With their debut feature 'Shorta', which has just wrapped principal photography, Danish writer-directors Frederik Louis Hviid and Anders Ølholm delve into a tumultuous day in a fictive ghetto outside Copenhagen.
19-year-old Talib Ben Hassi’s life hangs by a thread. The exact details of what took place while he was in police custody remain unclear. Police officers Jens and Mike are on routine patrol in the local ghetto when news of Talib’s death comes in over the radio, igniting uncontrollable, pent-up rage in the ghetto’s youth wanting revenge. Suddenly the two officers find themselves fair game and must fight tooth and nail to find a way out.
Simon Sears, who made his breakthrough in the primetime series 'Rides Upon the Storm' and Locarno winner 'Winter Brothers', is taking on his first lead role as Jens. Playing Mike is Jacob Lohmann, nominated for both a Danish Robert and a Bodil for his supporting role in Toronto selected 'That Time of Year' and attracting the critics' attention as the lead in 'Out of Tune'.
Shorta
The exact details of what took place while Talib Ben Hassi (19) was in police custody remain unclear. Police officers, Jens and Mike, are on routine patrol in Svalegården’s ghetto when news of Talib’s death comes in over the radio, igniting uncontrollable, pent-up rage in the ghetto’s youth, who lust for revenge. Suddenly, the two officers find themselves fair game and must fight tooth and claw to find a way out.
Frederik Louis Hviid, a graduate of the alternative film school Super16, is fresh off the success of the Danish primetime drama series 'Follow the Money' season three, where he served as an episode director. The show was selected for the Berlinale series selection in 2019 and received top reviews in Denmark. Before that he won the prestigious young directors award in Cannes for his short film 'Halvmand'.
Since his graduation as a screenwriter from the National Film School of Denmark, Anders Ølholm has written screenplays for several Danish feature films, including the superhero trilogy entitled 'Antboy', the acclaimed debut feature 'Flow' by Fenar Ahmad, which was selected for film festivals in London and Göteborg, as well as the literary adaptation 'Letters from Amina'.
'Shorta' is produced by Signe Leick Jensen and Morten Kaufmann for Toolbox Film. The duo is behind the hostage drama 'Daniel', which is currently screening nationwide. The film received top reviews across the board and has sold 380,000 tickets within its first five weeks in release, making it one of the biggest commercial successes of the year in the Danish cinemas.
'Shorta', supported by the Danish Film Institute, is set for theatrical release in October 2020.
