Eksperimentet

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Eksperimentet
Directed byLouise Friedberg[1]
Written by
  • Maj Rørbæk Damgaard
  • Louise Friedberg
  • Rikke De Fine Licht[1][2]
Produced by
  • Bo Ehrhardt
  • Birgitte Hald
  • Mikisoq H. Lynge
  • Birgitte Skov[1][2]
StarringEllen Hillingsø[1]
CinematographyMagnus Nordenhof Jønck[1]
Edited byMartin Schade[1]
Music byOla Kvernberg[1]
Distributed bySandrew Metronome Filmdistribution A/S[1]
Release dates
  • 28 August 2010 (2010-08-28) (Greenland)
  • 9 September 2010 (2010-09-09) (Denmark)
Running time
93 minutes[3]
CountryTemplate:Film Denmark
Languages
[1]

Eksperimentet (English: The Experiment) is a 2010 Danish drama film written and directed by Louise Friedberg, and starring Ellen Hillingsø.[1] The film premiered on 28 August 2010 in the Katuaq Culture Centre in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.[4][5] The release date of the film in Denmark is 9 September 2010.[2]

Background

The film deals with social experiments, and the problem of cultural genocide in Greenland. In 1951 the Danish colonial authorities forcibly removed 22 Greenlandic Inuit children (9 girls and 13 boys) from their parents, relocating them to Denmark for adoption.[5] The selected children, aged between 6 and 8,[6] came from disadvantaged families; their intended new prospects in life were to be bolstered by their integration into the 'modern' Danish society, as envisioned by the authorities, being effectively transformed into 'small Danes'.[5][6]

The children lost their native language and culture, experiencing lifelong psychological trauma, separated from their families for most of their life.[6][7] Some of the children returned to Greenland after a year, directly into an orphanage in Nuuk, instead of their families, others stayed in Denmark for the remainder of their life,[7] while more than half died before reaching adulthood.[8][9]

In 2009, on behalf of the Government of Greenland (Greenlandic: Naalakkersuisut), Kuupik Kleist, the prime minister of Greenland, demanded an official apology from Denmark for the failed social experiment of the 1950s.[9][10] Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the prime minister of Denmark, subsequently refused apology, admitting that the event was 'unfortunate'.[8] The refusal leaves the issue of apology and compensation a bone of contention between Greenland and Denmark.[11][12][13] The film's lead actress, Ellen Hillingsø, urged Lars Løkke Rasmussen to issue an apology to the victims.[14]

Production

Director Louise Friedberg's inspiration for the film came from I den bedste mening (With the Best Intentions), an interview memoir by Tine Bryld, one of the surviving children, also released on video.[7][15]

Between 13 and 21 July 2009, scenes from the film were shot in Kangeq, a former settlement on the coast of Labrador Sea in southwestern Greenland, located approximately 18 km (11 mi) west-south-west of Nuuk, at the mouth of Nuup Kangerlua, the longest fjord in southwestern Greenland.[16] The still standing old houses of Kangeq were used as a backdrop for the film, with the settlement emulating the look of Nuuk in 1952,[17] before the city center was peppered with communal apartment blocks in the 1960s, forever changing the character of the town.[18]

The film was produced by Nimbus Film.[1] It was one of six films in 2009 which − due to their importance for the culture of Greenland − received grants from the Government of Greenland.[19]

Cast

Both Danish and Greenlandic cast appeared in the film:[1][7]

Actor Role
Ellen Hillingsø Nurse Gert
Morten Grunwald Omann
Laura Skaarup Jensen Karen
Kurt Ravn Svendsen
Laura Bro Høgh
Mads Ville Dr. Brandt
Finn Nielsen Møller
Nukaaka (old spelling: Nukâka, as Nukaka Coster-Waldau) Margrethe
Domilia Marianne Singertat Marie
Paniaraq R. Søltoft Ingrid
Najaaraq Margit Davidsen Dorthe
Kristian Falck-Petersen Daniel

Reception

Premiere

The premiere of the film in Greenland, attended by the prime minister and Maliina Abelsen, the minister for social affairs,[20] was a high-profile and emotional event, with the issue of the official apology still unresolved, and several of the survivors still alive.[6][7][21] Eksperimentet is the first film dealing with the dark episodes from Greenland's history as a former colony.[6] It is expected that others will follow, alongside an open debate in the country.[6][20] The film was praised for its emotional appeal and acting; the criticism focused on the technical issue of too-quickly moving subtitles, and a too early release date, inhibiting a wider audience that would otherwise be possible.[6][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Eksperimentet". Nimbus Film, Official Website. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Experimentet at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ "Eksperimentet" (in Danish). Katuaq Culture Centre. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Verdenspremiere på 'Eksperimentet'". Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (in Danish). 28 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "Premiere på 'Eksperimentet'". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 27 August 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Anmeldelse: Stærk og rørende film". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 29 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Eksperimentet vises i september". Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (in Danish). 22 July 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  8. ^ a b "No apology from Denmark". The Copenhagen Post. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Greenland demands apology for Danish child experiments". IceNews. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  10. ^ "Professor: Giv Grønland en undskyldning". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 14 September 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  11. ^ "Kuupik: Fortiden skal klarlægges". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 11 August 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  12. ^ "DF: Ingen undskyldning". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 11 August 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Vil have en undskyldning". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 10 August 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  14. ^ "Hillingsø: Sig undskyld, Lars Løkke". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 28 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  15. ^ "RNC* Documentation, Silver Screen Resistance". Rethinking Nordic Colonialism, a Postcolonial Exhibition Project in Five Acts: Iceland, Greenland, The Faroe Islands, Finnish Sápmi & Denmark/Finland/Norway/Sweden. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  16. ^ "TIL OPPLYSNING". Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Kangeq med i film". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 21 July 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  18. ^ "Optagelser til "EKSPERIMENTET" i Nuuk". Sermersooq municipality. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  19. ^ "Tilskud til seks filmprojekter" (in Danish). Government of Greenland. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  20. ^ a b c "'Eksperimentet' er rørende, stærk og vigtig". Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (in Danish). 29 August 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  21. ^ "Børnehjemsbarn udgiver erindringer". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 25 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
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