We caught up with the Danish director whose film appears on T-Port courtesy of Premium Films, about hope, passion, and his Oscar-nominated short IVALU.
Tell us about yourself
I am 45-years-old, from Denmark. I live in Copenhagen and am currently in post-production on my next feature. A big Danish WW2 epic.
How did you first start working on IVALU? What was the process like and what first sparked the idea to make this film?
I read the graphic novel that it’s based upon.I was also inspired by nature and my Greenlandic co director and partners. It took some time for me to find the courage to make the story my own.
Tell us a bit about your film and the filmmaking process – what were your main insights?
The story takes place in Greenland and deals with incest. It was a very fine balance telling a story about such a difficult and sensitive subject matter. Especially because I wanted to add a little tiny bit of hope without coming across as naive.
What were the biggest challenges you encountered during making your film?
Shooting in a different language than my own. Equally wonderful and difficult.
Tell us about the sound choices in your film – what type of score did you use and why? What other types of sounds did you use (if any)?
Nature should have a voice. When you hear the sound of the icecap it almost sounds like a creature talking.
Tell us about the visual choices in your film. What were your main goals and techniques in creating the visual style of your film?
Nature was a character in this piece. We were always having a drone on standby to make the most epic and vast shots of nature, wanting the girl to look small and alone in the surroundings.
What would you like people to take away from your film?
That there are too many children being victims of incest. The dialogue on the subject cannot just faith it away.
Tell us about a filmmaker that you admire and why?
Steven Spielberg. He tells stories with pictures. Most directors tend to forget they are dealing with a visual medium. He does not.
What did you find (or still find) as especially lacking in the process of distributing and promoting your film? What was especially challenging?
Not so much as we are fortunate enough to get Oscar nominated. That means our film goes out to 350 cinemas in the US alone.
If you are a film industry professional and would like access to the catalogue and more, find out here how to sign up.
Filmmaker? Upload your short film to T-Port or sign up for our newsletter to get regular updates on the current trends and exciting innovations in the short film universe.