isabella Ekref’s San Sebastian premiere “Karak” (2023), and Lars von Trier’s “Kingdom Exodus” (1994-2022).
They will be joined by Eidsvoord (Trolls, Quisling, Grand Hotel), Anders Basmo (Kon Tiki, Welcome to Norway), Oddgeir Thun (Rabble) and Sjur Vatne Breen (Out Steel Horse, Nr 24).
Tashiro Halbauer, vice president of Beta Cinema, described Growth of the Soil as a “powerful and visually stunning epic about love, resilience, and survival.” Morland added: “It offers a deeply emotional cinematic experience that feels both intimate and universal. Set against the backdrop of Norway’s majestic landscape, this story will resonate far beyond its setting.”
“Growth of the Soil” is produced by Hakon Overas of 4 1/2 Fiction in collaboration with Chris Sanger and Birgitte Skov of Scanbox Productions. The film was shot on location in Norway from June to December 2025. Scanbox Entertainment will release the film in theaters across Scandinavia on October 30th.
