DOCUMENTARY | 1997

“Imagine if someone could see my pain,” says Karin, one of the three women in Photographing Pain. Everyone who has experienced pain knows how difficult it is to describe or show what pain is. This film “visualizes” the pain of Ada, Nina, and Karin, as they experience it in their daily lives.

The three women suffer from chronic muscle pains and talk about how the pain impacts them, family and friends, and their work life. The film also depicts the lack of understanding they face from social services and work environments, and how they gradually manage to change their lives through therapy and self-development.

The film is based on the work of sociologist and gender researcher Ulla-Britt Lilleaas on women’s suffering from pain caused by stress and overwork.

Writer and Director | Nefise Özkal Lorentzen
Producer | Nefise Özkal Lorentzen
Co-Producer | Ulla Britt Lilleaas
Cinematographer | Jørn Broll
Assistant Director | Eirin Gjørv
Editor | Frode Reinholt Jensen
Animator | Firuz Kutal