The Wild Story Of Laila Bertheussen, Convicted Partner Of Ex-Norwegian Minister, To Become Anonymous Content Nordic Limited Series

EXCLUSIVE: Anonymous Content Nordic, the Norway based division of Anonymous Content, is developing a limited series based on the high-profile trial of Laila Bertheussen, the partner of Norwegian ex-Minister Minister of Justice, Tor Mikkel Wara, and the events and circumstances that led to it.

Bertheussen today was found guilty of threatening democracy and sentenced to 20 months in prison. She had pled not guilty to all charges, which included setting her car on fire and vandalizing the family home.

The case, which transfixed Norway, goes back to the 2018 theatrical run of “Ways of Seeing,” a play that blamed Wara and other members of Norway’s right-wing Progress Party for furthering racism and racist attitudes across the country.

Bertheussen at the time objected to images of their house being used in the production as a potential threat to their safety.

Soon, mysterious acts of vandalism and began to take place around Bertheussen’s home. A swastika and the word “racist” were painted on her house and her car was torched among other incidents, with Bertheussen pointing to them as proof that her safety concerns were justified.

But, following an investigation, Bertheussen in 2019 was arrested and charged with inflicting the damage on her own property in an attempt to blame the playhouse and theater production.

Wara, who prior to the arrest had called the attacks a threat to democracy, testified during the trial, saying that he believed his partner was innocent. In a mystery twist, anonymous letters claiming responsibility for the attacks were postmarked at times when Bertheussen was out of the country.

“This is a fascinating and important story that lays bare, in sometimes absurd and disturbing ways, our political climate and who gets to decide what is true,” said Morten Tyldum. “We look forward to bringing these extraordinary events to audiences around the world.”

Director Tyldum and Guri Neby of Oslo-based Einar Films partnered with Anonymous Content in May 2019 to form Anonymous Content Nordic with the goal of bringing Norwegian and other Nordic stories to a global audience. Under the partnership, AC Nordic is developing and producing premium content, already teaming up with award-winning Norwegian music-comedy duo Ylvis and their production company Concorde TV on a unique hybrid series. They are also developing scripted series based on the best-selling novel History of Bees by Maja Lunde and the popular comic book Finnish Nightmares by Karoliina Korhonen.