Oscar nominated short film.

ABOUT THE FILM:

A woman unwillingly ends up behind the controls of a tram and must take responsibility for the situations that arise. When the journey suddenly ends up on a quite different track than expected, the challenges also become far more numerous than feared.

“Night Ride” focuses on the more vulnerable aspects of gender identity and prejudices in society. The story has a message about standing up for others and not giving in to one’s own cowardice. The tram is a fine image of our time’s urbanity, and while the city tumbles by outside, night owls tumble onto the tram, and everything becomes too much to handle for the involuntary tram driver.

The film premiered at the Short Film Festival in Grimstad in 2020.

Won best short film at Tribeca in 2022.

Awards

Grimstad Short Film Festival (Critics Award )Oslo Fusion International Film Festival (Audience Award, Best Short Film)
Montreal Independent Film Festival (Winner of Best LGBTQ+)
Side by Side, Russia (Best Fiction Short)
Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (Jury Award for Best Short Film)
Some Prefer Cake, Italy (Jury Award Best Short Film)
Annapolis International Film Festival (Best Short Film)

PRESS NOTES

«Night Ride» synopsis:

It is a cold night in December. As Ebba waits for the tram, an unexpected turn of eventstransforms the ride home into something she was not expecting.«Night Ride» brings focus to gender identity and prejudice. In the middle of an uncomfortable andpotentially violent episode aboard the tram, Ebba must face her own fears and make a decisionabout how to act.About the director:Eirik worked as an actor before he made his debut as a stage writer with «The cactus» in 1997. In2010 he wrote and directed his first acclaimed short film «Friendly people». Since then he haswritten and directed 14 short films. His work includes different genres and stretches from highrealism to stylized comedy. «Night ride» was rewarded the audience award at The NorwegianShort Film Festival and has since won 5 awards at festivals around the world. Eirik is currently ateacher at Kristiania University in film and acting.

A woman ends up in a situation where she witnesses another woman being harassed by fellowpassengers aboard a tram. She hesitates about getting involved in the altercation, but realizes thatno one aboard the tram will help, so it seems up to her to face her own fears and do something.Eirik has long wanted to write a story about social responsibility. About overcoming fear and beingthe one to take action. «I believe Night Ride is very relevant in today’s society and hope that it canhelp awareness for those who struggle with identity and fears».«The challenge in writing the story was to not let it get too tendentious and superfluous, so whenthe idea of a tram setting popped into my head, it was a relief. It brings humor and surprise to anotherwise heavy subject. I wanted to take the seriousness of harassment and prejudice for real. Atthe same time I had to find a way to do that with a light touch of humor. Harassment and prejudice is something we see daily. I have had similar experiences myself and know the trauma it can causein people´s lives.»

About the director, Erik Tveiten:

Eirik worked as an actor before he made the debut as a stage writer with «The cactus» in 1997. In2010 he wrote and directed the acclaimed short film «Friendly people». Since then, he has writtenand directed 14 short films. His work includes different genres and stretches from high realism tostylized comedy. His latest film, «Night ride» won best Short Film at the Tribeca Film Festival 2022and has been well received at festivals worldwide. “Night Ride” has a total of 11 wins thus farincluding an Oscar nomination. Eirik is currently in development with a feature film project. «Camping in paradise» explores a sincere theme concerning the dynamicsof shame and fear in intimate relationships. I adore stories that combine humor with seriouspsychological and philosophical questions. Nudity appears as a meaningful metaphor for how -and in what ways – we express ourselves, communicate, and wish to be seen and treated in arelationship. This film does not shy away from showing nudity, as I am concerned that the nakedbody is increasingly becoming taboo – or an object of sexualization in media and society.Hopefully this is a story that will stir up some controversy and be meaningful as well as enjoyedand interpreted in various ways.

About Cylinder Productions AS

Cylinder Production AS is a film production company established in year 2000. Based in Oslo,Norway, Cylinder has produced commercials for Norwegian and international markets, severaldocumentaries for TV and co-produced an international feature film with support from NorwegianFilm Fund and Eurimage. In addition to producing our own films, Cylinder offers a completepackage of professional services to international companies choosing to shoot in Norway. Wehave access to the most professional crew, talent and equipment rental houses, at verycompetitive rates.

Producer Gaute Lid Larssen

Managing director and chairman of the board at the film production company Cylinder ProductionAS, established year 2000.Director and producer. Worked professionally in film production for 25 years. Background fromNRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) as radio presenter and casting director. Gaute hasdirected and produced commercials, infomercials, TV-documentaries and TV-drama. Directed 200episodes of the Norwegian TV Drama “Hotel Cæsar” for TV2. Nominated twice in category “besttv-drama” at Gullruten. Co-producer on the international feature film, Essential Killing, supportedby The Norwegian Film Fund and Eurimage. Executive producer/facilitator for Cylinder’s serviceproductions (NFS) since year 2000, producing for BBC, CBS, Al Jazeera, Discovery Channel,among others.

Producer Heidi Arnesen

Heidi Arnesen graduated with a bachelor in fine arts from CCA in California. From there she madea feature film (Some Prefer Cake), 8 short films, 150 episodes of the Norwegian night time drama“Hotel Cæsar” and several TV documentary series for Norwegian networks, one of which sold toDr. Phil in the US. This is one of two Norwegian formats to be sold to the US. She lived in SanFrancisco, CA for 9 years before relocating to her hometown of Oslo in 1998. She now works forCylinder Production AS as Producer. Cylinder recently received financing for a new short film incollaboration with director Eirik Tveiten of «Night Ride», called «Camping in Paradise»