By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there’s always more we can learn about them as people. We decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
Filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have a storied history at the Sundance Film Festival. The longtime directing team’s first film to premiere at the Fest was 12th & Delaware in 2010. Through the years, the pair has gone on to premiere three other movies on the mountain, and in 2020, Ewing debuted her first narrative feature, I Carry You With Me.
But this year, they are both back again with FOLKTALES, a documentary screening in the Premieres section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The film is a sweet and beautiful portrait of a group of teens who travel to Arctic Norway to attend the traditional folk Pasvik High School for a year. The school welcomes anyone seeking a year of independence before becoming an adult and uses arctic survival skills and sled dogs to cultivate confidence and self-reliance.
A sweet, uplifting, and breathtakingly picturesque portrait of a group of teens who travel to Arctic Norway to attend the traditional folk Pasvik High School, the film looks at how the school uses arctic survival skills and sled dogs to cultivate confidence and self-reliance.
“Gen Z is gravely misunderstood,” Ewing and Grady say. “This is a coming-of-age story where the subjects are all seeking to become better versions of themselves as they navigate a complicated, high-pressure world. Their story is about the future, and what could be more important than that?”
Since Ewing and Grady work so hand-in-hand, it should be no surprise that the directing duo would answer interview questions about their film together. Below, they discuss why they admire their film’s subjects, what it was like working with a Norwegian crew, and what happened to their cameras and drones while filming in temperatures below zero.
What was the biggest inspiration behind FOLKTALES?
After years of lockdown, a growing loneliness epidemic, and a constant bombardment of social media and screens, it’s no secret that Gen Z is under enormous stress. Social anxiety and isolation have many teenagers everywhere asking themselves: What is my purpose?
When we learned about the 100-year-old Norwegian folk high school tradition, we felt deeply that this could be a unique and cinematic way to capture the obstacles faced by young adults and to possibly witness the profound changes a person can undergo when they untether themselves from the modern world.
As artists, this is a full-circle moment for us. Our first film as co-directors — 2005’s The Boys of Baraka — followed a group of 12-year-old boys from Baltimore to an experimental school in rural Kenya. Almost 20 years later, we have naturally found our way back to the tender subject of growing up in an uncertain moment in time.
Films are lasting artistic legacies. What do you want yours to say?
While acknowledging how hard it is to be a human right now, our hope is that this film can animate audiences to reflect on our innate connection with the natural and animal world. We want viewers to allow themselves to feel inspired by these young, brave people we follow and reacquaint themselves with the sorely needed feelings of wonder and hope.
What was your favorite part of making FOLKTALES? Memories from the process?
Being able to experience Norway and work with an entirely Norwegian crew on this film was invaluable. Their knowledge of the landscape, language, and local nuances helped us capture the intimate essence of Pasvik Folk High School.
What was a big challenge you faced while making FOLKTALES?
Arctic Norway itself was the biggest challenge in making this film. Way below zero temperatures forced our cameras to misbehave and our drones to constantly crash. The polar night — several months of darkness in the winter — also presented an unexpected obstacle for us as visual storytellers. Thank god for headlamps and heaps of snow that act as nature’s bounce board. Shooting people on remote dog sledding treks turned out to be a herculean task that landed us up to our ears in snowbanks. What a long, strange trip this was! But somehow, despite it all, this film has turned out to be the most cinematic we’ve made as a directing team.
Tell us why and how you got into filmmaking.
Pure, unadulterated curiosity brought each of us to filmmaking. It’s the key to longevity in this profession. That, and follow through.
Why is filmmaking important to you? Why is it important to the world?
Filmmaking is one way of telling each other stories — and telling stories is as old as our species. We are compelled to share tales with one another. It’s our lifeblood. It’s our most basic and elemental communication as a tribe.
What is something that all filmmakers should keep in mind in order to become better cinematic storytellers?
Listen. Never keep asking questions. Think visually. Show, don’t tell.
Who are your creative heroes?
Ewing: Terrence Malick, Agnès Varda, Dorothy Parker, Saul Bellow.
Grady: Raymond Carver, Mary Ellen Mark, Elia Kazan, (guilty pleasure) Norman Lear, Frank Ocean.
What was the last thing you saw that you wish you made?
Ewing: There are a few things that I wish I’d made because I felt they could have been made much better — so I cannot name them!
Grady: I just saw A New Kind of Wilderness and really loved it. I recommend it. Norway is having a moment.
Which of your personal characteristics contributes most to your success as a storyteller?
Curiosity and stick-to-it-iveness, probably. A dogged pursuit of understanding why people do the things they do animates both of us.
Tell us about your history with Sundance Institute. When was the first time you engaged with us? Why did you want your film to premiere with us?
We have a long history with Sundance! Our first film to premiere at Sundance was 12th & Delaware in 2010. Then came Detropia (2012, Editing Award Documentary), Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (2016), Love Fraud (2020) and I Carry You With Me (2020, directed by Heidi Ewing, [Audience Award: NEXT and NEXT Innovator Prizer]).
Since embarking on this unlikely Arctic project a couple of years ago, we’ve always imagined it premiering in the cold beauty of Park City to audiences in search of a rich communal experience. We are so glad Sundance agreed that it’s a great fit!
Who was the first person you told when you learned you got into the Sundance Film Festival?
Our dear editor, Nathan Punwar, of course! He did a terrific job bringing our characters’s subtle and touching stories to life.
What’s your favorite film that has come from the Sundance Institute or Festival?
Ewing: Probably Notes on Blindness from Sundance, 2016. Incredibly touching and innovative in every way.
Grady: There are too many to pick, but one Sundance I was lucky enough to be at the premiere of [was] Trouble the Water, and it had an incredible impact and stuck to my brain. It was the right film at the right moment, and that is always magic.
