THE PAINTER AND THE THIEF

While trying to find her stolen paintings, a reputable artist meets and befriends the man who stole them in this critically-acclaimed documentary. Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Creative Storytelling at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

When two of artist Barbora Kysilkova’s most valuable paintings are stolen from a gallery at Frogner in Oslo, the police are able to find the thief after a few days, but the paintings are nowhere to be found. Barbora goes to the trial in hopes of finding clues, but instead she ends up asking the thief if she can paint a portrait of him. This will be the start of a very unusual friendship. Over three years, this cinematic documentary follows the incredible story of the artist looking for her stolen paintings, while at the same time turning the thief into art.