Director Boudewijn Koole, like many people in the Netherlands, first read Dutch writer Willem Frederik Hermans’ classic novel Beyond Sleep while at school. The survivalist-existentialist tale, about a man grappling both with the elements and his inner demons during a scientific research trip to prove the existence of meteorite craters in Norway, was a staple on the Dutch school curriculum for many years.

It was not until re-reading the novel during a trip to Scandinavia some 20 years later that Koole was struck by its cinematic potential. “I fell in love with the silence and the nothingness that the author creates in the quest of the main character which I thought would be interesting to explore cinematographically,” explains Koole. “There is this person who finds himself in complete whiteness on top of a mountain with nothing to hold onto, no God, no science – there’s nothing to guide him, to help him make the right choices.”

Alongside producers Hanneke Niens and Hans de Wolf at Amsterdam-based KeyFilm, Koole secured rights to Hermans’ classic partly because the late writer’s son loved Koole’s award-winning last feature Kauwboy, about a young boy who develops a relationship with a jackdaw.

Koole has focused on the middle section of Hermans’s novel, when troubled Dutch protagonist Alfred embarks on the geological expedition alongside three Norwegian researchers, Arne, Qvigstad and Mikkelsen. “You can’t adapt a book without making big choices. This isn’t so much an adaptation as [a film] inspired by the book. Once I decided what to focus on I started to write it like it was my own screenplay,” explains Koole.

The production was located August and September 2015 in the municipality of Malselv in northern Norway, using a former military compound as a base. “We were in a film bubble for six weeks. Working hard by day and then having fun at night, smoking and drinking whiskey, grabbing a few hours sleep and then heading back to the set. It was a very special atmosphere,” recounts Koole.

KeyFilm’s Niens brought Norwegian producer Aage Aaberge of Nordisk Films on board the production after meeting him when he visited the Netherlands to give a talk about producing the Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated film Kon-Tiki. Aaberge’s film starred Pål Sverre Hagen who was also cast in the lead supporting role of Arne opposite up and coming Dutch actor Reinout Scholten van Aschat.

Koole originally planned to cast a British or German-speaking actor for the lead but changed his mind after meeting Van Aschat on an audition for another film. “I auditioned another 30 to 40 actors – many of them very good – but there was something about Reinout which stuck with me,” says the director. Van Aschat was subsequently selected as Dutch Shooting Star 2016.

Koole praises cinematographer and long-time collaborator Melle van Essen for artfully capturing the majestic landscape. “He did such a good job. He understands how to film landscapes and faces… sometimes he films the face like a landscape,” says the director.

The pair are set to work together again on an upcoming dance-based fiction feature which is currently in development. Prior to that, a second feature by Koole set in Norway – a family drama entitled Disappearance (Verdwijnen) – will also hit the big screen later this year. “I shot it last winter after finishing editing on Beyond Sleep. It’s been a crazily busy period,” Koole concedes.

Beyond Sleep, Boudewijn Koole. Script: Boudewijn Koole Production: KeyFilm (NL). Co-production: Nordisk Film (NO).