Premieres Monday, Aug. 25, 2025 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS app
POV presents a poignant film from Norwegian director/producer Silje Evensmo Jacobsen and producer Mari Bakke Riise. Utilizing vérité style filmmaking, Jacobsen offers a soulful portrait of a family embracing an off-the-grid life deep in Norway’s wilderness.
Hailed by Kristy Strouse of Film Inquiry as “an honest and tender film, beautifully shot, and empathetic in its delivery"
In A New Kind of Wilderness, Maria and Nik Payne left the rat race to pursue their dream of living a purposefully wild, self-sufficient, free existence with their four children—Ulv, Falk, Freja, and Ronja— on a small farm deep in the Norwegian forest. Their days were filled with nature walks, farming lessons, and screen-free homeschooling, fostering a close-knit family dynamic in harmony with nature. But when tragedy strikes, their idyllic world unravels. After Maria’s death, Nik struggles to maintain their off-the-grid lifestyle as the challenges of single parenthood push him to return to city life.
Director Silje Evensmo Jacobsen first discovered the Paynes ten years ago through Maria’s blog WildandFree.no. Inspired by Maria’s vision, Jacobsen embedded with the family to document their journey, their joys and hardships, while inviting audiences to reflect on our own life choices, our responsibility to the planet and our children, and how we navigate life after loss. In "A New Kind of Wilderness," filmmaker Silje Evensmo Jacobsen crafts an intimate and soulful portrait of love, resilience, and growing up.
Watch On Your Schedule: "A New Kind of Wilderness" will make its national broadcast premiere on Monday, Aug. 25. The film will be available to stream until Oct. 24, 2025 at pbs.org, and the PBS app.
Now in its 38th season, POV remains America's longest-running nonfiction series.
