Overview

• Folktales opened in limited release at AFI Silver and select regional theaters on August 1, coinciding with reviews by the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times.
• Reviewers highlight the film’s sweeping tundra landscapes and ambient soundtrack for conveying the stark beauty of the remote Pasvik campus.
• The documentary follows three teenagers confronting personal insecurities by bonding with Alaskan and Siberian huskies during Outward Bound–style survival training.
• Instructors incorporate tasks such as deer hunting, loaded hikes and solo nights to foster emotional resilience and unplug students from digital life.
• Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady weave Norse mythological motifs—like the Norns’ red thread—into the narrative to add poetic symbolism.