Carsten Aanonsen

Fragments of Ice

The director’s father, Soviet figure skating star, went on tours to the imaginary West and filmed his life in the transition period of the 80s and 90s. Rediscovering his amateur VHS archive, a director explores his vision of paradise against the changing historical background. 15 videotapes, the spirit of traveling to the West. The birth of a daughter. The collapse of the USSR. Fragments of Ice is a journey of growing-up for society, for the father, and for the daughter. A journey that is ongoing.

After Work

Kuwait’s constitution says that every person has the right to a job, so in some places 20 people are employed for one person’s job. In South Korea, they work so much that a policy has been introduced to turn off computers at the end of the day so that employees can’t work any more. In the US, they give up over 500 million holiday hours each year, while Amazon’s drivers are trying to form a union. Meanwhile, robots are poised to take over most jobs and put the rest of us out of work. Work is so crucial to our identity and what we spend our waking hours on that it is barely noticed anymore. A lot has happened since a group of Puritan priests invented the concept of work ethic in the 1600s, and in the 21st century the very concept of work is in many ways disintegrating. A perfect situation for a filmmaker like Swedish mastermind Erik Gandini, who travels the world to explore what the concept of work means today – if it means anything at all.

Sunless Shadows

In an Iranian juvenile detention center, a group of adolescent girls serve their sentence for the grave crime of murdering their father, their husband or another male family member.

Young And Afraid

In 2017 Petter (24) decides to end his life, but at the very last moment, is stopped by the police. His best friend and fellow film student Sverre is determined to help and suggests making a film to keep Petter busy and focused on getting better. Equipped with a camera, they search the streets of Oslo to find out how other troubled souls deal with their lives. With a naive and spontaneous approach, they end up in dramatic and unpredictable situations. They meet Monica, whose past has led her to self-injurious behavior. Oliver and Cornelia, both escaping their demons with alcohol and drugs, and Emma, who is transsexual, lesbian, and proud of who she is. They also meet Miriam, who becomes Petter's girlfriend. By getting to know their destructive patterns, Petter becomes aware of his own. He sets off on a bumpy therapeutic journey, that eventually brings light into his darkness. Young and Afraid is an authentic and raw documentary about choosing to live.

The Night Dad Brought Us Home

A personal film by Steffan Strandberg about his adolescence with an alcoholic mother.

The Grenade Man

On July 22nd 2011, Norway experienced incomprehensible terror. However, it was not the first time one in our midst used extreme measures to create fear and panic.

Dukhtar

In the mountains of Pakistan, a mother and her ten-year-old daughter flee their home on the eve of the girl's marriage to a tribal leader. A deadly hunt for them begins.

Arctic Superstar

The indigenous, Samí rapper SlinCraze is trying to earn a living from his music, the problem is that less than 20.000 people speak his endangered language.

Ida's Diary

Ida's Diary is a film about hope and courage, about finding your own identity and daring to live. It's a personal film based on Ida's own video diary from the last eight years.

Pushwagner

Behind the success of Hariton Pushwagner we find a dramatic story about a son of a wealthy family who became homeless, only to end up as a celebrated artist. Pushwagner himself says, "It's not true but it's a good story". Against this backdrop, the film reflects on what the reality of Pushwagner is, both as an artist and a human being.