Torstein Grude
Torstein Grude is dedicated to the creation of high-end documentaries on the basis of love and solidarity with focus on human rights and cognitive liberty. He also plans to produce fiction shorts- and features with social commitment at their core.
Torstein Grude is a director, designer, stills photographer, cinematographer, producer, executive producer and distributor. He is the founder of and main shareholder in Piraya Film. After getting a laudable degree in media theory and film history from the University of Bergen in 1994, he enrolled at the London International Film School and finished the last year of training in 1997.
Torstein Grude has directed, shot and produced documentaries, short films, commercials, industrial movies and music promos, and has also worked in various technical capacities in the camera department on more than 100 productions. He is also vice president of production in Kudos Family Distribution.
torstein@piraya.no Tel: +47 51116336, Mob +47 92225285
Filmography
2010 - Indian Women (IN PRODUCTION) – Producer and executive producer. Nduta Times (IN PRODUCTION) – Director and cinematographer. Feature length documentary - Directed by Torstein Grude – Producer Bjarte Mørner Tveit. Feature length documentary Russian Lessons – Producer and executive producer. Feature length documentary (110 min) - Directed by Andrei Nekrasov and Olga Konskaya.
2009 Discoveries of a Marionette – Producer, executive producer and cinematographer 73 min documentary - Directed by Bjarte Mørner Tveit 2009. Yodok Stories – Producer, executive producer, co-writer and cinematographer 90 min documentary - Directed by Andrzej Fidyk. Nominated for the Joris Ivens Award - IDFA. Winner Youth Jury award - Bergen Intl. Film Festival. Winner Youth Jury Award - Doc Planete Review. Official selection IDA Docuweek (Oscar Qualification), Tribeca Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, Movies that Matters, One World Prague and many more.
2007 Belarusian Waltz – Producer and executive producer 73 min documentary - Directed by A.Fidyk Nominated for EMMY 2009. Nominated for European Academy Awards- Prix Arte. Nominated for Prix Europa. Opening film human rights film programme at Bergen International Film Festival. On a Tightrope – Producer and executive producer. 73 min documentary - Directed by Petr Lom. Winner Best International Short Documentary – Chicgo Intl. Film Festival, Winner Watchdocs award – Warszaw Human Rights Film Festival. Winner International Section – Astra Film Festival. Selected for more than 35 festivals worldwide and sold to 13 television territories.
2006 Yodok Story, The musical - Executive Producer. 180min musical documentary - Directed by Andrzej Fidyk. Official selection Tribeca Film Festival.
2005 The Con Kid - Cinematographer, Producer and Executive Producer. 1 hour documentary – Directed by Trond Kvist. Selected to take part in the “10 best films from the last 7 years” programme at the Moscow Film Festival. (alongside Three Rooms of Melancholia, Darwin’s Nightmare, Grizzly Man, The Pipeline, Sisters In Law). Nominated for Amanda - Haugesund Film Festival. Festival Opener -Nordic Panorama. Screened at NRK, ETV Estonia, YLE Finland, Scandinavia TV.
2004 Tin Soldiers - Co-director, Producer and Executive Producer 50 min documentary. Grand Prix /Best international documentary award - Beirut Intl Film Festival. Avid Award for best editing - Documenta Madrid. Honorary mention - Norwegian Film Festival. Nominated for best use of archival footage – Focal Awards, London. Transmissions at: NRK, Al-Jazeera, Iranian TV1, Scandinavia TV. Heaven inside us - Director and Producer 45 min documentary. TV2, Al-Jazeera. Norwegian Film Festival/Norwegian Short Film Festival. Distributed by The Norwegian Film Institute.
2002 Welcome home –Producer, Executive Producer and Camera 90 minute documentary for cinema release. NRK, Nordic Panorama, Sheffield Intl. FF, Bergen Intl FF, Norwegian FF, Distributed by SF-Norge Jo Strømgren, over grenser - Executive Producer 25 min documentary - NRK, Bergen Intl Film Festival. 2001 Instant Happiness – Director, Writer and Director of Photography 1 Hour Documentary. TV2 Norway, Icelandic Broadcasting Corp, Nordische Filmtage Lübeck, Norwegian Short Film Festival. Distributed by The Norwegian Film Institute. Slaves of SMS – Producer and Executive Producer. 25 min documentary – Norwegian TV2.
2000 Hydro -the thin green line – Producer 8 min high-end industrial commercial. Combination of filmed actors and 3D effects throughout the film with advanced requirements like underwater scenes with keyed backgrounds, tracking shots in full 360 motion. Various commercials (Mohn Drilling, Hatting Bageri) – Director and Cinematographer.
1999 Satan rides the media - Director, writer and co-producer 1 hour documentary. Norwegian TV2, FIPA (France), Norwegian Short Film Festival. Massively bootlegged at Bit-torrents, Youtube etc. (Appx.600.000 downloads). Just wanna play – Director 5 min music promo for the band GoGo Foundation.
1994-98 Rave - Director, writer and producer 12 min documentary (16mm). London Intl Film School– Anstey & Bond award for best English student documentary. Pipia - Director, writer and producer 12 min fiction (16mm)- Clairmond Ferrand Festival, Nordic Panorama Festival. Tiny Tim - Director, writer and producer 10min fiction (35mm) - London Intl Film School. The butcher - Director, writer and producer 3 min fiction (16mm)– Nordic Panorama Festival. Neil & Bob – Cinematographer 10 min fiction (35mm) – London Intl Film School. Heavenly harmony - Director, writer and producer 2 min fiction (16mm) - London Intl Film School. Lapdog – Cinematographer. 3min fiction (16mm b/w) - London Intl Film School. IBM - We Won! (Nagano Olympics) – 1st Assistant camera and 2nd unit camera operator 30 sec x 3 – (35mm) - High-End commercial - Ogilwy & Mather, New York. Via dolorosa– Director 5 min Music Promo for the band Via Dolorosa.