Director, producer and screenwriter Pål Sletaune holds degrees in literature, photography and art history from the University of Oslo, and has become one of Norway’s foremost directors for both feature films and commercials. Sletaune started his career directing the documentary Merz in 1991, before turning to short film with The Bingo Place in 1992. He made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed comedic drama Junk Mail in 1997.
Two of Sletaunes short films, The Bingo Place and Eating Out, entered in a number of international film festivals and have won several awards. Eating Out won the Grand prix at the Hamburg International Short Film Festival in 1994.
All of Sletaunes feature films have been selected for participation at major festivals, like Cannes, Venice and Toronto. His first feature, Junk Mail, won the grand prize at the International Critics' Week at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1997. The film received rave reviews at the festival and was also selected for the Sundance Film Festival. It was a box office hit in Norway, and sold to more than 40 countries. It won several other awards as well, such as the Jury Award at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival, the Silver Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Silver Spur Award at the Flanders International Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Award at the Stockholm Film Festival. It also won the coveted Norwegian National Film Award Amanda for Best Feature Film, as well as for best actor and actress. In 1998 Variety proclaimed Sletaune as one of the ten most promising directors worldwide.
Sletaune is also a well known director of commercials with several international awards, including Gold and Silver Lions in Cannes. His features have sold very well internationally, with two of his feature films also selling remake rights to the US and Australia.
In 1998 Sletaune started the successful production company 4 1/2 along with fellow director Marius Holst and producers Turid Øversveen and Håkon Øverås. The company produces feature films and commercials.
Norsk Filminstitutt
