Odd Geir Sæther

Odd Geir Sæther, FNF is an acclaimed Norwegian Cinematographer (and Director). Inspired by the French New Wave (la Nouvelle Vague), Sæther introduced soft ambient lighting to the Norwegian film industry already on his feature film debut The Guards (1965) directed by Arne Skouen. For Sæther, naturalistic lighting was more important than beautiful lighting. Sæther continued shooting three more movies for the Oscar-nominated director: Journey to the Sea (1966), Musikanter (1967) and An-Magritt (1969). For director Pål Løkkeberg he shot Liv (1967). For the Swedish director Bo Hermansson he shot Mannen som ikke kunne le (1968) and in 1976 came Man on the Roof (1976) directed by another swede Bo Widerberg. In the 1970s Odd Geir did quite a few TV-series (and TV-films), among them Benoni & Rosa (1973), Når vi døde vågner (1973) and John Gabriel Borkman (1978) for director Per Bronken. For director Sverre Udnæs Odd Geir shot the films Fru Inger til Østråt (1975), Øyeblikket (1977) and the TV-series Alberte (1972). Odd Geir Sæther is probably most known for his work on Edvard Munch (1974) which he lensed for the British director Peter Watkins. Despite some initial disagreements the two would rejoin forces on The Journey (1987) and La Commune (Paris, 1871) (2000). Other not notable work is The Women (1979) for Per Blom, Turnaround (1987) directed by Ola Solum, Das Totenreich (1986) by the Austrian director Karin Brandauer and Laiskai Sofijai (2013) for Robert Mullan. In the 1990s, Sæther focused on commercials produced by his own company. In the 21st Century he has shot mostly short films, documentaries, and music films. An exception is Inland Empire (2006) which he shot for David Lynch. Initially Lynch was supposed to shoot the movie himself. The director had chosen to shoot the entire film on a Sony PD150 camcorder. Sæther met Lynch in Poland as he was hired to shoot some behind the scenes material. Lynch was pleased to have an experienced DOP on set, and when the production moved to America, Sæther was called over. For the Italian director Alessandro Negrini, Odd Geir Sæther has shot the documentaries Paradiso (2009), TIDES: A History of Lives and Dreams Lost and Found (Some broken) (2016) and La luna sott'acqua (2023). In later years he has shot and produced concert films within the genres of jazz, world music and classical music. Musicality has always been important for the cinematographer who always operate the camera himself. As by 2024, Odd Geir Sæther is still active, traveling the world with multiple cameras, despite being 83 years old. Odd Geir Sæther has been rewarded the Norwegian Film Critic's Prize in 1976, the Aamot-statuette in 1977, The Norwegian Society of Cinematographers Honorary Prize in 2007 and Arne Skouen's Honorary Prize in 2008.