Discoveries from Denmark World Cinema

Since the 1970s, the travelling and extremely productive film poet Jon Bang Carlsen has created an extensive body of work with a creative and personal look at the world, with the staged documentary as his preferred form. When his beloved wife passes away, he reaches for filmmaking as a way to give his grief a form. ‘The Banality of Grief’ is a cinematic love letter to a loved one and to the places where they shared their lives for 35 years. South Africa, the USA, their shared home by the water. The boundaries between past and present end in an impressionistic and deeply personal film, where existential and artistic thoughts are countered by new impressions, which testify that life is the greatest of them all. Jon Bang Carlsen is a rare and precious figure in Danish cinema. An adventurer with an ever-recording camera, who directs his gaze outwards even when his thoughts are turned inwards.

The almost 1500 Copenhageners who live on Lundtoftegade in the city’s Nørrebro district are in danger of ending up on the government’s so-called ‘hard ghetto list’, despite several years of social housing initiatives. And what do you do when you have tried everything? You call on the spiritual dimension for help! The collective performance project ‘The Healing’ must expel the evil forces before it’s too late and before 60% of the residents risk being forcibly relocated. With contributions from young and old – and with a deeply dedicated chairman of the residents’ association as their anchor – the community gets creative. But will the healing succeed?

Kia and Vincent are the vampires of today. Barely getting by, they need to steal to stay alive. This night, however, they break into a house seeking more than valuables - it's time to feed.

In a museum in Cyprus, ancient terracotta figures shaped like human beings bear witness to the ideas about the origin of life on earth that prevailed at the time. In severel ancient myths, clay contained the seed of life itself. In the future, the sculptures may be seen to herald a post-human condition where man-made life is a reality. Equipped with a home-made 3D camera, artist Amalie Smith has created a speculative multidisciplinary study of origin myths and the precursors of artificial life.

A boy from a poor family grows up to become a successful scientist. The demanding work costs him the love of his life which he bitterly regrets, lying on his death bed. The film was found on four reels in a collection from the local history archive in Aalborg. They were registered as four separate films, but both the style of the intertitles and the actors indicate that the reels belong together. The film's program has not been found, which makes it difficult to identify whether there are parts missing. (stumfilm.dk)

The beauty of the islands is depicted in this Danish short documentary.

An interview with composesr Joachim Holbek in which he discusses the method he and Lars von Trier employed in writing the musical score of the 1991 film EUROPA.

Five of Denmark's best comedians are going on tour together in selected cities with the stand-up concept Zulu Comedy Festival – "The Stand-up Show." The concept for the evenings is quite simple. They are five outstanding comedians who love to perform and make people laugh. The audience can look forward to a show where each of them covers all corners of the genre with sharp and, not least, humorous observations. The lineup for the Zulu Comedy Festival – "The Stand-up Show" consists of the following talented comedians: Geo, Martin Nørgaard, Jonas Mogensen, Ane Høgsberg, and Elias Ehlers. With this strong lineup, the audience can look forward to a formidable evening in the name of comedy when the five comedians take to the stage at the tour's four exclusive shows.

With a loving gaze and shaking hand the now adult Kathrine reenters her father's deeply alcoholic world.

FRAGMENT | A young sailor has to leave his fiancée behind when he is called out to sea. The night before he is to begin his journey home from a foreign port, a ball is held on his ship, and he is seduced by an exotic woman. He ends up in her oriental house and loses track of time so his ship sails without him. Desperate, he tries to reach his ship in a crate, but fails and ends up once again at the house of his mistress, where he now becomes a regular guest. Back home, his fiancée waits in vain for word of her beloved. Will he ever come home? (Stumfilm.dk)

In September 2005, Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in 35 years. Among the candidates for 249 assembly seats was Malalai Joya, a courageous, controversial 27-year-old woman who had ignited outrage among hard-liners when she spoke out against corrupt warlords at the Grand Council of tribal elders in 2003. Enemies of Happiness is a revelatory portrait of this extraordinary freedom fighter and the way she won the hearts of voters, as well as a snapshot of life and politics in war-torn Afghanistan.

Anders Fjelsted udleverer sit liv som "Barnligt voksen" i forrygende sjovt solo-show med premiere den 16. marts. I showet balancerer Anders Fjelsted på kanten mellem det indre barn der bare vil ud og den voksne mand han er i kraft af sine 33 år, gift og familiefar. Det kan ikke andet end give en skæv indgang til tilværelsen men leverer samtidig materiale til en forrygende omgang stand-up hvor "Fjelle" med sin sædvanlige drengede charme joker sig igennem emner som politik, handicap toiletter, mænd, kvinder og parforhold.

