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'The Painter and the Thief': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and everything else about Norwegian documentary

The Norwegian documentary film is about the case of art theft from Gallery Nobel in 2015. The painter approaches the thief and what follows is an extraordinary story

The Norwegian documentary film 'The Painter and the Thief' was part of many film festivals' line ups including the Sundance Film Festival. The original title of the film is 'Kunstneren og tyven'. Speaking about why he chose this particular subject, director Benjamin Ree revealed that he was searching for a topic after his short 'Magnus'. The documentary stars Barbora Kysilkova. 

He said, "I was curious about art thefts — and art thieves — and then suddenly this case appeared on the theft from Gallery Nobel in 2015. I then started filming the interactions between Barbora and Karl-Bertil from the fourth time they met. The documentary started as a short, but then so much unexpected happened with Barbora and Karl-Bertil that it grew into a feature-length film.”

Release date:

The Norwegian title will release on Hulu on May 22.

Plot: 

The official synopsis of the documentary is as follows: "When two paintings by Czech naturalist Barbora Kysilkova are stolen from an Oslo art gallery, Norwegian authorities quickly identify and arrest the two thieves but find no trace of the paintings. Hoping to learn what happened, Barbora approaches one of the thieves, Karl-Bertil Nordland, at his criminal hearing. She asks if she can paint his portrait and, contrite, he agrees. What follows—over a series of portraits and many years—is an extraordinary story of human connection and friendship."

Director:

Benjamin Ree is a Norwegian documentary filmmaker who began his career working for BBC and Reuters. Ree’s first feature, 'Magnus' (about the world’s best chess player), was sold to 64 countries and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Ree works for the production company and broadcaster VGTV, which co-produced 'The Painter and the Thief' and his debut project 'Magnus'.

Trailer:

The trailer of the documentary features how the painter and the thief met, the conversations that the two have while the painter draws the portraits of the thief and one moment especially is reflective of the relationship that comes off these portrait sessions. This is when the thief is in tears after seeing his portrait. The painter continues to try to track her paintings while the thief is more destructive every day.

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