Danish films at Sundance, Göteborg and Rotterdam

The Visit

Michael Madsen, 2015

"This film documents an event that has never taken place - man's first encounter with intelligent life from space", but ever since the invention of radio, humans have been sending signals into space, announcing their existence to other civilizations. With unprecedented access to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, the military, and experts from leading space agencies, the film explores a first contact scenario, beginning with the simplest of questions: Why are you here? How do you think? What do you see in humans that we don't see in ourselves?

A journey beyond a terrestrial perspective, revealing the fears, hopes, and rituals of a species forced not only to confront alien life forms, but also its own self image.

Pervert Park

Lasse Barkfors, Frida Barkfors, 2014

Florida Justice Transitions looks like any other American trailer park. Only discreet electronic ankle tags and sporadic vandalism bear witness to the fact that the residents are all convicted sex offenders. From misdemeanours to monstrous crimes.

Bridgend

Jeppe Rønde, 2015

Sara and her dad Dave move to a small village, which is haunted by suicides among its young inhabitants. Sara falls dangerously in love with one of the teenagers, Jamie, while Dave, as the town's new police officer, tries to stop the mysterious chain of suicides. The film focuses on the relationship between vulnerable teenagers and their parents who are left in the dark as the inexplicable suicides gradually take on the character of a punishing ritual.

Snow

Laurits Flensted-Jensen, 2013

It¿s winter in Copenhagen and the snow has left the streets deserted.

Speed Walking

Niels Arden Oplev, 2014

In a quirky, small town, situated in the outskirts of everything, 14-year-old Martin is getting ready for one of the most formal transitions from boy to man; the communion. Its 1976, music is in the air, and hormones are blossoming. However, in the midst of it all, Martin's mother suddenly passes away and her tragic death triggers a series of events that not only changes Martin's life forever, but also affects everyone else in the local community.

Key House Mirror

Michael Noer, 2015

Lily and Max have been married for more than 50 years. Now, they live together in a nursing home, where Max has been reliant on professional care since his stroke. Lily has been putting her own needs aside and is desperately longing for excitement and intimacy in her life.

A Second Chance

Susanne Bier, 2015

Detectives and best friends, Andreas and Simon, lead vastly different lives. Andreas has settled down with his beautiful wife and son, while Simon, recently divorced, spends most of his waking hours getting drunk at the local strip club. However, all that changes when the two of them are called out to a domestic dispute between a junkie couple, caught in a vicious cycle of violence and drugs.

Silent Heart

Bille August, 2014

Three generations of a family gather over a weekend. The two sisters Sanne and Heidi have accepted their terminally ill mother's desire to die before her disease worsens. However, as the weekend progresses, their mother's decision becomes harder and harder to deal with, and old conflicts resurface.

Democrats

Camilla Nielsson, 2014

Over the course of more than three years director Camilla Nielsson has been up close in the inner circles of politics in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe. With the process of creating Zimbabwe's new constitution as the film's narrative backbone, DEMOCRATS tells the unique story of the political elite in Zimbabwe fighting the battle over the founding principles defining the country's possible future.

The Look of Silence

Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014

Through Joshua Oppenheimer's footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, an optometrist named Adi, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by doing something unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power: he confronts the men who killed his brother and, while testing their eyesight, asks them to accept responsibility for their actions. This unprecedented film initiates and bears witness to the collapse of fifty years of silence.

Flow

Fenar Ahmad, 2014

Michael lives in a housing project. He and his friends make music together. Michael is clearly the biggest talent in the group, and one day he is discovered by the established rapper Apollo who makes Michael his ghostwriter.

The Circus Dynasty

Anders Riis-Hansen, 2014

Benny Berdino, the owner of one of Europe's biggest circus, has a dream. To make sure that his dynasty will continue to thrive, he hopes that his grandson, Patrick, and the award-winning circus artist Merrylu will marry and one day run Circus Arena. With their looks and skills they would be the perfect match.

The Newsroom - Off the Record

Mikala Krogh, 2014

The world of printed media is threatened by the financial crisis as circulation figures are falling and the media corporations' economies are faltering. The Danish media is marked by the crisis as well - and also Ekstra Bladet is going through the worst crisis in the newspaper's hundred years of publishing. The readers have gone online and are failing the printed newspaper.

The Arms Drop

Andreas Koefoed, 2014

British arms dealer Peter Bleach is on a mission to find the agent who lied in court as Bleach faced a possible death sentence in India. On his word, Bleach was convicted for dropping four tons of weapons over West Bengal to start a civil war. Bleach was indeed part of the weapons drop - but as an informer for MI5 trying to setup the mastermind behind it, the Dane Niels Holck, who was also on board.

Brothers in Arms

Cav Bøgelund, 2014

'Brothers in Arms' tells the story of Ørn, a Danish Platoon Commander positioned in Afghanistan and his cooperation with the local police captain, Fareed. In spite of cultural differences, their men fight side by side to improve security in a region that has been torn up by war. However, when an Afghan officer turns his weapon against the Danish soldiers, the cooperation and growing friendship between the two leaders is put to the test.

1989

Anders Østergaard, Erzsébet Rácz, 2014

"1989" is a high-politics drama about the collapse of the Iron Curtain. In 1988, to save Hungary's appalling economy, the young technocrat Miklós Neméth becomes the country's new prime minister. He decides to remove the expensive border control apparatus from the state budget.

In Your Arms

Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm, 2015

Maria is a young and caring nurse who wants to break free. Niels is an incurable patient who wants to travel to Switzerland to commit assisted suicide. Together they embark on an intense journey that will bring them closer to each other, but also closer to their dreams.

Baby

Camilla Ramonn, 2014

6-year-old Nadjaline lives with her mother in the suburbs. Nadjaline was going to have a little brother, but her mother lost the child towards the end of the pregnancy. The mother is distraught, and Nadjaline does everything she can to help her.