Claus Eriksen is a skilled coastal fly fisherman, and in this film we follow him and his fishing buddies in the fishing club "Fyggi" on a series of fly fishing trips around Denmark. Autumn on Samsø, spring on Langeland, summer on Æbelø, and winter fishing on Bornholm. We join them in the most challenging conditions and get up close to the action when the fishing is really good. It is an atmospheric film with many beautiful nature scenes, but you also get a number of good fishing tips for coastal fly fishing for sea trout.

The DR Symphony Orchestra and Han Duo take you on a journey through a treasure trove of symphonic gems and film music pearls, with the iconic music from the Indiana Jones films as the crown jewel of this action-packed concert.

Mr Petterson arrives at Hotel Electric, only to be met with one surprise after another: From clothes hanging themselves up, to people who keep ending up in the wrong rooms entirely.

In a humorous way, Phillip portrays his fear of not striking as a man. Thousands of TV shows and surveys have been made about being a real man, but what does that really mean? And how does one live by not living up to one of the many demands ?.

Hilleborg always speaks negatively about her king's marriage to his left hand, Countess Danner. When it is rumored that King Frederik VII and Countess Danner are on their way to Hilleborg and her husband, Niels Parsberg's estate, Hilleborg refuses to be in the living room with the Countess. She switches roles with the housemaid, Lise Sørensen. Lise and Countess Danner quickly become good friends, while Hilleborg's situation worsens when the king decides to spend the night at the estate.

Laura and Sami are in love, but both feel pressured by their friends' expectations of what they should experience and accomplish at age 15. During a party in the local park, Laura makes an unexpected move that catches Sami off guard and forces him to choose between deception and honesty.

When Lucca meets Lt Victor quite by chance, he sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind romance and the couple are quickly engaged. Unfortunately, the cheerful lieutenant turns out to be a drunkard, so the engagement is called off and Victor leaves for South America. When he returns a few years later, he has become an upstanding pillar of the community. In the meantime, Lucca has married Mr Rafn, a factory owner, but old feelings flare up when the former couple meet again. When Rafn accidentally learns about the budding relationship, he becomes enraged with jealousy and makes a drastic decision. Stumfilm.dk

The usurer Sintram lives and breathes for money and, for this very reason; he disinherits his charitable son Floridan. Embittered, Sintram buries his fortune in the forest and hides a will in a beech tree, with his estate left to anyone who finds it. This act is the only hard physical work the old usurer has done in his life and, ironically, the exhaustion kills him. Meanwhile, Floridan has been employed at a sawmill when he receives the news of his father’s death and his own disinheritance. However, as fate would have it, a certain beech tree finds its way to Floridan’s sawmill. (Stumfilm.dk)

Melanie tries to cook the soup of her life. A musical short film about the fear of missing out on one's own life. About decisions, possibilities, chaos and joy of life.

Eleven-year-old Benjamin is asked out by the girl he has a crush on. But is she really into him, or is it all a trap?

Mette has a childhood like so many other children. She plays, draws, watches television and is with her mother and father. But underneath the surface, the family's pillow creaks when Mette's father has a gloomy side. Recently, his assault on the mother has begun to intensify and, as her mother is in hospital after a serious injury, and later in the local shelter, Mette faces some major changes in her life.

A little boy in the middle of the brutal world of the Holocaust. Based on an actual event.

Nagieb Khaja is a Danish journalist of Afghan origin and he believes that the West makes decisions on Afghanistan based on an uninformed view of the country and its people. Nagieb a man with a mission. A few years ago Nagieb traveled to Afghanistan in order to refine the simplistic media image of the country, but he ended up as a prisoner of the Taliban and barely escaped. On the next trip, Nagieb brought 30 mobile cameras and asked Afghan civilians to film themselves. For the first time, we are invited into life in the forbidden zone with all the joys and sorrows, victories and defeats associated with living in the shadow of war.

Winner of "Best Non-Fiction" at ASTA Film Festival 2022

We think, we talk, we write. Without language, we wouldn't be human. Out of the 6500 languages in the world, half of them will disappear. Voices of the World discusses the multiplicity of the world's languages. There is the language of violence, the dying language, the minorities' language, the youth's language and new languages. How will globalization affect them all?

