Growth of the Soil

Knut Hamsun's Growth of the Soil (Markens grøde) was published in 1917 and is the novel most associated with his Nobel Prize in Literature three years later; it was first filmed in 1921. Hans Petter Moland, whose catalogue entry In Order of Disappearance competed at the Berlinale, announced his adaptation in 2023, backed by a €1.5 million production grant from the Norwegian Film Institute and produced by Håkon Øverås at 4½. It was shot on location in Norway between June and December 2025.

The premise is elemental. Isak, played by Herbert Nordrum of The Worst Person in the World, is a lone settler scratching at the wilderness as winter approaches, until Inger, played by Asta Kamma August, comes over the mountain. Out of mutual need a partnership grows, and the two set about building a farm from nothing. Moland co-wrote the screenplay with Gard B. Eidsvold, who also appears, alongside Anders Baasmo and Sjur Vatne Brean; Oskar Dahlsbakken photographs the landscape and Kaspar Kaae composed the score.

The film had its world premiere in the Special Presentations section at Toronto in September 2026 and then played in the main competition at San Sebastián, where August shared the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance and Dahlsbakken won the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography. Beta Cinema handles international sales, and Norway selected it as its submission for Best International Feature at the 99th Academy Awards ahead of its domestic release on 28 October. Reception beyond the festivals is still settling.