Unique: Reinvent International sales have increased EmpireAn absurdist period drama about Denmark̵7;s colonial history from Danish filmmaker Frederik Espok.
Conceived and written by Ana Ney, who also stars in the film, Empire Set in the Danish West Indies in 1848, it is a story about power and human interdependence that aims to challenge Denmark’s historical amnesia with a mix of earnest drama and absurdist comedy.
Here is the full synopsis of the movie : St. Croix, Danish West Indies, 1848. Anna Heegaard (Neye) and Petrin (Sarah Fanta Traore) are close friends. Both are women of color, but their living conditions are very different – Anna is free and Petrin owns a slave. Anna shares her life with the Danish Governor General Peter von Scholten at his country house, where she manages the household, her fortune, and her beloved and trusting housekeeper Petrin. Things seem to be going well until rumors of a mutiny begin to swirl. Which side are Anna and Petrin really on – and is it the same?
The picture had its world premiere earlier this month at the Nordic Competition in Gothenburg and will be shown at Reinvent’s promo reel screening at the upcoming European Film Market on February 16. Reinvent will handle international sales.
The film was produced by Pernil Skydgaard, Nina Leidersdorf and Meta Louise Földjer Sørensen for Meta Film in co-production with Brain Academy in association with SVT & Seven in association with the Danish Film Institute, Nordic Film & TV Fund, DR&SF Studio Is. Island Movies.
The film will premiere locally on April 20.
,Empire challenges Denmark’s overly romanticized look at its own colonial past and does so with a confrontational aesthetic,” Espoc said.
“World history is written by and about white people, which is why Empire Deliberately placed female Afro-Caribbean characters – slaves as well as free – at the center of its story. Through extensive research, author Anna Nye and I have done our best to understand the specifics of the former Danish colonies and how dehumanization affects those living within a terrorism-based society. In their efforts to survive, the oppressed risk becoming more oppressed, and there are human complexities and power dynamics here that we seek to examine.
Nye said: “People of color are written in the same way that women are in Danish history books. Visibility is important and we intentionally wanted to create fully fleshed-out characters of color – full of agency and resilience The characters. As an Afro-Danish writer I really yearn for a time when people of color are more than just a footnote in Danish history books. At least we deserve our own chapter.
Aspöck is best known for his feature film debut, out of bounds Which premiered in Cannes in 2011. She has since taken the films to Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Rotterdam and Gothenburg.