Silent Film Classic with Live Orchestral Music

Laila (NO)

One of Norway’s greatest silent-film successes is given new life as Ole Olsen’s music is finally united with the film Laila – on the big screen, with Arktisk Filharmoni performing live on stage.

When Laila premiered in 1929, it marked a high point in Norwegian silent-film history. Nearly a century later, the film returns in a setting that reflects both its scale and ambition: screened on a large cinema screen, with live orchestral music performed by Arktisk Filharmoni. At the True Northern Arts Festival, Gunnar Schnéevoigt’s silent film Laila is brought together for the very first time with Ole Olsen’s music from the opera Lajla (1893), with the full orchestra assembled on stage. The result is a rare and powerful total experience, true to the silent-film tradition as it was originally conceived.

A Story Rooted in the North

Both the film and the music are based on Jens Andreas Friis’s novel Fra Finnmarken. The merchant Anders Lind and his wife are travelling to Kautokeino to have their newborn daughter baptised when they are attacked by a pack of wolves. The pulk carrying the child disappears, and the parents fear the worst.

But the girl survives. She is found by the Sámi man Jåmpa, given the name Laila, and grows up in a prosperous Sámi family – unaware of her true origins. As an adult, she is expected to marry the Sámi man Mellet, but an encounter with the merchant Anders Lind sets powerful emotions in motion, and Laila is faced with a choice that will change everything.

Film History with a New Sound

Laila is regarded as the first Norwegian film to place Sámi life and culture at its centre, and remains one of the most accomplished Norwegian silent films ever made. Its sweeping landscapes give the film a distinctive force – raw, beautiful and uncompromising.

Ole Olsen’s music adds a new emotional dimension to the story. Through lyrical melodies, rich harmonies and clear dramatic drive, the music amplifies both the grandeur of nature and Laila’s inner conflict.

Arktisk filharmoni, under the direction of conductor Ingar Bergby, will perform with a full symphony orchestra for this production. We can promise a silent film of historic proportions, combined with a rich and magnificent soundscape. In other words, this is no everyday concert experience in Harstad.

This performance is for you if you: