AUCKLAND, Today: Kasper Häggström has joined the EXIT roster, bringing his distinct Scandinavian humour to commercials.
His style blends sharp real-life observations, deadpan restraint and unexpected absurdity into work that feels grounded, stylish and deeply human.
Wilf Sweetland, co-managing partner at EXIT, stated, “Kasper’s work is mesmerising in its simplicity. Simple human truths told in a beautifully comedic way with so much restraint. We love his view of the world and are pumped he has joined us.”
Häggström’s comedy roots trace back to snowboard films, where he honed his eye while trying to make people laugh.
“Even when I was making snowboard films, I always tried to make people laugh. I found that not taking myself too seriously made the cool parts even cooler.
“Even when I was making snowboard films, I always tried to make people laugh. I found that not taking myself too seriously made the cool parts even cooler.”
“I was also just interested in comedy in general, with most of my friends in Oslo either being stand-up comedians or comedy writers. So, when I stepped into the more conventional side of filmmaking, comedy seemed like an obvious choice.”
Music videos followed, earning him multiple UK Music Video Awards, including wins for Kelly Lee Owens, Radiohead and Squid.
“Even though my goal (as a teenager) was to make music videos,” he stated, “I sort of randomly stumbled into it in my late twenties.
“I’d made a short film called Perry, where I used music by a Norwegian musician called Andre Bratten. His record label liked the film enough to let me direct a music video for Kelly Lee Owens, who was very unknown at the time.
“Following that, I saw that the only way to stand out in the music video business was to treat the videos more like short films than standard performance videos. It meant fewer opportunities, but the ones I get feel very rewarding and personal.”
“It’s hard to make funny films without funny people. But on a practical side I personally think it’s important to treat the filmmaking aspects as seriously as possible.”
Commercials soon followed. In 2024, he directed Reinfall for Norwegian Postal Service via Pol, a bold Christmas story about Rudolph’s downfall.
“The creatives at Pol had done a great job coming up with the concept with a short brief that deliberately left the visual approach open.
“Once we knew what type of genre this film would exist in, everything else felt quite easy. I would then basically watch as many sport related documentary trailers as possible for inspiration,” Häggström recalled.
“Keeping the technical costs as low as possible, gave us more shooting days and a better cast. Except for the interview parts, everything was shot on cheap digital cameras, a super 8mm and a Bolex 16mm camera. This meant that we could keep the crew small and flexible, giving us room to improvise a lot.
“There were a lot of challenges from start to finish, but we were given more or less creative freedom from the agency and the client which made everything feel smooth and effortless in retrospect.”
He also created an emotive tribute built around the idea that “Posten delivers everywhere,” further showing his range beyond comedy.
“The obvious answer is casting,” he commented. “It’s hard to make funny films without funny people. But on a practical side I personally think it’s important to treat the filmmaking aspects as seriously as possible. Regardless of how inane the idea is.”
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