We had a chat with the one and only Sander Dahl, who recently took the music-video-world in Norway over, with the music videos for Honningbarna, Avanti. Winning both a cube at the Norwegian Short Film festival (in Grimstad) but also taking home Best Music Video at the Norwegian Grammy’s (Spellemann) 2024 edition.

Who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Sander August Dahl. I am a comedy/satire director. I have been working in film for about 9 years, and I'm passionate about making smart scenes that make me laugh. Maybe even more passionate about making dumb scenes that are funny.

What is the latest project you worked on that you are proud of?

Last year, I finished a trilogy of music videos for Honningbarna that together make up the short film "The Social Aspect". That was such a great experience. A definite labor of love made together with my favorite crew and musicians. I'm really proud of how it turned out and that it stayed true to its initial vision despite all the restrictions a low budget music video has.

That project is such a satisfying watch because it has a great blend of dry comedy and brilliant acting, led by Steinar and Fanny, combined with the raw, high tempo music of Honningbarna. It really makes for a fun and absurd contrast. Hard work that really paid off.

What is the most important thing you focus on as a director?

I really want to make stuff that is funny. That may sound quite trite, but I really enjoy when what we make gets people to laugh. It's an instant confirmation that people agree with whatever point or annoyance I am trying to get across with my work. Which is nice, because that means the  thing that annoys me is dumb, and not me for being annoyed by it.

I generally build my scripts and stories around something I have a grievance with or think is or cant make sense of, whether that is a character type or a social structure. I like combining this with exploring what would happen if you followed your worst impulse in a high performance situation, like a job interview, and then making something funny out of that. Doing so in a comedic way hopefully makes the viewer reflect on how they themselves would try to get out of that particular situation, which then hopefully makes them think about the wider point of the story.

Who in the nordics should get the spotlight next, and why?

Isak Jenssen. He does a bit of everything. Directing, DoP and other creative work. Does all of them well too. Very much a hip guy.

Website: https://www.tangrystan.no/director/sander-dahl/ 

Instagram: @sander_a_dahl

Images provided by by Sander Dahl.