Nordisk Panorama Opens With In Cod We Trust

… by Guro Saniola Bjerk, who comes from “Båtsfjord, one of the northernmost fishing villages of the world, where cod is more important than God. In Cod We Trust is a mosaic puzzle, where people are knit together by fish, the town and nature. With an observational camera and closely heard dialogue, you (will) feel like you are there, candidly watching them, as they reveal how history and circumstances shape us and our perception of home. Båtsfjord might be the most remote and coldest place on earth, but here you will find the warmest people with the most outstanding humour.”

Agree! with this quote taken from the website of the production company Wacky Tie Films. It is a film that is a true Nordic co-production and therefore the obvious choice as the opening film of a Nordisk panorama.

The issue, however, with a – as it is called in the quote above – mosaic puzzle structure, the fragmentation, is that you get close to a character, who you want to stay with for longer, but cut and you are taken to a new person or episode or problem. The latter could be the tensions with the Russians, the constant quota threat to the fishermen, the hard winters for the older population. Is there a lack of focus or should I just be happy to get it all, a bit messy maybe but full of beautifully shot images, music that I loved, small poems, foreign faces of immigrants who left their country, be it Syria or Ukraine, and earlier a lot of tamils came and when the king came to visit, Båtsfjord could be proud of having 0% unemployment. We depended on the foreigners, who came, some locals say in the film. And Doris celebrates her 90 years in a hilarious scene… I enjoyed the film. Go and watch!

Photo: the director.

Norway, Finland, 2026, 84 mins.