I was one of those people who thought I’d attend a folk high school just to have some fun for a year before starting my degree. I was determined to study law—this was just meant to be something different. I took the theater course, but I had never considered making a living from theater or acting as a real possibility for me. At Sunnhordland Folk High School, I received confirmation that I was actually good at what I was doing, and the idea of a new direction—along with a boost to my self-image—began to take root. All in all, I can say that attending a folk high school is truly a journey of personal growth; for me, it marked a major personal transformation. And I have never, ever regretted choosing a different path than the one I had originally planned. I remember our principal saying back then: “You don’t have to attend a folk high school to become an engineer, but you become a much better engineer if you do.”
Bente currently works as a producer and production manager for short films and feature films, and has established the production company Blaane in Trondheim. She has been involved in titles such as *Hope* (*Håp*), *Home Ground* (*Heimebane*), *Women in Oversized Men’s Shirts* (*Kvinner i for store herreskjorter*), and *The 12th Man* (*Den 12. mann*), and has also produced her own films, such as *Motvind*. She has worked as a film festival producer and received NTNU’s Film Award in 2021.
