ONLY BELLE - A SERIAL KILLER FROM SELBU
Anne Berit Vestby
NORWAY, 2005, 52 minutes
North American Premiere
The land where Belle Gunness' farmhouse once stood is now the home of a young Indiana family whose son, Junior-like the boy in THE SIXTH SENSE-sees dead people. It's perhaps not surprising, considering his backyard was a slaughterhouse for one of history's most mysterious serial killers. This compellingly creepy mystery, replete with ghosts, uncovered bones and a murderer who got away, seeks to uncover the truth behind a century of rumors.
At just over five-feet tall, portly hog butcher Belle Gunness was a mystery to her Indiana neighbors-and still is to this day. Born in 1895 as Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset in Selbu, Norway, Belle lived the dutiful life of a farmer's wife until her husband was "accidentally" killed by a falling meat grinder, leaving her with three young children and a considerable amount of money.
The well-to-do widow wasted no time finding a second husband by advertising in the local papers for a suitable mate. Lonely men arrived from far and wide in hopes of becoming her new spouse. She wooed them with carriage rides and fancy meals, picking them up at the train station in her Sunday best. But those who arrived were never heard from again. Honing her skills at the pigpen, she poisoned these men, chopping them to pieces and scattering their remains in the backyard.
The exact number of Belle's victims remains unknown. But if the rumors are true, Belle was the most bloodthirsty female serial killer of all time, killing up to seventy people before disappearing without a trace.
-Amy Dotson
Sponsored by
The Norwegian Film Institute & The Norwegian Embassy
DIRECTOR BIO
Anne Berit Vestby grew up in the same small village in Norway as the subject of her documentary, Belle Gunness, and studied drama at the Actor's Studio in New York City. She has directed some of the most innovative documentaries and TV series in Norway, telling stories from many parts of the world including Brazil, Bangladesh, France and England.
Print Source:
Subrosa Film AS
+47.901.90106
subrosa@subrosafilm.no
6/16 at 10:30 PM
FILMS BY: TITLE | DATE | COUNTRY | INTEREST | SECTION
|