Dania is 21 years old and grew up in a Christian community in the Faroe Islands’ Bible belt. She has just moved to Tórshavn and is seeing Trygvi, a hip-hop artist and poet locally known as Silvurdrongur (Silver Kid). He comes from a secular family and writes poems and texts about the shadow sides of humanity. Dania herself sings in a Christian band but is fascinated by Trygvi’s courage to write brutally honest lyrics. As she tries to find her place in the world and understand herself, she starts to write more personal texts. Her writings develop into a collection of critical poems called ‘Skál’ (‘Cheers’), about the double life that she and other youths must live in the conservative Christian world.

The stand-up show is titled The Surrogate Comedy Show #PoweredByOnePlus. The show was live streamed on the social media platform Twitch.tv on May 31, 2020. This is the first time ever that an interactive stand-up show has seen the light of day on the popular platform. For the first time ever, Simon Talbot gave the audience the opportunity to add their own jokes to the show - if they're funny enough. In selected Twitch livestreams leading up to the show, Simon Talbot hosted ‘Open Mic’ sessions where everyone could give input and ideas.

A young nobleman arrives at Frederiksborg Castle where a mayor lives with his beautiful daughter. He immediately falls in love with the daughter, who – much to her fiancée's resentment – reciprocates his feelings. Sick with jealousy, the fiancée spies on the new lovers and plans how to get rid of his rival once and for all. (stumfilm.dk)

A propaganda film for diphtheria vaccination. The German armies brought a new and more dangerous form of diphtheria beyond the countries, and the refugees carried it on to war-torn Europe. It affects all age classes. Here too the country, and mortality is great. The Norwegian Serum Institute is in charge of vaccination.

A melodrama set in West Jutland in 1912 among the tough railway workers, known as "børster" (brushes). A team of børster is staying with a drunken miller, and here the team's leader, Smukke Thorvald, falls in love with the miller's young wife, who dreams of a better life.

On August 26, 2017, VOLBEAT became the first Danish band to headline and sell out their hometown venue, Denmark’s Telia Parken, setting the record for the biggest show by a domestic artist in Denmark ever with over 48,250 people in attendance. To commemorate and immortalize the record-breaking event, the band will release their live album and concert film, Let’s Boogie! Live From Telia Parken,on December 14th. Michael said about the historic show: “Headlining Telia Parken was a dream come true, and we’re humbled and honored that so many members of the Volbeat family came from far and wide to celebrate with us. We’re thrilled to be able to share what was a milestone night for us with everyone.” Special guests on the album include Mille Petrozza, Johan Olsen, Mark “Barney” Greenway, Lars Ulrich, boxer Mikkel Kessler and Danko Jones.

Before Aleppo's fall, Syrian/Norwegian director Nizam Najar explores the inside of the war. To him one of the reasons the rebellion has failed, stems from the Syrian society itself.

Sofus and Ingrid meet for the first time on a sugar date. An evening marked by different expectations and a lack of understanding for each other. The evening will reveal something about each of them when the facades finally break down and they suddenly understand all the different intentions that have brought them together on their awkward date.

When the estate of the late countess, minister, and millionaire Erna Hamilton is to be sold at auction in March this year, a 41-year-old Swede shows up in Copenhagen. He claims to be the countess's grandson and legal heir.

Plagued by his own thoughts, Thomas tries to connect with his friend. But the thoughts refuse to let him push them aside.

The classic chase. The mechanics of escape and repression. About identity loss, role-playing, and alienation, as they say.

A stand-up show steeped in irony and sarcasm - to the extent that there is a difference. I don't really know when I'm being ironic, when I'm being sarcastic or when I'm being sincere - and what the difference really is. It sounds like a problem for my psychologist, but they're expensive... It's just easier to write a stand-up show.

A businessman has been having nightmares lately. Nightmares about a corpse being dragged.

Love, Z is a generational portrait and a middle finger to patriarchal supremacy disguised as a love letter. Twelve Gen Z voices question how capitalism, technology, and patriarchy shape modern love. Among them, Amalie and Sonia invite us into their private lives, searching for three kinds of love: for themselves, for others, and for life itself.

A story about the isolated Wesley, and the depressing society he lives in. Wesley manages to avoid everything around him, but things take a turn when he meets a man with a connection to something beyond this world.

The film follows bird catchers at work on the rugged west coast of the Faroe Islands, which consists of inaccessible mountains. On the west coast of Skúvoy (Skuøs) live millions of guillemots. The boys are practicing with the net and climbing on small mountain walls. The filming took place in the summer of 1949.