Marie Ulven, the internationally acclaimed musical artist known as Girl in Red, is set to make her feature debut as the lead in Maipo Film‘s “Low Expectations,” the upcoming first feature from director Eivind Landsvik.
While “Low Expectations” represents Landsvik’s first foray into feature-length filmmaking, it comes with a great deal of buzz following the success of his short film “Tits” at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
“Low Expectations” tells the story of Maja, a 29-year-old artist who, after years of intense success, finds herself at a breaking point. Forced to put her career on hold, Maja returns home, depressed and broke, and takes a job at a high school. The film explores her journey of self-discovery as she navigates the harsh realities of everyday life.
Produced by Maipo Film in collaboration with Snowglobe (“The Worst Person in the World”) in Denmark, “Low Expectations” promises to be a compelling exploration of ambition, burnout and the quest for happiness.
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The story won’t be entirely unfamiliar to Ulven, whose rise to fame began in 2018 when she started recording music in her bedroom. Her breakthrough song, “We Fell in Love in October,” has amassed over 1.2 billion streams on Spotify. Her debut studio album, “If I Could Make It Go Quiet,” was released in 2021 and received critical acclaim. In 2023, she toured with Taylor Swift, further expanding her audience, before releasing her second album, “I’m Doing It Again Baby!” in 2024.
The film, supported by the Norwegian and Danish film institutes, will be distributed by Nordisk Film Distribution and is currently seeking additional funding. Director Landsvik expressed his excitement about working with Ulven, stating, “I knew her as a great musician and was really pleased to find out Marie also has a rare gift as an actor. She has so much to offer this film, and I am grateful she wants to share her talent with us.”
Producer Synnøve Hørsdal echoed this sentiment: “We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect match of talent, experience, and storytelling. Marie’s personal connection to the film’s themes, combined with Eivind’s powerful narrative and ability to convey it, make the two of them some of the most exceptional talents in the cultural sector in Norway.”