Girl In Red to make big screen feature film debut in Maipo’s ‘Low Expectations’

29 January, 2025

Girl In Red performing live on stage

Girl In Red is set to make her feature-length acting debut in the forthcoming film Low Expectations.

The new movie is being produced by Maipo Film in Norway, in collaboration with Snowglobe in Denmark. It’ll serve as the first feature from Norwegian director Eivind Landsvik.

As Variety reports, Norwegian singer-songwriter Girl In Red (real name Marie Ulven) will star in Low Expectations as the lead character, Maja – a 29-year-old artist who finds herself at breaking point following years of intense success.

A synopsis reads (via IMDb): “A successful young artist’s career derails, forcing her back to her hometown. While teaching high school to make ends meet, she navigates depression and rediscovers herself in unexpected ways.”

Per Variety, the film “explores [Maja’s] journey of self-discovery as she navigates the harsh realities of everyday life”.

Speaking about casting Ulven in the project, Landsvik said: “I knew her as a great musician and was really pleased to find out Marie also has a rare gift as an actor. She has so much to offer this film, and I am grateful she wants to share her talent with us.”

Producer Synnøve Hørsdal added: “We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect match of talent, experience and storytelling.

“Marie’s personal connection to the film’s themes, combined with Eivind’s powerful narrative and ability to convey it, make the two of them some of the most exceptional talents in the cultural sector in Norway.”

Low Expectations will follow Landsvik’s short film Tits at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. It’ll be distributed by Nordisk Film Distribution, and is currently seeking additional funding. No further cast members have been announced yet.

Girl In Red has released two studio albums: 2021’s ‘If I Could Make It Go Quiet’ and 2024’s ‘I’m Doing It Again Baby!’. She has opened for Taylor Swift on the ‘Eras Tour’, won the praise of Billie Eilish, and collaborated with Sabrina Carpenter.

In 2020, NME praised Ulven’s early “self-produced, honest and arresting lo-fi anthems of teenage anxiety, everyday depression, queerness, lust, heartache and confusion” that “amassed millions of streams”.

The artist has also detailed her struggles with OCD and anxiety in her music. Speaking to NME last spring, Girl In Red opened up about her experiences with fame.

“I’m not very famous, but to some level I have a little bit of fame. That can very quickly go to your head,” she explained. “For a while I was a little bit high on myself: I was like, these people are not really interested in being my friend.

“I also realised, that’s fucking stupid. If the vibe is off, then I won’t hang out with them. But preemptively going into every single meeting, every single person thinking that they think you’re cool is also really awkward, so I just stopped doing that.”

She added: “I became a more open person and I became more humble and chill and lowkey.”

Ulven went on to say that Norway was “a very low-key place to be famous”, telling NME: “If this album did really well, fingers crossed, and it brought me to another level of fame, I still think I wouldn’t notice the difference in Norway. It’s a pretty sheltered, hidden gem.”

In other news, Girl In Red is due to support Olivia Rodrigo at her BST Hyde Park show in London this summer.

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