ARNE LINDTNER NÆSS
Born in 1944, he was educated as an actor and has performed at most every theatre in Norway, in addition to numerous roles in film and television since his cinematic debut in 1969. Since 1985 he’s also expanded to the roles of writer, director and creative producer for both stage and screen, and has established himself as a veteran of Norwegian family and children films. Næss started writing for the screen with the television drama DE SYV SØSTRE in 1996, and went on to direct 25 episodes of the Norwegian soap opera HOTEL CÆSAR in 1998-1999. In 2001 he served as both director and creative producer on the childrens television-series THE JUNIOR OLSEN GANG’S FIRST HAUL, which led to his debut as a feature film director when the franchise moved from the small to the big screen with it’s first film: THE JUNIOR OLSEN GANG GOES SUBMARINE. Since then Næss has directed all 6 of the films in the franchise (as per 2011). He has also directed the successful children films FINDING FRIENDS in 2005 and SOS - SUMMER OF SUSPENSE in 2008, both presented in several festivals, among which Giffoni Film Festival.