Aga Muhlach, Alice Dixson starrer opens 5th Danish Film Festival

The Aga Muhlach and Alice Dixson starrer Nuuk, the first Filipino film shot in Greenland is set to make its world premiere at the 5th Danish Film Festival.

Danish Ambassador designate Grete Sillasen and Alice Dixson

Presented by the Embassy of Denmark, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Shangri-La Plaza, the 5th Danish Film Festival will screen Nuuk and nine other films from Denmark on October 9-13, 2019 at the Red Carpet in Shangri-La Plaza.

Danish Ambassador designate Grete Sillasen

The inclusion of Nuuk continues the tradition of Philippines-Denmark ties through cinema in the festival. In earlier editions, the film festival has shown Rosita with Filipina actress Mercedes Cabral in the lead. Last year, the Filipino movie Dagsin was part of the selection owing to the film's exploration of ideas by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and French Existentialist Albert Camus.

Danish Ambassador designate Grete Sillasen, Veronica Velasco, Alice Dixson,
and Erwin Blanco

Here are the films to be screened at the 5th Danish Film Festival.

Nuuk

Director: Veronica Velasco

Cast: Aga Muhlach, Alice Dixson, Ujarneq Fleischer

Elaisa Svendsen (Alice Dixson) is a Filipina immigrant in Nuuk, Greenland struggling to survive the recent death of her husband. Abandoned by Karl (Ujarneq Fleischer) her only son, she tries to cope using alcohol and drugs. Her life changes when she meets Mark Alvarez (Aga Muhlach). Mark is a fellow Filipino fighting the loneliness that surrounds the city. Together, they find love in the cold and isolated place of Nuuk. When all seems perfect, Mark disappears without a trace.

Ordet

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer

Cast: Henrik Malberg, Emil Hass Christensen, Birgitte Federspiel, Preben Lerdorff Rye, Cay Kristiansen, Ejner Federspiel, Gerda Nielsen, Sylvia Eckhausen, Ove Rud, Henry Skjær, Edith Trane, Ann Elisabeth Rud, Susanne Rud, Hanne Agesen

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten (Henrik Malberg) have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders (Cay Kristiansen) shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel (Emil Hass Christensen) has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes (Preben Lerdorff Rye) has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger (Birgitte Federspiel) goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

Fuglene over sundet/Across the Waters

Director: Nicolo Donato

Cast: David Dencik, Danica Curcic, Jakob Cedergren, Nicolas Bro, Laura Bro, Morten Holst, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Marijana Jankovic, Lars Brygmann, Morten Suurballe, Mads Riisom, Signe Egholm Olsen, Kristian Høgh Jeppesen, Anders Heinrichsen, Elliot Hove

The year is 1943 and rumors have it, that the Germans are about to deport all Danish Jews. The Jewish jazz musician Arne Itkin, his wife and their 5-year-old son quickly realize that they have to flee to safety in Sweden, in order to avoid the horrors of the concentration camps. But who can be trusted when Gestapo and Danish collaborators are on their heels to stop anyone from fleeing the country.

Jeg er William/I am William

Director: Jonas Elmer

Cast:: Alexander Magnússon, Amina Awan Abou Arrakha, Dorte Højsted, Niels-Martin Eriksen, Rasmus Bjerg, Stinne Henriksen

William lives with his uncle Nils. His father is dead and his mother is mentally unstable. Nils retired early and spends his day buying and selling stuff at a favourable price. Nils owes some gangsters money and they want their debt paid back.

Darling

Director: Birgitte Stærmose

Cast: Danica Curcic, Astrid Grarup Elbo, Gustaf Skarsgård, Ulrich Thomsen

Darling is the moving love story of a dancer on the rollercoaster ride of her life, a drama about the rise and fall of a modern woman as she summons the courage to face her greatest trial.

Der kommer en dag /The Day Will Come

Director: Jesper W. Nielsen

Cast: Sofie Gråbøl, Lars Mikkelsen, Lars Ranthe, Sonja Richter, David Dencik

The year is 1967, and a blooming youth culture is on the rise. In a working-classneighborhood of Copenhagen, two inseparable brothers, Elmer and Erik – are removed from their ill mother and put in the Gudbjerg Home for Boys, a place frozen in time. Here, Headmaster Heck practices his own brand of philosophy and regulation. Unruly boys are transformed into obedient citizens at any cost. From their very first day, the boys understand that their freedom is lost and a daily struggle for survival has begun. The boys try to live under the radar, but Elmer’s vivid astronaut dreams and clubfoot constantly gets him in trouble. The brothers realize they are on their own and a simmering revolt slowly forms. Armed only with a vivid imagination and a fickle hope the boys engage in the frightening battle against Headmaster Heck and his lethal tyranny.

