Norwegian veteran Bent Hamer (Kitchen Stories) returns with this look at fractured families at Christmas time. The film shuttles between serious drama and the gently absurdist comedy for which Hamer is well-known.

Bent Hamer's sixth feature film Home for Christmas is based on several stories from the Norwegian writer Levi Henriksen's collection of short stories "Bare mjuke pakker under treet." The plot unfolds during a few afternoon hours on Christmas Eve. The individual stories, which at times intertwine, are set in the small town Skogli. The characters in the stories cover a great range in age and life situations, representing both reconciliation with their own lives and strong frustration. Some show the will to understand and do something about their lives, while others have given up. Deeply tragic and melancholy aspects are mixed with humour and rather frivolous solutions.

"It is a Christmas film, not like a Disney Christmas film. The film is based on the short stories by, Norwegian writer, Levi Hendrickson. The working title is Home for Christmas. It takes place in his village. It is about a few people struggling to find a way home for Christmas. It covers the period of 3-4 hours, when people are trying to make it home in time for Christmas dinner. Some of the lives cross, but it is not like everything is fitting into the same story. The stories do cross. I like it a lot. I think it has huge potential and compliments his writings."

In the small fictional Norwegian town Skogli, a puzzle of characters intersects with each other in different stories. These characters represent a wide range of ages and social classes, blending humor and tragedy, tenderness and desperation; but always open for forgiveness and hope. The stories bring forward the theme of living together in all aspects and it explores love at any age and in all its phases, from giving birth to dying.

»Home for Christmas« is a modern Christmas Carol based on a selection of short stories from the Norwegian author Levi Henriksen’s collection ”Only Soft Presents Under the Tree” (Bare mjuke pakker under treet).