Armadillo
The feature-length documentary film "Armadillo", by Janus Metz, is selected for Semaine de la Critique, the distinguished side programme, which seldom includes documentary among its repertoire.
"Armadillo" is the story of two young men, Mads and Daniel, who, thirsty for adventure and with open minds, leave Denmark on their first mission to Afghanistan, a war which annihilates the innocence they once beheld. The film is a journey into the minds of the soldiers and an examination of the reality of war. A character-driven, psychological drama, "Armadillo" examines how politics function in practice, when the international community's efforts at democratization and development stand face-to-face with war on a micro-level in the midst of the complexity and extreme conditions of Afghanistan.
"Armadillo" is produced by Ronnie Fridthjof and Sara Stockmann for Fridthjof Film Docs.
Having been selected for Semaine de la Critique, Janus Metz is now also a contender for the prestigious Camera d'Or, Cannes Film Festival's award for best debuting feature film. An award bestowed upon Danish Christoffer Boe in 2003 for "Reconstruction".
Berik
For the second year running a short fiction film by Daniel Joseph Borgman is selected for the Cannes film festival. Last year saw his "Lars and Peter" in the Short Film Competition, this year his short fiction "Berik", a story of friendship and lonesomeness, is chosen for Semaine de la Critique.
Again Borgman has teamed up with producer Katja Adomeit, who produced the film for Zentropa Productions.
Children play a significant role in Borgman's films. For Borgman, children's feelings are often marginalized in the world of grown-ups. In "Berik" the main character — blind and disabled from radioactive pollution —spends his days at home in Semey, Eastern Kazakhstan, waiting for his brother to come home from work. That is, until Adil, the smallest and least popular of the kids in the apartment block, comes knocking on his door. Although wanting to become part of the kids' group, Adil finds out that it is more important to be content than to remould himself for the sake of fitting in with the group.
Borgman is currently in Paris preparing for his first feature film "The Weight of Elephants", also about childhood. He was selected, together with five other young filmmakers, to participate in the Cannes Film Festival's 20th Cinéfondation Residence development programme.
Sound of Noise
The Swedish-Danish coproduction "Sound of Noise", by Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, is also selected for Semaine de la Critique.
Semaine de la Critique honours to Danish filmmakers
Danish directors Ole Bornedal, Christoffer Boe, Anders Morgenthaler and Martin de Thurah have on previous occasions had their works selected for Semaine de la Critique.
DFI Cannes website
On the Danish Film Institute (DFI) Cannes website, you may find more information on the Danish films in Cannes over the next days. This will include factsheets, production companies, screening times, press photos. DFI key contacts and more. The site is update daily: www.dfi.dk/cannes
FILM#69 Cannes
The DFI magazine FILM will be published on 7 May, describing tendencies in current Danish cinema and bringing interviews and a catalogue of films.