Lykke-Per/A Fortunate Man

Director: Bille August

Cast: Julie Christiansen, Anders Hove, Jens Albinus, Esben Smed Jensen, Ole Lemmeke, Katrine Greis-Rosenthal, Rasmus Bjerg, Peter Plaugborg, Tommy Kenter, Morten Hauch-Fausbøll

On his quest for happiness, Per decides to leave Jutland and an upbringing in a strict religious home. He runs from his family and his patriarch father, and sets sail towards Copenhagen to become an engineer. Parallel to his studies, he works on a visionary energy project based on wind and wave energy, a project so much ahead of its time, tha professors consider him insane and far too self-confident. However, Per’s project becomes a succes and he marries the beautiful Jakobe who is a part of a wealthy Jewish family. One would imagine that Per’s happiness now is made. But Per’s childhood keeps haunting him and his dogmatic family cannot accept his new life. Despite his luck and success, Per is unable to fully cut the strings to his strict religious background, and he now fears that he will repeat his father’s patriarchist behavior.

Charmøren/The Charmer

Director: Milad Alami

Cast: Ardalan Esmaili, Soho Rezanejad, Susan Taslimi, Lars Brygmann, Stine Fischer Christensen, Amalie Lindegård, Dan Boie Kratfeldt, Jesper Lohmann,Nastja Arcel

Esmail, a young Iranian man, is desperately trying to meet women who can secure his stay in Denmark. As time runs out, he falls in love and his past catches up with him.

Team Hurricane

Director: Annika Berg

Cast: Eja Penelope Roepstorff, Ida Glitre, Maja Leth Bang, Mathilde Linnea Daugaard Jensen, Elise Pedersen, Sara Morling, Zara Munch Bjarnum

Experimental teen drama that celebrates teenage girls who dare to be loud, annoying, vulgar and vulnerable.

Cirkeline, Coco og det vilde næsehorn/ Circleen, Coco and the Wild Rhinoceros

Director: Jannik Hastrup

Cirkeline finds a bestie with the airs of a princess, and Ingolf meets a rhinoceros who’s fed up with always being the little one. They set off together on a journey that teaches them that being in charge isn’t always a piece of cake and that even the teeniest of rhinos can prove the greatest of heroes.

Here is the schedule of screenings of the 5th Danish Film Festival.

October 9, 2019

7:30 PM Nuuk

October 10, 2019

2:30 PM I Am William

4:30 PM Darling

6:40 PM The Day Will Come

9:00 PM A Fortunate Man

October 11, 2019

2:40 PM Team Hurricane

4:50 PM The Charmer

7:00 PM Across the Waters

9:00 PM A Fortunate Man

October 12, 2019

2:00 PM Ordet

4:30 PM Nuuk

7:00 PM Darling

9:00 PM I Am William

October 13, 2019

2:45 PM Circleen, Coco and the Wild Rhinoceros

4:20 PM Team Hurricane

6:30 PM Nuuk

9:00 PM Across the Waters

Admission to the screenings is for free on a first come, first served basis.

The 5th Danish Film Festival is presented by Embassy of Denmark Manila, the Danish Film Institute, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Shangri-La Plaza.

4th Danish Film Festival: Under sandet/Land of Mine, finding humanity in the aftermath of war

The screening of Under sandet/Land of Mine, a film that bravely tackled war issues that were considered taboo for decades was the highlight of the opening night of the 4^th Danish Film Festival held at the Robinson’s Movieworld in Robinson’s Galleria.

Prior to the screening, a cocktail reception hosted by the Embassy of Denmark in the Philippines and Ambassador Jan Top Christensen was held where guests enjoyed the food and drinks, especially the various cheeses by Arla. Among the guests were members of the diplomatic corps, Danish community in Manila, friends of Denmark and several college students. Also present were Atom and Anne Magadia whose film Dagsin/Gravity is among the films to be screened at the festival.

I pretty much tasted almost everything that Arla had to offer that night and that made me forget how difficult travelling along EDSA was for me on that day. And it prepared me to be in good spirits which was needed while watching the opening night film.

Under sandet/Land of Mine

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89^th Academy Awards, Under sandet/Land of Mine is directed by Martin Pieter Zandvliet and stars Roland Møller, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman, Emil Belton, and Oskar Belton.

