The Story Behind Folktales and the Arctic Refuge Where Teens Escape the Anxieties of Modern Life

In Finnmark, Norway, 200 miles above the Arctic Circle, stands Pasvik Folk High School. In Folktales, the latest documentary from filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp, One of Us), the pair ventured there to document its students, teenagers effectively taking a gap year, hundreds of miles away from the distractions of everyday life. The school focuses entirely on building character over grades and discovering a way of life immersed in nature.

Visiting Finnmark, at the very top of Norway, is an experience like no other. “I was surprised how much the place would affect me personally,” says Grady. “As soon as you’re there, your nervous system just settles down.” 

Ewing and Grady discovered folk schools after listening to a podcast by a dog sledder named Blair Braverman. They then read Braverman’s book, Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North. “She mentions in one chapter that she went to a folk high school in the north of Norway that changed her outlook on life,” says Ewing. Once the filmmakers learned more about folk schools, they were compelled by the idea of a school where students could go for a year and prioritize self-actualization over academics.

“As filmmakers, we’ve always been interested in those moments that flash between being a child and being an adult. And we’re very intrigued by the words says to a young person that actually launch them in one direction or the other. If you can capture those moments as a verité filmmaker, it’s extremely satisfying,” says Ewing.

Folk schools are a popular way of learning across northern Europe. Over 400 exist in Scandinavia, 80 of which are in Norway. There’s a great deal of variation across folk schools; students can learn filmmaking, circus arts, or even how to live like a Viking. But Ewing and Grady focused on a folk school where students learn primarily with Alaskan Huskies to hone their outdoor survival skills. “There’s the idea that these animals can help a human become more human,” Ewing says.

Ewing and Grady embarked on making Folktales guided by a set of key questions. What could help young people deal with social anxiety? What can a young person who’s lived through COVID-19 do that can allow them to truly connect? And is there anything that can get a member of Gen Z off their phone? “When we were scouting for this film, we met the teachers. It was their life’s calling to do this work. They told us stories about how they’re working with the kids, and how they saw them change before their eyes, how these animals and taking care of them bring out the humanity in an individual,” says Grady.

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The filmmakers and crew spent nearly the entire year at Pasvik Folk High School, observing every student. When it came to deciding who their main characters would be, Ewing and Grady were looking for students who weren’t happy with the status quo and actively wanted change. “Bjørn, Romain, and Hege were searching for something that they articulated clearly to us the first time we met them. There was a generosity of spirit, a vulnerability, and a tenderness to all three of them,” says Ewing. Each of the three students wanted something different. Bjørn longed to make friends. Romain wanted to get over social anxiety. And Hege wanted to find purpose after the loss of her father. 

A day at Pasvik isn’t easy. The kids tasked with taking care of the dogs get up in the early hours before breakfast to feed and give fresh water to 40 Alaskan Huskies. Then they eat before the whole school meets as a group and goes over the day ahead. They often all watch the news together, which didn’t make the cut for the documentary. “It was fascinating, but we decided it didn’t fit. Audiences didn’t want to watch the news,” says Grady. The kids have plenty of unstructured time, but there are also big adventures, like skiing with the dogs, dogsledding, and ice skating on the river. One week a month, they’d go on a full expedition where they’d learn to do things like building igloos they’d then sleep in. “It’s like Outward Bound, but on steroids,” says Grady.

While folk schools are places where students can get away from the torment of social media and focus on the world outdoors, they are not specifically designed to be a digital detox. No limitations are placed on students using their phones—should they wish to, they can be on them 24/7. But students get their hands dirty at folk schools, often literally. They learn a wide range of practical skills, including making knives, making fires, and knitting clothing. Ewing and Grady noticed something remarkable during their time at Pasvik. “We noticed that over time, they were less and less on [their phones]. It seemed like IRL finally could compete with the scrolling,” says Ewing. “Being in the wilderness and being with one another really gave the phone a run for its money.”

Though Folktales takes place in Norway, much of the dialogue is spoken in English. Pasvik and other folk schools attract students from around the world, and most Norwegians are fluent in English. “They’re very polite,” says Grady. “So if they’re around a non-native Norwegian speaker, they’ll speak in English. One of our characters, Roman, is Dutch, so whenever he’s in a scene, English is being spoken. But when Norwegians are with each other, they’ll speak Norwegian.”

Following a group of teenagers has its own challenges, but there’s a Hollywood adage that you should never work with animals, especially ones as demanding as Alaskan Huskies. “Filming them was actually much easier than filming the Gen Z teenagers. They didn’t care what they looked like. They were always happy to see you. Maybe a mount that would be put on them would fall off, but they didn’t care. They were having a blast!” says Grady. “They stand on you and knock you over. They’re cool, but they need full attention all the time, which I think is great for these teenagers,” says Ewing.

Throughout Folktales, it’s awe-inspiring not only to witness the harsh beauty of the Norwegian Arctic but also the growth of Bjørn, Romain, and Hege. From climate change to gun violence to geopolitical instability, there’s so much doom and gloom surrounding their generation that it almost feels like a better life is all but impossible. But all three subjects in Folktales grow, throughout the year captured on film, to be more well-rounded people capable of things they never thought possible. Away from the stress of everyday life, they have the opportunity to reach for something greater, and it's a chance they eagerly take. 

Documentaries have historically captured some of the harsher aspects of society that demand to be revealed to a wider audience. But Folktales is refreshingly optimistic. It feels almost like a spiritual successor to Lauren Greenfield’s Social Studies, a fascinating look at the way social media affects teenagers, though one that’s far bleaker in tone. But Ewing and Grady didn’t necessarily set out with the intention of making a film with a positive outlook.

“We set out for curiosity about what happens in a folk high school,” says Ewing. “Who goes there and why do they go there? What happens to them? The hope just emerged from the people—and the dogs.”