A teenage girl’s search for belonging brings her under the spell of a far-right eco-fascist group in Sunniva Eir Tangvik Kveum ’s timely debut feature “Nipster,” which the Norwegian filmmaker will be presenting during a showcase of upcoming Nordic projects at Helsinki’s Finnish Film Affair . Taking its name from a slang term for Nazi hipsters, “Nipster” follows Chris (Saga Stenman), a 15-year-old girl who feels powerless in the face of a world rapidly going up in flames. Longing for a sense of community, she and her friend Maja sign up for a summer camp for young people interested in climate change.
Through her newfound community, Chris begins to blossom, finally becoming part of something bigger than herself. But what appears to be an idyllic summer camp turns out to be a front for an eco-fascist organization looking to recruit impressionable youths. Following her journey, the film tells the story of a lonely and frustrated young girl searching for a sense of self-worth — who finds it in the wrong place.
Written by Sarah Olsson and produced by Adam Lunenborg for Sweden’s Carbs Film, “Nipster” grew out of Tangvik Kveum’s short film “Rosanazi,” which premiered at the Tromsø Intl. Film Festival in 2016. That film, which follows a teenage girl and her band of misfits who form a neo-Nazi group, introduced the director to the world of Europe’s youth-driven far-right movement, while leaving her with a sense that “there is a bigger story here.
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