In 1947, the world is gripped with excitement as the young Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl embarks on an astonishing expedition- a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean on the Kon-tiki raft. From his  days living on the Marquesa island with his wife, Liv, Thor suspected that the South Sea islands had been settled by ancient South Americans from thousands of miles to the east. Despite his inability to swim and his fear of water, Thor decides to prove his theory by sailing the legendary voyage himself.

Even though this voyage took place in the 20th century and on a raft we can try and relate it to a voyage our immigrant ancestors took from Norway to North America, mainly in search of a better life for themselves and their families.

The run-time for this film is 120 minutes. There will be a short intermission about half- way through the film. It was produced in 2012 by the Nordisk Film production Company directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg.  The film was mainly shot on the island of Malta. The role of Thor Heyerdahl is played by Pål Sverre Hagen. The film is an international co-production between Norway, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It was the highest-grossing film of 2012 in Norway. The film was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Golden Globe Awards. It was the first time a Norwegian film has been nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

Note: We are able to present this film free of charge due to the courtesy of the Norwegian Film Institute in cooperation with the Norwegian Royal Embassy in Washington D.C.