Torun Lian is an author, screenwriter and director. She started her career at the National Theatre in Oslo, working in costumes and scenography. While working at the theatre she wrote three plays, which were later published in book-form. After this debut as a dramatist, Lian also started writing for the screen, and struck a cord in the audience with the television series Frida (1989), based on Lian's own book of the same title. The initial success resulted in a second serie, Frida og det urolige hjertet (1992), and a feature film; the award-winning Frida - Straight from the Heart (1991), directed by Berit Nesheim.
Lian made her directorial debut with the short There Is Someone Even Smaller than Anna in 1992, while still continuing her writing. In 1998 she made her feature film debut with the youth drama Only Clouds Move the Stars, based on her own novel of the same title from 1994, which she had also adapted for the screen. The film received several awards - including Special Mention by the The Crystal Bear Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival, The Norwegian Film Critics Award and the Norwegian National Film Award Amanda for Best Theatrical Film - and was screened at numerous international film festivals. Her second feature film, The Color of Milk, was also an adaptation from one of her own novels, and also became a critically acclaimed and award-winning hit.
Lian has also written, or co-written, several screenplays for other films, such as Falling Sky (2002) and Vegas (2009). In addition to writing and directing, Lian also served as commissioning consultant for feature films at the Norwegian Film Institute from 2004 to 2006.
Norsk Filminstitutt
