Mari Boine is a Norwegian Sámi singer. She combined a form of Sámi joik singing with rock. In 2008, she became a professor of musicology at Nesna University College.
Subramaniam Lakshminarayana is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music.
Deeyah Khan is a Norwegian documentary film director and human rights activist of Punjabi/Pashtun descent. Deeyah is a two-time Emmy Award winner, two time Peabody Award winner, a BAFTA winner and has received the Royal Television Society award for Best Factual Director. She has made seven documentaries to date, all have been shown on ITV in the UK as part of its Exposure series.
The Amanda Award is an award given annually at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, Norway, to promote and improve Norwegian film. The award originated in 1985, and has since 2005 been exclusively a film award. Winners are awarded a trophy by the Norwegian sculptor Kristian Kvakland, and the name—and theme—of the sculpture comes from a legendary local woman from the 1920s. The award ceremony is marked every year by a major, nationally televised event.
The Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) is a film festival held annually in October in Bergen, Norway since 2000, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films. The festival celebrated its 20th edition in 2019, featuring more than 150 films in the program. The festival leader is Tor Fosse, and BIFF is owned by Bergen Cinema.
Kurdish cinema focuses on the Kurdish people and culture. The fate of the Kurds as a people without a state shaped their cinema. Kurdish films often show social grievances, oppression, torture, human rights violations, and life as a stranger. Kurdish cinema has a high significance for the Kurds, as it offers the opportunity to draw attention to their own situation artistically. However, because of state repression, most films are produced in exile. The best example of this is in Turkey, where Kurds were not permitted to speak their native language until 1991, which made the development of their films more difficult.
Pakistani Norwegians are Norwegians of Pakistani descent, 65.23% of Pakistanis in Norway live in the capital Oslo. First-generation Pakistani Norwegians, who migrate from Pakistan, are distinguished from the mainstream in several demographic aspects, while second-generation Pakistani Norwegians, who are born in Norway, are well established in Norway and have gone on to become professionals and politicians.
Banaz Mahmod was a 20-year-old Iraqi Kurdish woman who lived in Mitcham, South London, England. She was murdered on the orders of her family in a so-called honour killing because she ended a violent and abusive forced marriage and started a relationship with someone of her own choosing. Her father, uncle and three cousins were later convicted of her murder.
Piraya Film is an independent production company based in Stavanger, Norway, known for making documentary films, often on international subjects. The company was founded in 1999 by filmmakers Torstein Grude and Trond Kvist with the aim of making creative high end documentaries for release in the market worldwide.
Ruán Magan is an Irish director, producer, writer and creator whose work in drama, documentary, theatre and major stadium events has been recognised with over 40 international industry awards and has reached audiences of millions around the world.
Edvard Freydar Beyer was a Norwegian literary historian, literary critic, and professor at the University of Oslo from 1958 to 1990.
Free Word was an international centre for literature, literacy and free expression based at 60 Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell, London. It developed local, national and international collaborations that explored the transformative power of words.
Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation. Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award . These are awards are distributed annually during the month of May in connection with the anniversary of the liberation of Norway at the end of World War II in May 1945. Prizes are awarded to one or more persons or organizations that have contributed to areas where the organization works, especially in the work of freedom of expression. In addition to a monetary reward, the award includes a statue by sculptor Nils Aas.
sister-hood is an international platform for the voices of women of Muslim heritage founded in 2007 by Norwegian, film-maker and human rights activist Deeyah Khan through her media and arts production company Fuuse.
Banaz: A Love Story is a 2012 documentary film directed and produced by Deeyah Khan. The film chronicles the life and death of Banaz Mahmod, a young British-Iraqi woman of Kurdish origin killed in 2006 in South London on the orders of her family in a so-called honour killing. The film received its UK premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London September 2012.
Nordic Woman is a compilation album that features traditional music forms performed by well known female artists in Nordic countries.
WORLD WOMAN is a festival of art and activism in Oslo founded in 2015 by filmmaker and activist Deeyah Khan. The festival highlights the voices of artists and activists from around the world and promotes courage, creativity and compassion through human rights, freedom of expression, equality and peace. The event was produced by Fuuse and it took place on the 30th and 31 January 2015 in the Riksscenen with the support of Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. WORLD WOMAN is planned as an annual event.
Jihad: A Story of the Others is a 2015 documentary film by Norwegian director Deeyah Khan. The film is produced by Khan's production company Fuuse. Jihad is the outcome of a two-year investigation by Deeyah and provides a view from the inside about what it is like to be drawn into radicalism. The documentary film sets out to provide an insight into why some young Muslims in the West embrace violent extremism and go abroad to fight holy wars and in some cases why they came to reject it.
“It’s not about ideals – 90% of them never subscribe to the ideals – it’s other factors that are a draw. This is the new rock and roll; jihad is sexy. The kid who was not very good-looking now looks good holding a gun. He can get a bride now, he’s powerful. The Isis gun is as much a penis extension as the stockbroker with his Ferrari”.
Alyas Karmani, speaking to the Observer
The Gunnar Sønsteby Prize has been awarded annually in Norway since 2015 to individuals who are brave defenders of fundamental democratic values. It is awarded by the Gunnar Sønsteby Memorial Fund, founded in 2013 with the goal of honoring the life of the World War II Norwegian Resistance hero Gunnar Sønsteby.
The Voice of a Woman (VOW) is an organization founded by Maureen A. Bryan in 2009, as a platform for the works of women filmmakers, artists and thought leaders internationally. The Voice of a Woman Festival, Awards, Talks and Masterclasses are presented each year in London, New York and Cannes.
