Slippery slopes

All photos: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Norwegians have a wide range of national traditions other people might find strange (brown cheese, anyone?), but the one which might be the most difficult to explain, is the concept of "tur", or, more specifically, "søndagstur". And despite the almost endless possibilities of the English language, there is no equivalent that does it justice - on Sundays, we like to go outside and wander around with no exact purpose or goal except the walk itself. And during winter, when there's snow, we prefer doing it with skis on. So if we are to give our participants a taste of the "real" Norway, we simply have no choice but to take them skiing. 

The Ski Day at Granåsen has become an ISFiT staple and is always a favourite among the participants, despite the fact that many of them experience snow for the very first time in their lives during the festival.

But hey, listen. If some Norwegian giggled when you fell over, remember this: we've all been there. You know how they say that Norwegians are born with skis on their feet? Not true. We've all fallen on our asses too many times to count. Because skiing is hard. There's a lot of hand-foot coordination going on, it's slippery, and all of a sudden you're on your way down a small hill you didn't even know was there and it all becomes a little too much for your brain to handle at once. It's okay. Falling over is half the fun, anyway!

The Ski Day is not all about skiing, so the name is sort of misleading. It's also about bonfires and sleigh rides and having fun in the snow.

This year, the Ski Day was also about breaking records - literally. We had a goal - to break the Guinness World Record for the highest number of people from different countries holding hands. It was pretty spectacular to have nearly 200 people from more than 60 nationalities holding hands.

The result still needs to be verified, but rumour has it that we made it! The perfect end to a perfect day.

Look at us!

The festival is well underway, and it's safe to say that our 450 participants have made their mark on the city. Yesterday, we decided to increase our visibility by creating a giant flashmob right in the middle of the city centre. It went a little something like this:

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

Photo: fotogjengen.samfundet.no

This is it!

Alternate title: OMG IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!

Almost two years of planning and hard work from our volunteers has paid off: ISFiT 2013 is here at last. Everything feels slightly different today - it's as if the city itself knows that something big is about to happen. Even the trees have dressed up for the occasion:

The day started early for these guys, who were up and running the Trafo while others were still waking up.

The Trafo is our main information hub during the festival, and will be manned by volunteers day and night. It's fairly easy to spot because it's bright red and located smack in the middle of a park covered in white snow. Also, there's a banner which should point you in the right direction.

The most famous red building in town is located just a few feet away, and is where most of the magic will happen. We can't wait for the participants to get to know and love the iconic Student Society, which also has been decorated for the occasion.

Just a few hours ago, the first participants arrived here, where they met the workshop coordinators, got their first taste of Norwegian food and mingled while they waited for their hosts to pick them up. It's not an exaggeration to say that they were pretty excited to finally be here in Trondheim - the place was brimming with happy faces.

Tonight, the festival programme kicks off with concerts and plenary sessions. The real magic starts now!

Lights, camera, action!

Since we last spoke, we've set fire to a building.

Just kidding! It's just special effects, because we've been busy shooting yet another short film.

And by "we", we mean our hard-working film crew, a group of people so inventive and energetic that we're growing suspicious of steroid abuse. Since the last shoot back in October, they've become even more professional - just take a look at the following evidence:

A proper script!

And a fancy director's cap! Steven Spielberg would be proud.

A real film photographer would never allow the boom mic to enter to frame, so let's just be grateful that I'm not the one operating that camera.

The cast prepare for their next take with director Bjørnar paying close attention. If you're wondering why the plot still hasn't been mentioned, it's being kept under wraps until the festival starts. You see, this is not just any movie, it's the one we will screen during the opening ceremony on the 8th of February. What we can tell you, is that it's going to be big. So big, in fact, that the volunteers once again had to do their duties as extras. It wasn't that hard to get them to participate, though. Especially since they were promised the two things any ISFiT volunteer can't resist...

...games and free cake.

The blogger takes a picture of the guy taking a picture of the camera operator. It doesn't get any more meta than this.

And if you're wondering why these people are standing in a semi-circle staring at a lamp, you don't have to wait that long to find out. After all, the festival is only days away!

Fashionistas

Everyone who's ever been to Trondheim during the winter, can attest to this: it can get cold. Really, really cold. So cold that it can be terribly difficult to describe to someone who's never left the Southern Hemisphere. During ISFiT, the city will be visited by students with little to no experience with sub-zero temperatures, and they desperately need warm winter clothes. Not to worry though, we've got it covered.

In the last couple of weeks, we've been collecting old jackets, coats, scarves and hats from basements and attics across town, and the result is a, um, mixed bag of fashion. Not that we're complaining, we're happy as long as the clothes are warm. As Ragnhild demonstrates, any boring old jacket can be spruced up with a colourful scarf. And isn't mint green making a fashion comeback these days anyway?

This one is actually quite nice. So nice, in fact, that Ola wondered if he could take it home once the festival is over.

It's the details on the back of Daniel's jacket that really makes it stand out. There really are plenty of hidden treasures in the nooks and crannies of Trondheim.

This, however, is the crown jewel, the cream of the crop, the centrepiece of the collection. This is the jacket that has everything, and to be honest, we're slightly jealous of whoever gets to wear this for ten days.