Early in the film, Sgt. Rasmussen (Roland Møller) singles out a German soldier among those marching dejectedly and lashes out at him violently for clutching a Danish flag. This sets the tone on how the Denmark viewed the Germans, who occupied Denmark for five years, shortly after World War II.

So it’s no surprise that the Danish carried out orders from Great Britain to employ German prisoners of war, some just boys in their teens, to defuse landmines which is in violation of the Geneva Convention. And the film focused on Sgt. Rasmussen and the 14 German boys under his command to work on the mines.

But once the boys introduced themselves to Sgt. Rasumssen, I already had an inkling that in time, he would care for them. And he did soon after he suffers his first casualty. These boys were no longer German prisoners of war to him but actual human beings with their respective stories. This softening of stance causes him to get into trouble with his superior Captain Ebbe (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) and this forces him to make a crucial decision in the end that leaves his fate and that of the remaining boys unanswered.

The film gave a glimpse of a moment in post-World War II history that is rarely discussed and has been considered taboo for decades. I think that it’s important that the inconvenient gray areas of the history of war be told. The veterans who have served in the war and those who lived during those times have either died already or have grown too old to tell their respective tales.

The screening of Under sandet/Land of Mine was part of the 4^th Danish Film Festival presented by the Embassy of Denmark in the Philippines, the Danish Film Institute, Robinson's Movieworld, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Academy Award winning/nominated films at the 4th Danish Film Festival

The Embassy of Denmark in the Philippines presents a new selection of contemporary and critically acclaimed films, led by the Academy Award nominated film Under sandet/Land of Mine, at the 4^th Danish Film Festival happening on November 8-11 at Robinson's Movieworld, Robinson's Galleria.

A tale about young German prisoners of war forced to defuse land mines in Danish territory, Under sandet/Land of Mine was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89^th Academy Awards. The film is directed by Martin Pieter Zandvliet and stars Roland Møller. Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman, Emil Belton, and Oskar Belton.

The multi-awarded Filipino film, Dagsin/Gravity, is also among the movies to be screened at the festival as part of the strengthening of Danish-Philippine cultural ties. Inspired by the ideas of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and French existentialist Albert Camus, this film had its debut at the 2016 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, is directed by Atom Magadia and stars Tommy Abuel, Lotlot De Leon, Benjamin Alves, Janine Gutierrez, Sue Prado, and Alex Diaz.

“We are very happy to continue developing our social and cultural links to the Philippines. Films, literature, music – cultural events create common ground between people beyond institutionalized politics. Now again Filipinos get another chance – through our 4^th Danish Film Festival - to learn about some of social, political and cultural characteristics of Danes and Denmark. We believe by engaging with each other, we can inspire each other and develop our relations. I look forward to seeing an even bigger crowd than last year at our film screenings in November,” says Ambassador of Denmark to the Philippines, Jan Top Christensen.

As always, screenings are for free on a first come, first-served basis. Very likely also that all the films will have English subtitles. Although it may be possible that Otto er et næsehorn/Otto is A Rhino will be in English to accommodate the younger movie goers.

4^th Danish Film Festival Line-Up

Under sandet/Land of Mine (2015)

Director: Martin Pieter Zandvliet

Starring: Roland Møller, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman, Emil Belton, Oskar Belton

As World War II comes to an end, a group of German POWs, boys rather than men, are captured by the Danish army and forced to engage in a deadly task to defuse and clear land mines from the Danish coastline. With little or no training, the boys soon discover that the war is far from over.

Anti (2016)

Director: Morten BH

Starring: Stefan Hjort, Casper Kjær Jensen, Oscar Dyekjær Giese, Theis Monrad Post, Sonny Lindberg

The year is 1991.

Simon and his best friend Frede are very busy doing absolutely nothing in a tiny suburban town outside Copenhagen. Simon has always loved to draw but has never quite had an outlet for his talent. He experiences a jolting realization when he learns about the graffiti culture by chance, and now he sees a chance to accomplish something that will leave a mark on the world.

Simon and Frede quickly paint graffiti all over the town they live in, and when CHAOS, a large graffiti crew from Copenhagen, discovers Simon’s talent, they recruit the both of them. As opposed to Frede, Simon is completely hooked by the environment, but he soon realizes that things are not quite what he thought they would be.      

Skammerens datter/The Shamer’s Daughter (2015)

Director: Kenneth Kainz

Starring: Rebecca Emilie Sattrup, Jakob Oftebro, Søren Malling

A reviled widow and her daughter, who have the ability to peer into people's souls, are called upon to investigate the murder of the royal family.         

