Lars Is LOL

Eirik
Sæter Stordahl

Eirik Sæter Stordahl, born in 1988 in Oslo, is a Norwegian director and screenwriter. He received his education from the National Film School of Denmark and graduated with the sci-fi short film "In Pieces," a post-apocalyptic love story. Stordahl is currently based in Copenhagen and is working on developing feature films and series in both Norway and Denmark. As a director, he has a diverse background, having worked on various formats such as radio fiction series for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. One of his notable works includes the award-winning "The Thing with Liv," which won the Prix Europa in 2018. He has also created a film-theater hybrid titled "Quarantine" (2020) for the Royal Danish Theatre. Stordahl's works span across genres such as drama, coming-of-age, thriller, and sci-fi, and often delve into themes of identity, diversity, love, and longing. His films are characterized by a poetic, musical, and sensuous filmic style, infused with a personal and heartfelt voice. "Lars is LOL" is his debut feature film.

Eleven-year-old Amanda is looking forward to starting school after the summer. It's mainly because of Adam, whom she's head over heels in love with, but also because she'll be a mentor to one of the cute first-graders. Things get a bit complicated when instead of that, she's tasked with caring for Lars, a new classmate with Down syndrome. Lars unintentionally draws unwanted attention from Amanda, making her feel embarrassed in front of Adam and others at school. However, as Amanda gets to know Lars better, she realizes they have much more in common than she originally thought. To her surprise, they become good friends. But how to explain it to classmates and still remain popular? A touching, funny, and imaginative film about the importance of friendship, diversity, and the struggle to fit in, based on the Norwegian bestseller by Iben Akerlie, awarded the Audience Award at the Tromsø Film Festival.