Per Høst (5 December 1907 – 28 December 1971) was a Norwegian

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

, film producer and

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

writer known for his wildlife and

ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

documentaries. After studying zoology at the University of Oslo and conducting research on Arctic wildlife, he shifted to filmmaking in the 1930s, producing educational nature shorts before creating feature-length documentaries. His work included (1950) about the

Chocó people The Embera-Wounaan, (also ''Emberá-Waunana, Chocó'') are a semi-nomadic Indigenous people in Panama living in Darién Province on the shores of the Chucunaque, Sambú, and Tuira Rivers and their waterways. The Embera-Wounaan were formerly a ...

of Panama and (1957), which documented

Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

reindeer herders in northern Norway and was selected for the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. Throughout his career, Høst produced content for schools, industry, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, and the

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

, combining his scientific background with

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

making techniques that captured both natural environments and indigenous cultures.

Early life and education

Per Høst was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

to Hans Andreas Høst (1874–1944) and Ragna Julie Pedersen Svenneby (1872–1959), and grew up in

Stabekk Stabekk is a suburban centre in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, west of Oslo. It is predominantly a residential area, with many residents commuting to Oslo. As of 2005 the population was 6,261. Bærum has the highest income per capita and the hi ...

. After finishing

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

at Stabekk Upper Secondary School in 1927, he studied

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

from 1927 to 1931. While still a student he joined several Arctic expeditions to study

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

and carried out pioneering research on reproduction, moult and

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

shedding in

ptarmigan ''Lagopus'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (). The genus contains four living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas. Taxonomy and etymology The genus ''L ...

birds—a project that promised a distinguished academic career before he turned to film.

Personal life

Høst was married to Rita Thornborg from 1941 to 1948, and to Ann Mari Strugstad Rolf (daughter of entertainer Ernst Rolf) from 1951 to 1960. His brother was the classical

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Career

Høst's transition from academic zoologist to filmmaker began in 1934, when he was 27. Using a 16-mm camera and raw

film stock Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent pl ...

borrowed from his brother‑in‑law, he shot the short film (), documenting

Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...

es on

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...

alongside public lectures. The industrialist Johan H. Andresen Jr. financed a further 22 three‑minute commissioned nature films—each punctuated by brief tobacco‑product placements—that Høst described as his "film school", since they taught him the practical skills of

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

and

sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...

. In 1937 he released his first feature‑length documentary, (), an 80‑minute

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

for which he provided live narration during a nationwide touring programme. After World War II, Høst combined lecture tours at home and abroad with several successful educational and promotional films for schools and industry. His international breakthrough came with () (1950), a colour documentary about the

of Panama that outshone

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

's well-known '' Kon‑Tiki'' in Norwegian cinemas. Throughout the 1950s he also produced television documentaries for both the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

and the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

Major works

Høst's

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

, (1957), chronicles a year in the life of

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

reindeer herders in northern Norway, blending observational footage with staged sequences. Selected for competition at the

, it won several international awards—but its high budget and the requirement to repay public grants left Høst bankrupt in 1960. That same year he divorced his second wife. Despite declining health, he continued to produce shorter films for NRK and, at

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

's invitation, television programmes for the BBC in the late 1950s. His final feature, (1971), took a more overtly political stance on Sami rights. Per Høst died later that year, aged 64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Host, Per 1907 births 1971 deaths Writers from Oslo People from Bærum 20th-century Norwegian zoologists Norwegian film producers Norwegian documentary filmmakers Norwegian people of World War II Norwegian non-fiction writers BBC television producers NRK people 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century non-fiction writers