# Sturla Brandth Grøvlen

Sturla Brandth Grøvlen (born 11 March 1980) is a Norwegian cinematographer, who lives and works in Denmark. For his work on Victoria (2015), Grøvlen won a Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Cinematography at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

## Early life and education

Grøvlen grew up in the Kattem and Lundåsen neighbourhoods of Trondheim, Norway. He studied film history and film theory at Lillehammer University College from 2000 to 2001. He then studied at European Film College in Ebeltoft from 2001 to 2002. He studied photography at Bergen Academy of Art and Design from 2003 to 2006, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Between 2007 and 2011, he studied film at the National Film School of Denmark in Copenhagen.

## Career

Until 2013, Grøvlen spelled his middle name Brandt.
Grøvlen was cinematographer on Anders Morgenthaler's drama The 11th Hour (2014), starring Kim Basinger and Sebastian Schipper. Grøvlen then completed the cinematography on Schipper's film Victoria (2015). The film was screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where Grøvlen won a Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Cinematography. The film has a 140-minute runtime and was shot in a single continuous take, without cuts. Victoria was Grøvlen's second feature film as a cinematographer. He was also a cinematographer on the Icelandic film Hrútar, which premiered in 2015 and won the audience award at the Tromsø International Film Festival in 2016. He was also the cinematographer on the Danish film Another Round (2020), directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Another Round was awarded the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.
In January 2021, he was awarded the Liv Ullmann Prize for his efforts as a leading cinematographer in both Nordic and international film.

## Personal life

Grøvlen lives and works in Copenhagen. In addition to his mother tongue of Norwegian, he is fluent in Danish and English.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2014 | The Agreement | Karen Stokkendal Poulsen | Documentary |
| 2014 | The 11th Hour | Anders Morgenthaler | |
| 2015 | Victoria | Sebastian Schipper | |
| 2015 | Rams | Grímur Hákonarson | |
| 2015 | Home Sweet Home | Katrine Philp | Television documentary |
| 2016 | Shelley | Ali Abbasi | |
| 2016 | Heartstone | Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson | |
| 2017 | The Discovery | Charlie McDowell | |
| 2018 | Before the Frost | Michael Noer | |
| 2019 | On the Inside of a Military Dictatorship | Karen Stokkendal Poulsen | Documentary |
| 2020 | Shirley | Josephine Decker | |
| 2020 | Wendy | Benh Zeitlin | Director of photography |
| 2020 | Last and First Men | Jóhann Jóhannsson | |
| 2020 | Another Round | Thomas Vinterberg | |
| 2021 | The Innocents | Eskil Vogt | |
| 2022 | Beautiful Beings | Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson | |
| 2022 | War Sailor | Gunnar Vikene | |
| 2024 | Life and Other Problems | Max Kestner | |
| TBA | The Summer Book † | Charlie McDowell | |

#### Short films

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2007 | Unsee | David Earle | |
| 2009 | Skabeloner | Nadim Carlsen and Sturla B. Grøvlen | |
| 2009 | Lille Drage | Asger Krøjer Kallesøe | |
| 2009 | The Gentlemen | Janus Bragi Jakobsson | Documentary |
| 2010 | In Darkness There Is Light | Ali Abbasi | |
| 2010 | Stefan | Andreas Thaulow | |
| 2010 | Venus | Tor Fruergaard | |
| 2011 | Deleted Scene (From an Imaginary Film) | David B Earle | |
| 2011 | Underneath the Dark | Anita Mathal Hopland | Documentary |
| 2011 | Karim | Ulaano Salim | Director of photography |
| 2011 | M for Markus | Ali Abbasi | |
| 2011 | Før stormen | Andreas Thaulow | |
| 2012 | Touch of Magic | Tobias Gundorff Boesen | Director of photography |
| 2012 | My Tokyo Fairytale | Marie Limkilde | Documentary |
| 2012 | Ung for evigt | Ulaano Salim | |
| 2012 | Turbo | Andreas Thaulow | |
| 2013 | A Doll's House | Tobias Gundorff Boesen | |
| 2013 | Et Dukkehjem | Tobias Gundorff Boesen | |
| 2014 | Lubich & Davidsen | Sara Lubich | |
| 2014 | Ártún | Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson | |
| 2015 | Riders | Jesper Vidkjær | Director of photography |
| 2016 | Pistol | Andreas Thaulow | |
| 2018 | Kina | Tobias Gundorff Boesen | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2014 | Kødkataloget | Tea Lindeburg | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | Kunstnerens Lærling | Anders Morgenthaler | |
| 2023 | War Sailor | Gunnar Vikene | Netflix re-release |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist | Director |
| 2011 | "A Dark God Heart" | Sleep Party People | Marie Limkilde |
| 2011 | "Red Swan" | The Mob | Milad Alami |
| 2011 | "Sensation" | PowerSolo | Tor Fruergaard |
| 2011 | "Farligt" | F.U.K.T | Lars Halvorsen and Heine Kaarsberg |
| 2012 | "Dance" | Rebecca & Fiona | Lærke Herthoni |
| 2013 | "On the Ropes (Out of Line)" | The Floor Is Made of Lava | Marie Limkilde |
| 2013 | "Are We Lovers" | Silver 6 | Christian Eaglecastle |
| 2016 | "Go Robot" | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Thoranna Sigurdardottir |

## Awards and honours

* 2015: Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Cinematography for Victoria by Sebastian Schipper (tied with Evgeniy Privin and Serhiy Mykhalchuk for Under Electric Clouds)
* 2015: Best Cinematography for Victoria in the 65th ceremony of the German Film Awards.
* 2023: American Society of Cinematographers Spotlight Award for War Sailor