Norway’s official Oscar submission, Thelma, makes a stop in Chicago this weekend.

Directed by Joachim Trier (Louder than Bombs) from a screenplay co-written with Eskil Vogt, the foreign film stars Eili Harboe, Okay Kaya, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, and Henrik Rafaelsen.

The film combines a few genres with a mix of romance, thriller, and the supernatural as the shy Thelma (Harboe) undergoes terrifying seizures away at college in Oslo.  It’s not even a few minutes into the film before she experiences a terrifying seizure. She finds herself strongly attracted to Anja (Kaya) and these feelings somehow seem to be what drives her powers.  Thelma, who comes from a religious Norwegian family, doesn’t want to accept these feelings for Anja as her seizures continue to get worse.

Combined with Jakob Ikre’s cinematography and the musical score by Ola Fløttum, the film will make for a strong candidate for the best foreign language film of the year.

Having made its world premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival last month, Thelma makes its Chicago premiere with a few screenings this weekend at the Chicago International Film Festival under both the International and Out-Look Competitions: tonight at 8:30 PM and will screen again on October 15 at 12:30 PM.

The Orchard will release Thelma on November 10, 2017.  The film runs just shy of 2 hours.