Folke (Tomas Norström) is an employee of the Home Research Institute in conservative, post-war Sweden. Dispatched to a small Norwegian village 'with a surplus of bachelors' Folke has been assigned to study the kitchen routines of cantankerous old farmer Isak (Joachim Calmeyer). Perched on a high, custom-designed chair in the corner of his subject's kitchen, Folke follows his clear instructions: observe and record, but do not interact in any way.

Against their wills both men begin to break the rules and communicate. As a tentative friendship builds, trouble brews when Folke's protocol-obsessed supervisor arrives to observe proceedings, forcing Isak and Folke to play by the rules. This is wonderfully warm-hearted and entertaining cinema from one of Norway’s most distinctive talents.

The screening will be followed by a discussion led by Véronique Altglas, Lecturer in Sociology at Queen's University Belfast.

Real to Reel: Film and Social Life is a monthly sociological cinema series presented in collaboration with the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University.