Differ Media

02/10/2025

Exciting news! With Grace will have its North American premiere at the Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival in Colorado on October 18th.

Rocky Mountain Women’s Film elevates the stories of women and others who are often unheard or unseen. We are truly honored and grateful to be part of this inspiring program!

More info: rmwfilm.org/films/with-grace

24/09/2025

What a joy to pitch IN FLUX at Nordisk Panorama yesterday! Thank you to the stakeholders for wonderful feedback and productive meetings, and to Anna J. Ljungmark from Norsk filminstitutt for supporting our pitch.

Stephanie Saxemard, Julie Lunde Lillesæter, Natalya Sarch, Aurora Hannisdal Creativ Sün Films

18/09/2025

We can't wait to pitch our new project IN FLUX at Nordisk Panorama Forum this Tuesday!

In Ghana, Pakistan, and Cape Verde, young people face the same dilemma: leave and try to make it in Europe, or stay and build a life at home?

After years of development and filming, we're looking forward to presenting this project to broadcasters and financiers. Directors Julie Lunde Lillesæter and Stephanie Saxemard, and producer Natalya Sarch will be pitching the project in Malmø.

Grateful to our co-producers Haya Fatima Iqbal, Anita Afonu and Creativ Sün Films, and partners and supporters Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Norsk filminstitutt , Stiftelsen Fritt Ord , Bergesenstiftelsen , CTM Collectivité Territoriale de Martinique and Norges forskningsråd.

15/09/2025

With Grace won Best Mid-lengthDocumentary at Nordic / Docs ✨💫

They jury says: "The director and crew show the ability to be completely close to something completely foreign. Few are able to do this. We are in Kenya, and meet Grace, a young woman. The film takes us inside her life and surroundings. Grace's personal story unfolds accompanied by a poetic voice, delicately; together with the surroundings, and gives us, through Julie's striking photography, an insight into reality as it is, for those there in Kenya, for all of us who watch. A small masterpiece in earth and sky."

Big thanks to The jury and the festival for this aknowledgement, and to everyone behind this film!

09/09/2025

🌟 With Grace for schools at Bergen International Film Festival 🌟

Bergen International Film Festival offers free film screenings for schools, and With Grace is part of the primary schools programme.

As part of BIFF’s school program, teachers receive study materials tailored to each film – designed for both preparation and follow-up work in class.

Screening times arranged by agreement in week 40, plus October 13 and 14. All screenings take place during school hours.

If you're a teacher in Bergen, don’t miss this chance to give your students an inspiring cinema experience – sign up now!

Program og påmelding for 2025 er nå klart!

03/09/2025

✨ With Grace – Autumn Festival Lineup ✨

We’re so excited to share that our documentary With Grace will be screening at festivals across Europe this fall. Here’s where you can catch it:

Nordic / Docs
📍 Fredrikstad, Norway
🗓 Sept 13th & 14th, 2025
https://www.nordicdocs.no/program/grace-og-stormen

BUSTER Filmfestival - International Film Festival for Children and Youth
🏆 Nominated for Børneavisen’s Prize for Best Documentary
📍 Copenhagen, Denmark
🗓 Sept 23rd & 30th, 2025
https://buster.dk/film/grace

LUCAS - Internationales Festival für junge Filmfans
⭐ Short film competition
📍 Frankfurt, Germany
🗓 Sept 26th, 2025
https://lucas-filmfestival.de/en/film-2025/with-grace

DOX RUHR
⭐ In Competition (ECFA Doc Award)
📍 Bochum, Germany
🗓 Oct 28th & Nov 2nd, 2025
https://www.doxs-ruhr.de/wp-content/uploads/DOXS-RUHR-Programm-2025.pdf

AGROFILM
⭐ Official Selection
📍 Nitra, Slovakia
🗓 Sept 29th – Oct 4th, 2025

We can’t wait to meet new audiences and share Grace’s story on these wonderful festival screens.

14/08/2025

Historic victory for the environment in Førde Fjord!

The environmental movement has won against the Norwegian state: the Court of Appeal has ruled that dumping mining waste in Førde Fjord is illegal. This is a historic moment for nature protection in Norway.

Back in 2016, we made the short documentary "Illegal Activists", following Ane and Magnus, two young activists who are trying to stop the company Nordic Mining´s plan to dump 250 millions of tonnes of mining waste in the Førde Fjord on Norway's west coast. On the top of a freezing mountain they chain themselves to mining drills. They aim to save the life in the fjord, but are arrested and given big fines.

You can watch the film here: https://filmoteket.no/film/191352
(With a library card, you can easily borrow and watch from home.)

Congratulations Naturvernforbundet and Natur og Ungdom who has been relentless in this fight. This ruling proves that determined activism and years of persistence does really matter and can protect our precious nature.

23/06/2025

We’re incredibly honored to share that our documentary 'With Grace' is selected for the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania — and nominated for Best Documentary!

Asante sana, ZIFF !

19/06/2025

Can we traverse the oceans between us? Six years ago, we went on the first of many visits to Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. And today, we received a production grant from the Norwegian Film Institute, which means we will be able to finalize the film after a long, meaningful and wonderful process! This will be Julia's second feature film and we’re so excited that the film she has put so much of herself into will finally meet its audience sometime next year.

Strangers & Stayers is directed by Julia Dahr, with Hannah Jayanti & Julie Lunde Lillesæter as co-directors and DPs. Natalya Sarch is producer and Darcy McKinnon is co-producer. We are so grateful to Norsk filminstitutt for believing in our film, as well as to the incredible people of Tangier Island for welcoming us! We can't wait to share this story of dialogue, friendship, and difficult conversations with the world.

03/06/2025

We're thrilled to announce the German premiere of 'With Grace' at Dokumentale – International Documentary and Media Festival in Berlin, and the Italian premiere at Cinemambiente Torino where the film is nominated for the International Short Film Competition.

📍 Screening Dates & Times:
🇮🇹 Cinemambiente – June 9th, 2025 | Torino, Italy
https://www.festivalcinemambiente.it/en/28-festival-cinemambiente/program/32
🇩🇪 Dokumentale – June 15th, 2025 | Berlin, Germany
https://www.dokumentale.de/film/with-grace

Huge thanks to both festivals for including our film — we can't wait to share it with new audiences!

28/05/2025

Nearly 300 schoolchildren from northern Tenerife are set for a magical film experience with ‘With Grace’! 🌿✨

The film has been selected for the 15th edition of the Environmental Education program of the Canary Islands International Environmental Film Festival (Ficmec), an initiative that seeks to raise environmental awareness from the earliest stages of education through workshops and adapted screenings.

👉 Read more about the event and festival here:

https://efeverde.com/ficmec-implica-a-casi-300-escolares-en-su-xv-programa-de-educacion-ambiental/

26/05/2025

Today marks 10 years of Differ Media! From our first feature documentary, Thank You For The Rain in 2017, to impact campaigns, short documentaries, and the 2024 launch of An Army of Women and With Grace, we’ve seen how films can build bridges between people and challenge power structures and injustice in our society.

Thank you to all the incredible people we’ve had the privilege to work with over the past decade—employees, interns, crew, co-directors, co-producers, financiers, broadcasters, impact partners, and of course, the lovely Jenny, who co-founded Differ alongside Julia and Julie 10 years ago.

And the biggest thanks goes to those who have trusted us with your stories. We’re honored to share them with the world!