Camilla Magid and Final Cut for Real's documentary was named best Nordic doc at its CPH:DOX world premiere in March.
Now "Land of the Free," about taking your life in your own hands in a tough neighbourhood in Los Angeles, is selected for the documentary competition at Karlovy Vary Film Festival, which kicks off 30 June – 8 July.
We follow three characters in Los Angeles' South Central, all of them fighting an everyday battle to stay out of prison. The obstacles are plenty when you are a young boy growing up between gang members, or a teenager trying to raise a child when the only job on your resume is drug dealer, or a man in his forties just released from a 24-year sentence and trying to start a life in a changed world.
Camilla Magid graduated from the independent Super16 film school in Copenhagen in 2010. She made her first long documentary with "White Black Boy" (2012), which was nominated for a national Bodil Award and given the prize for best sound at CPH:DOX.
"Land of the Free" is produced by Heidi Elise Christensen and Signe Byrge Sørensen for Final Cut for Real in co-production with Tuffi Films of Finland. The film has received support from the Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond and the Finnish Film Foundation, among others. DR Sales handles international sales.
Karlovy Vary Film Festival 30 June – 8 July 2017
Watch trailer
Land of the Free
This film portrays Brian, Juan and Gianni from South Central, Los Angeles. Obstacles are plenty when you are a child growing up between gang members, or a teenager with an addiction and a newborn, or a middle-aged man, just released into a new and changed world after 24 years in prison. Following their lives for more than two years, the film shows with precision the psychological impact of a prison system that focuses on punishment rather than prevention and rehabilitation.
