This video looks at the impact of modern huge cruise ships on the city of Stavanger. They change the nature of the city, as well as blocking the vista up the coast for residents, but provide valuable input into local economies (although with Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund as described by Simon Reeve on his recent 'Scandinavia' season this is less vital perhaps.)
The film was made by Odveig Klyve in 2021, and has been shown at several film festivals.
It is based on a New Yorker magazine article.
The vistas from Stavanger are striking: sparkling ocean, with islands and mountains in the distance. Recently, however, a new industry’s arrival has obstructed the view and, as Klyve put it, changed the very feeling of the city. When cruise ships first came to the harbor, about ten years ago, Klyve remembers her neighbors being excited about the important economic boost that tourists would bring to the area; some residents even put up banners to welcome visitors into their gardens. Over time, however, the cruise industry has become a local controversy.
Outside her filmmaking, Klyve writes what she calls documentary poetry—poems that address current events in a sidelong way, prioritizing images over assertions. The same approach is clear in “View.” Even for a casual watcher with no ties to Stavanger and no memories of the open views from its hills, the footage evokes wistfulness. The view is gorgeous, bright, colorful—and then suddenly hidden behind a towering wall flecked with cabin windows.
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