A rite of passage for three Norwegian teens is examined in Directors Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady’s new documentary, Folktales.

The film follows teenagers Hege, Romain and Bjørn Tore, who leave the comforts of home to enroll in a traditional “folk high school” in the wilds of northernmost Norway. Dropped at the edge of the world, this brave trio learns they must rely on only themselves and a loyal pack of sled dogs and experience an unexpected transformation as they take the daunting step from childhood to adulthood.

Folktales premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

On July 31, following the DGA Special Projects Committee’s Documentary Series screening in the Guild's Los Angeles Theater, Ewing & Grady discussed the making of Folktales during a conversation moderated by DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Ondi Timoner (Last Flight Home).

During the conversation, Ewing and Grady spoke about how they work together as an efficient co-directing team, especially after having worked together on ten projects.

“We usually take turns when we go into the field,” said Grady. “We’ll cast together, figure out what kind of the ‘language’ is, and then we’ll take turns. It’s just easier for everybody if there’s just one Director.”

Asked how they settle disagreements, Ewing explained that in the edit, “the movie wins. We might get mad, but the movie wins. I don’t think we’ve ever walked away and been like ‘the movie just got worse because somebody compromised.’”

In addition to Folktales, Ewing & Grady’s directorial credits include the feature documentaries Endangered, One of Us, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, DETROPIA, 12th and Delaware, Freakonomics, the Oscar-nominated Jesus Camp, and the Emmy-nominated The Boys of Baraka. Ewing also made the narrative feature, I Carry You with Me. Ewing and Grady have been DGA members since 2009.