SwedensGoteborg Film Festivalreturned this month after two pandemic-disrupted editions with an accomplished crop of urgent and highly-political competition titles.
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Both are women of color, but their living conditions are very different.
There she uncovered the real-life story of Heegaard and the brutal reality of life in the Danish West Indies.
Empire.
It was quite shocking because weve been told a completely different story about Danish history, Neye said.
DEADLINE: What are the origins of the project?
They said, Yeah!
That was the driving force.
And then, of course, there was also anger.
I was furious that such a massive part of our history had been forgotten.
So it was something in our inability to deal with our colonial past that was so provoking.
And I just thought it sounded like an incredible project.
DEADLINE: Is Denmarks colonial history generally discussed much in the country?
Is this part of Danish history taught in schools?
There was only one class dedicated to Danish colonial history when I was at school.
Today, I dont know what theyre learning.
My kids are over 16, and they havent learned about it at all.
DEADLINE: With colonialism being such a taboo subject in Denmark, was it difficult to find financing?
DEADLINE: Where did you shoot the film?
DEADLINE: The film is whip-smart and satirical in parts.
How did you decide on this tone, and did you ever fear being misinterpreted by audiences?
And the formula for that was trial and error.
So thats why we wanted to use humor.
This absurd kind of humor was a tool to criticize the power structure.
DEADLINE: We dont see any violence in the film.
DEADLINE: What do you hope the film will achieve?
What would be a success for you?
ASPOCK:We want to start a conversation.
We hope that our film can be a stepping stone for other people.
Because we need more films that address our romanticized history from a new angle.
and Im like, I dont fucking know.
I didnt invent it, just go and Google it.