De standhaftige/Walk with Me (2016)

Director: Lisa Ohlin

Starring: Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Cecilie Lassen

Deployed on mission in Helmand, Afghanistan, 25-year old Thomas steps on a landmine and gets seriously injured. At the local rehabilitation center he meets Sofie, an ascending ballerina from the Royal Danish Ballet, who is helping a relative to regain strength after a long term sickness.

Thomas desperately wants back in the field and gets impatient, as progress does not emerge as fast as he wants to. When Sofie offers to help him with a more intense rehabilitation plan, he accepts. Despite their differences, they develop a special bond and a mutual affection.

Otto er et næsehorn/Otto is A Rhino (2013)

Director: Kenneth Kainz

Starring: Nikolai Aamand, Noah Crone Back, Lars Brygmann, Kaya Brüel, Rebecca Brüel

Topper is a young boy with a vivid imagination. After finding a pencil, he soon discovers that it has magic powers when his drawing of a rhino is suddenly standing alive and hungry in the middle of his apartment! With his best friend’s birthday just around the corner, Topper realizes that the enormous “Otto” would make for the perfect gift. But how does he keep Otto the Rhino hidden, let alone sneak him across town? Life in this sleepy seaside village is about to be shaken up completely!

Hævnen/In a Better World (2010)

Director: Susanne Bier

Starring:
Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard

Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts that lead them to difficult choices between revenge and forgiveness.

Anton and his wife Marianne, who have two young sons, are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Their older, ten-year-old son Elias is being bullied at school, until he is defended by Christian, a new boy who has just moved from London with his father, Claus. Christian's mother recently lost her battle with cancer, and Christian is greatly troubled by her death.

Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond, but when Christian involves Elias in a dangerous act of revenge with potentially tragic consequences, their friendship is tested and lives are put in danger. Ultimately, it is their parents who are left to help them come to terms with the complexity of human emotions, pain and empathy.

Dansen med Regitze/Waltzing Regitze (1989)

Director: Kaspar Rostrup

Starring: Ghita Nørby, Frits Helmuth, Henning Moritzen, Rikke Bendsen

An American Academy Award Best Foreign Film 1990 nominee, Dansen med Regitze/Waltzing Regitze tells of a working class marriage that has survived all obstacles because true love and mutual respect always prevailed. Tempestuous Regitze and conformist Karl Aage live through wartime hardships and familial strifes and upheavels and are now preparing for their annual summer party over which the shadow of tragedy is suddenly cast.

Frygtelig lykkelig/Terribly Happy (2008)

Director: Henrik Ruben Genz

Starring: Jakob Cedergren, Lene Maria Christensen, Kim Bodnia

Frygtelig lykkelig/Terribly Happy spins a riveting yarn about Robert Hansen, a Copenhagen police officer who, following a nervous breakdown, is transferred to a small provincial town to take on the mysteriously vacated marshal position and subsequently gets mixed up with a married femme fatale. Robert’s big city temperament makes it impossible for him to fit in, or understand the uncivilized, bizarre behavior displayed by the townspeople. Quickly spiraling into an intense fable, director Henrik Ruben Genz displays a unique and sometimes macabre vision of the darkest depths to which people will go to achieve a sense of security and belonging.

Dagsin/Gravity (2016)

Director: Atom Magadia

Starring: Tommy Abuel, Lotlot De Leon, Benjamin Alves, Janine Gutierrez, Sue Prado, Alex Diaz

Inspired by the ideas of Søren Kierkegaard and Albert Camus, Dagsin/Gravity is a beautiful love story about two people who are willing to sacrifice everything to protect their Love against the tragedies of human existence.

Here is the schedule of the 4^th Danish Film Festival.

November 8, 2018

5:00 PM Dansen med Regitze/Waltzing Regitze

7:30 PM Under sandet/Land of Mine

November 9, 2018

3:15 PM Hævnen/In a Better World

5:00 PM Frygtelig lykkelig/Terribly Happy

7:00 PM De standhaftige/Walk with Me

November 10, 2018

3:15 PM Skammerens datter/The Shamer’s Daughter

5:00 PM Dagsin/Gravity

7:00 PM Under sandet/Land of Mine

November 11, 2018

3:15 PM Otto er et næsehorn/Otto is a Rhino

5:00 PM De standhaftige/Walk with Me

7:00 PM Anti

The 4^th Danish Film Festival is presented by the Embassy of Denmark in the Philippines, the Danish Film Institute, Robinson's Movieworld, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines through their Film Cultural Exchange Program. The event is also made possible by Arla, media partners art+ magazine, Cinemabravo and official TV partner: ANC News Channel.