Documentary about the people who live by the sea

How does living close to the sea shape people?
The Norwegian documentary Havfolket, which premiered in 2026, is a humorous, epic and unsentimental love letter to the people who live along Norway's coastline.
Drawing on more than a century of archival footage and powerful voices from the Norwegian coast, the documentary offers an engaging portrait of how living close to the sea shapes people's character, way of life and outlook on the world.
Havfolket has received widespread acclaim in Norway, and it is likely to strike a chord in the Faroe Islands as well, where the sea is equally central to everyday life and identity.
While the film centres on the people and everyday life along the coast, it also explores significant moments in Norwegian history, including the beginning of the country's oil adventure and the reconstruction of Finnmark, which was burned and devastated by the Nazis during the Second World War before being largely rebuilt by the Norwegian state in the post-war years.
Directors: Elisabeth Kleppe, Henrik Hylland Uhlving and Elin Sand