Ode To Deliciousness: Audun Amundsen On His Short "Help! I’ve Gone Viral"
Director Audun Amundsen is a Norwegian filmmaker who makes participatory and performative documentaries under his company GonzoDocs. His latest documentary short film, Help! I’ve Gone Viral, shares a story of a man who goes viral after professing his love for Nasi Padang, an Indonesian dish.
Upon returning home to Norway after a holiday in Indonesia Audun Kvitland pens an ode to Nasi Padang West Sumatra's most famous culinary export. He uploads his ditty to YouTube and much to his surprise it becomes a viral sensation in Indonesia.
This film will be receiving its World Premiere at this year's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. We had the pleasure of chatting with Auden about the film, its origins, if Nasi Padang lives up to the hype, and much much more!
The film’s story is delightfully bizarre. How in the world did you catch wind of Audun Kvitland’s strange tale and become involved in capturing his journey?
Actually, I have a very strong connection to Indonesia from earlier. I have been following a shaman living deep in the jungle of Sumatra since 2004, and in 2020 I released the documentary Newtopia, which is an immense, soul-wrecking, humorous and sobering tale from a disappearing world that brings us to a place in time which will never be documented again.
Audun Kvitland lives in the same city, Trondheim, as me, and we were both hanging out in the documentary industry. He knew my connection to the country and that I speak Indonesian, so when he was making the love song “Nasi Padang,” he called me up to listen to a sketch. I immediately knew that the song was special and that it would be well received. It had this x-factor that I knew Indonesians would love. My Indonesian friends couldn’t stop singing “Nasi Padang.”
Some weeks later he released the song on Youtube, and it went even more crazy than I could imagine. I saw the potential in a great story, and so I started following Kvitland during the whole process. It was kind of a lucky situation that Kvitland and I had this connection from before, and that made it possible to capture a sudden viral situation from the very beginning.
One of the characters in Newtopia seriously believed that he had evoked another Audun (We are both called Audun, and it is not a very common name in Norway) with the power of his mind, so that I had to come back to Indonesia and make more films!
Here is also a link to my background story: https://creativemornings.com/talks/audun-amundsen
I’m sure you tried your fair share of Nasi Padang on your trip. Can you describe your experience with it? Did it stand up to Audun’s hype?
I have loved Nasi Padang since the day I first came to Indonesia in 2004, but I have never eaten so much of it as I did when I went to Indonesia together with Audun. We were offered Nasi Padang everywhere! It is very fortunate that Audun has a good taste in food, and didn’t make a song about something that isn’t tasty. Also, Nasi Padang is like a tapas with many dishes, so it is possible to have some variation. Honestly, I can’t get enough of it, and I seriously miss Nasi Padang all the time when I am in Norway.
What surprised you most about your trip with Audun and the impact his song has had?
I was totally flabbergasted when we walked off the plane in Indonesia, and we were greeted with a hallway of drummers! That was the point when I really understood that this thing was bigger than anyone could have imagined.
What were some challenges you faced capturing Audun’s story and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was to hold the camera while documenting Audun eating Nasi Padang. I just wanted to eat all that delicious food instead of filming!
What drew you to the visual arts? How did you get into directing?
Wow, that is a long story. Basically, I was going to backpack for 3 months in India in 2004. I lost my plane back home to Norway, and ended up traveling all over Asia for almost 2 years. That is when I met the fantastic character, Aman Paksa, in my first film, Newtopia. When I finally came back home, I decided that I wanted to make a film about Aman Paksa. I invested in production equipment and sucked up everything I could about filmmaking, ordered a one way ticket to Indoensia and ended up staying for about 3 years from 2008. I got obsessed with documenting and storytelling. I submerged myself in the culture and lost track of time. Everything revolved around making film, and it has ever since. Every year I go to Indonesia, and now I am just waiting for COVID to pass, so I can go back there. I can’t imagine where I would be if I hadn’t lost that plane back home in 2004.
What films or filmmakers have inspired you, your style, or your approach to telling a story?
Hmm, honestly that is a difficult question for me, because there are no one in particular. I didn’t really come from a documentary background or school when I ventured into this business about 13 years ago. I have watched a lot of documentaries though, and I love the genre. I love telling stories and making an impact. I love stories where the filmmaker is passionate and immersive. Something better to come by Hanna Polak and Icarus by Bryan Fogel are good examples. These are on top of my head right now, but there are so many good ones out there. Character-driven documentaries that tell us something about our human nature is really appealing to me.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
I hope that the audience will enjoy themselves, and as a side note appreciate to experience muslims from a totally different angle than we are used to in mainstream media. I am happy that the film manages to make the viewer feel at least a tiny part of the emotional but entertaining roller coaster that Kvitland felt when it all happened. I am also very happy to observe that the film has had some kind of positive impact on the relationship between two countries/cultures.
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
Working with Newtopia and Help, I’ve gone Viral! has been such thrilling experiences. I can’t imagine myself not making stories and living them at the same time. I am certainly making performative and participatory documentaries, and my next documentary Click The Link Below is no different. That documentary is about the self-acclaimed experts and coaches popping up on your social media. This time I am submerging into a totally different culture, but it is certainly a natural succession in my documentary filmmaking career.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!