Margreth Olin: “I need to show the importance of hope in our lives”

This film about doing good and compassion is a total break from your previous works that focused on the suffering in the world. What triggered this change of direction?
Margreth Olin: My daughter’s grandmother is cousin to Joralf Gjerstad. I had never met him but heard stories about him. Why he had opened his home to so many people and never charged money. I knew that every week, people came to visit him and he never said no to anyone, so I had been curious about him for 25 years. He is a living legend in Norway, a myth created by the media. There are books, articles about his intentions, but I know for a fact that he strongly believes in doing good and helping others. 

When I made my last documentary Nowhere Home about lone asylum seeking children, I witnessed how it is to lose faith. I realised that I couldn’t make another film about the lack of hope.

I needed to have a break and felt this was perhaps the moment to focus on Joralf who will be 90 in April. Plus many sceptics about his actions said no one had ever shown how his achievements had been possible. I wanted to show that on camera.

So I went to Åsa his village and said: ‘I want to do a film about you and your patients. You need to allow me to film what you have never allowed anybody to do before’. He said: ‘OK Margreth, let’s do it!!!’ 

What was your own frame of mind before filming and were you absolutely clear about the angle you would take: focus on the man, not on his healing power and the truth behind it?
MO: I wanted the film to be a fly on the wall, work with an observational camera, to let people experiment what was happening in front of the camera.  Joralf does explain a bit how he sees his abilities. He grew up in a poor household and believes in God. But what he believes in with most passion is in human beings and people’s ability to make good. Personally, I do not believe that what Joralf does is supernatural. We have words to describe it. He is a good guide, psychologist, he touches people, and perhaps we are not familiar with that kind of touch. When you are in the same room, you can feel his special energy and gift, it is in his eyes, in his body.

You filmed 22 people meeting Joralf. What criteria did you choose to select them and once you had all your material, what editorial choices did you make? What did you cut or leave in the editing room?
MO: We did an announcement that we wanted to make a film about him and  received an astounding number of letters. We contacted the first people who had contacted us and ended up picking 22 people at random: different ages, gender and from different parts of the country.

In the editing room, I work with Michal Leszczylowski who worked on The Sacrifice and Lukas Moodysson films. He is a legend. What is important during editing is naturally objectivity, so the film had to be balanced. This is why it was important to tell the stories of two women who could not be helped by Joralf. Everyone else experienced something special during their visit. 

You yourself asked for help when your partner suddenly had a stroke while you were editing Doing Good. That was very daring considering the painful circumstances for you and your family…
MO: Bringing myself into the story was important because I think that's how the audience experiences the film and relies on how they see the relationship between the people in front of the camera and those behind the camera. I wanted to be honest about the relationship that I have with Joralf. 

When I received a call from the doctor about my partner’s stroke, I was editing the film and the camera was rolling as someone else was doing a documentary about Michal Leszczylowski. I was sent the material and decided to insert it in my film.
Anything can happen to anyone any time. No one is protected, so suddenly I also felt in a position to ask help from Joralf.

In what way has he helped you?
MO: I feel perhaps more confident about what I do. I have also come to the conclusion regarding my work that I want to focus not only on the social, political dilemma of our times but also on the people who can make a difference. I need to show the importance of hope in our life. The message from Joralf that I have learnt is that goodness is putting the other person before yourself. 

The film is selected for competition to Göteborg. What are the plans for the film’s international distribution?
MO:  International industry people have seen it and feel confident that it will travel well abroad. The film will open in Sweden via Folkets Bio. I am mostly so happy about the way the film is doing in Norwegian cinemas.