By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there's always more we can learn about them as people. This year, we decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
When filmmaker Silje Evensmo Jacobsen stumbled upon a blog by a Norwegian photographer whose family had opted for an unconventional lifestyle on an isolated farm, she was hooked immediately. Maria [Payne], an amazing photographer from Norway, together with her husband, Nik, and their kids, were on a mission: breaking free from the everyday grind, recalls Jacobsen. The way they redefined their lives based on what they wanted, not what society expected, was seriously inspiring. It made me think about my own life and beliefs and sparked this idea to tell their story through a film.
That idea would become A New Kind of Wilderness, which premiered in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Jacobsen's second feature introduces the world to the Paynes, whose self-sufficient lifestyle is centered on nature and spending time together as a family. The director skillfully navigates a v rit approach while maintaining a deep respect for the Payne family, who experience a tragedy that forces them to reexamine certain aspects of their lives as the documentary unfolds. The film's dedication to capturing the vulnerability and humanity of this family won it the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Festival.
Jacobsen also sees the film as a quiet call to action. In today's fast-paced world, surrounded by technology, institutional norms, overconsumption, and always the stress of overachieving and wanting more, many of us are silently longing to hit the brakes. We crave moments with our children, a return to nature, and a simpler way of life, she explains. This story can inspire us to make a conscious choice on how we want to live our lives and remind us to find meaning in life's simple joys.
Learn more about Jacobsen below, including how the director got into filmmaking and which scene from A New Kind of Wilderness she found particularly difficult to cut.
North America Stories
19/03/2026
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By Lucy Spicer
