Woods Hole Review: “Folktales”
Written by: Billy Ray Brewton | July 30th, 2025
Folktales (Heidi Ewing/Rachel Grady, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars
What I would have given for something like Pasvik Folk High School when I was a kid. Growing up in the rural South, and also being a summer-camp kid, I was pre-disposed to working in and around nature. I’ve been able to build a fire from scratch since I was in junior high. Outdoor camping is something as familiar to me as driving a car, even though I don’t do it nearly as much as I once did. So, to have had a place to really hone those skills away from the push and pull of the outside world would have been a dream come true. Folktales, the latest documentary experience from the filmmaking duo of Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, makes the case that freedom is found in nature: freedom from society; from the pressures we put on ourselves to fit in; from the humdrum day-to-day existence of modern life. It’s a beautiful film, through and through, and puts us back in touch with our Stone Age brains.
Pasvik Folk High School is one of several schools created for the sole purpose of bringing educational opportunities to rural Norwegians. Created in the 1800s, they have since become a place where kids from all over the world can come to learn about Arctic traditions, dog sledding, and how to survive on their own. We follow three students: Hege, a young girl still grieving the unexpected loss of her father; Bjørn Tore, a young man clearly on the spectrum who has difficulty making and keeping friends; and Romain, who has dropped out of high school and is struggling to find his place in the world. They’re all looking for something, but none of them know that that “something” is at first. By the end of the film, we get the sense that they are all a bit wiser than before, and might have even built some confidence along the way.
The way the school operates is fascinating. The kids are, essentially, given free reign and allowed to grow at their own pace. There is no othering at Pasvik, only support. Watching these kids learn to support one another is one of the real beauties of the picture. One particularly perilous event comes when they are forced to spend two nights in the blistering cold with nothing but their wits and a dog to keep them company. Watching how they rise to the occasion, however begrudgingly, really showcases the endurance of the human spirit and how our lives today are too figured-out for us. Romain, especially, surprises even himself in this endeavor, and the validation he receives from the teachers is so warm and inspiring. The educators here, across the board, blend tough love with real wisdom and humanity towards their charges.
The Arctic landscape here is stunning, shot gorgeously by Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo (Songs of Earth). The combination of campfires and the Northern Lights leads to some unforgettable imagery. But it’s the relationship between the kids and the sled dogs that folks will truly remember. A foundational part of their education, these dogs become the students’ responsibility, and watching them form individual bonds with the dogs is something to behold. Like the kids, each dog is unique, and their personalities shine together. As Hege puts it, “Why would I want to be on my phone when I have these beautiful dogs?” Folktales has a lot to say about how disconnected we’ve become through technology, and how we might all benefit from finding a way to reconnect with our prehistoric roots.
Folktales is one of the most genuinely moving depictions of adolescent rebirth I’ve ever seen. Hege is not the same at the end of this film as she is in the beginning. None of the kids are. The access Ewing and Grady were given really allows them to paint such a compelling portrait of the relationship between human, beast, and nature. As they did in previous efforts like The Boys of Baraka and Jesus Camp, the directors find their way into these remote communities and let the story unfold as it goes. The best documentarians know to leave their preconceived notions at the door. Folktales isn’t saying that every kid needs to learn survival skills. But it is saying that the more we lose touch with the old ways, the less surprised we can be when we start losing ourselves along the way. I am glad Pasvik Folk High School exists, and especially glad filmmakers as gifted as Ewing and Grady were given such access. Now I’m ready to go camping for a few days and find myself. Of course I’ll take my dogs with me.
[Folktales plays at the 2025 Woods Hole Film Festival on August 2 and is simultaneously expanding its theatrical release this week.]
Billy Ray Brewton
Billy Ray Brewton is the producer and founder of Make Believe Theatricals, which specializes in promoting unique creative voices that exist outside the mainstream. Billy Ray was the subject of the award-winning documentary, Skanks (Slamdance 2014); wrote and directed the award-winning dramatic horror film Show Yourself (Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Fest 2017); produced the award-winning documentary Socks on Fire (Tribeca 2020, “Best Documentary Feature”); and served as associate producer on the horror anthology, The Mortuary Collection (Fantastic Fest 2019, “Audience Choice Best Feature”). The short film he produced in 2016, Pool Shark, currently has over 100 million views on YouTube. His next project as a producer, Mental Health and Horror, is scheduled for release in 2025. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, IDA, and Documentary Producers Alliance; is the ultimate heel on the Screen Drafts podcast; and writes about film for Cinepunx.