THE ART OF NEGATIVE THINKING (KUNSTEN A TENKE NEGATIVT) International Feature Competition

At times both horrific and hilarious, THE ART OF NEGATIVE THINKING is a stunning debut film . Director Bard Breien and actor Fridtjov Saheim have created a countercultural hero for the ages.

Geirr is a depressed but bitterly funny and articulate paraplegic who rejects the sympathy his injury generates. Given his isolation , weapons fixation , self-medication and bitterness, his girlfriend lngvild can’t handle him any longer so she invites a municipal positivity group to their home. Geirr, still refusing to see anything in a positive light, forces everyone through a tunnel of desperation, anguish and hopelessness, before the day dawns and they once again catch sight of light, if only a glimmer.

Much of the film ‘s quiet intensity comes from the authenticity of the performances – their truthfulness makes this a brilliantly observed, pitch black comedy. In THE ART OF NEGATIVE THINKING, Breien combines light and dark in a perfectly balanced composition , destroying our notions of political correctness.