From Fieldwork to Film: WAR FUN Premieres at BIFF

What is it that attracts people to war? That question lies at the heart of WAR FUN, a new documentary film based on the CMI-led research project War and Fun: Reconceptualizing Warfare and Its Experience (WARFUN). The film will premiere at the Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) on 19 October.

Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Anders Hereid, WAR FUN follows CMI Research Professor Antonio De Lauri and members of the WARFUN research team as they explore the experiences of those who actively participate in war. Through encounters with soldiers in different contexts, the film examines the emotional and everyday dimensions of warfare, challenging simplified understandings of what it means to take part in violent conflict.

While the film is based on the ERC-funded WARFUN project, it also became part of the research process itself.

"To do good research on these questions, we needed to go beyond interviews and written accounts," says De Lauri. "Film and other visual approaches became important tools not only for communicating the research, but also for investigating it. They helped us engage with dimensions of experience that are often difficult to capture through writing alone."

The collaboration with filmmaker Anders Hereid began in 2022, when De Lauri approached him with the idea of developing a documentary based on the project. Over the following years, researchers and filmmakers travelled together, gathering material and exploring how to translate complex research questions into a compelling narrative.

Research through film

For De Lauri, the process offered a new perspective on his own research.

"The documentary was both a research tool and a dissemination tool. It created opportunities to reflect on our questions and findings in new ways. The filmmaking process brought its own perspective, and through an ongoing dialogue we developed a shared understanding of how these stories could be told."

The film features researchers, including De Lauri and Heidi Mogstad, who appear on the screen alongside people whose experiences have informed the project. While appearing in the film was not always comfortable, De Lauri says a strong relationship of trust with the filmmakers was crucial throughout the process.

"Some nuances are inevitably lost, but film can also communicate experiences and emotions in a very direct way. It invites audiences into a more intimate understanding of what participation in war can look like" says De Lauri.

He hopes the film will contribute to de-exceptionalising what takes place in war.

"There is a tendency to single out particular acts of extreme violence as exceptional," he says. "But by doing so, we can end up making war seem more acceptable than it is. The uncomfortable reality is that such violence is not an exception to war. It is part of what war is."

Nominated for award

WAR FUN is also nominated for The Golden Owl (Gulluglen) award, which recognises outstanding research communication through documentary film. The award is presented through a collaboration between BIFF and the University of Bergen and highlights films that make research accessible and engaging for broader audiences. 

More information

Premiere screening: 19 October, 17:00

Second screening: 20 October, 18:00

Watch the trailer and get tickets here: War Fun

Panel discussion: Following the second screening, a public panel discussion will take place on 20 October at 19:30 at Kulturhuset, organised in collaboration with Selskapet til Vitenskapenes Fremme: Samtale om WAR FUN (2026)

Read more about the research project: War and Fun: Reconceptualizing Warfare and Its Experience (WARFUN