Danish films about prejudice

HELD FOR RANSOM tells the true story of Danish photojournalist Daniel Rye who was held hostage for 398 days in Syria by the terror organization ISIS along with several other foreign nationals including the American journalist, James Foley. The film follows Daniel’s struggle to survive in captivity, his friendship with James, and the nightmare of the Rye family back home in Denmark as they try to do everything in their power to save their son. At the center of this crisis, we find hostage negotiator, Arthur, who plays a pivotal role in securing Daniel’s release.

Poor Ivan Olsen is plagued by problems bullied at school and constantly pursued by a gang whose greatest pleasure is filling his pants with water. And when Ivan gets home, his dad doesn't have much sympathy for him either because he is crazy about Tarzan and fails to appreciate Ivan's finer qualities. But one day Ivan gets the chance to live up all of his dad's expectations and give the bullies at school a lesson they will never forget. The big question is whether having superpowers makes life any easier?

When Astrid Lindgren was very young something happened that affected her profoundly, and this combination of both miracle and calamity came to shape her entire life. It was an event that transformed her into one of the most inspiring women of our age and the storyteller a whole world would come to love. This is the story of when a young Astrid, despite the expectations of her time and religious upbringing, decided to break free from society's norms and follow her heart.

Tensions are high after a Danish freighter is captured and held for ransom by Somali pirates, leading to weeks of high-stakes negotiations – and an escalating potential for explosive violence.

The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.

When Laura and Christine meet Maria, their friendship takes an intense turn to vulnerability, love and sex.

'The Renion' is a new Danish comedy starring Troels Lyby, Nicolaj Copernicus and Anders W. Berthelsen. The three highschool friends Niels (Nicolaj Copernicus), Andreas (Anders W. Berthelsen) and Thomas (Troels Lyby) are invited to their 25 years anniversary. While Niels and Andrew struggles with not feeling like participating, Thomas is of a different opinion. Having arranged an all-time weekend of drinks, ladies and blowing off steam! The big question is: Will they actually survive the Copenhagen nightlife ... and will they even get to the reunion?. 'The Reunion' is a Danish comedy about old friends, that realises, at some point they are going to grow up and have to behave as adults... AS IF!

The 1992 Danish football team competes for the European Championship.

Opening in the seductive style of the sixties, »A Funny Man« uncovers the perennial loneliness that comedian Dirch Passer (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) has found himself in after a fast-tracked rise to fame. He struggles between his own desire to gain critical respect and servicing the audience¿s needs. Costing his kindred friendship to on-stage partner Kjeld Petersen (Lars Ranthe) Dirch takes on Steinbeck's classic »Of Mice and Men«, only for the audience to break out in laughter at his first line. Dirch's Lennie becomes a running joke, and so has, Dirch believes, his own life.

The five days when Copenhagen was held in a panic grip by an intelligent activist and former elite shooter, who takes to arms when a woman journalist writes about the government’s broken promises in an environmental question.

Four rogues, who were best friends as kids, have one big problem: they're sitting on both sides of the law. Martin is a policeman, while Nikolai, Ralf, and Timo can't distinguish between personal possessions and the possessions of others! When all four find themselves in a fix, they're forced to return to their former tricks against a common foe, Mr Niemeyer. Martin is not as successful, however, either at his job or marriage, and thinks he deserves a better life. Now he sees an opportunity to save his career by "playing" with his old friends on a mission that is so crazy that even the two foolish brothers can do some good.

The moving love story of a dancer on the rollercoaster ride of her life, a drama about the rise and fall of a modern woman as she summons the courage to face her greatest trial.

A family of four is quarantined in their home as a virulent strand of the flu spreads into town and they are forced to the extreme to escape alive.

An old note is found in a bottle in Jutland which has travelled across the ocean for a long time. The note is hard to decipher, but when the Danish investigators from Section Q receive it, the odd personalities within the section find a new angle on it and try to unveil yet another old and diabolic case even though the lead is cold.

Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

Denmark, in the near future. One year after a major bomb attack in Copenhagen, political radicalization has intensified and ethnic tensions are increasing. As next year's parliamentary elections approach, in which nationalist leader Martin Nordahl hopes for a landslide victory, Zakaria becomes involved in a radical organization, where he befriends Ali.

A neo-nazi sentenced to community service at a church clashes with the blindly devotional priest.

Olsen-Banden skal udføre en betroet opgave for selveste Statsministeriet: H.C. Andersens originale fjerpen skal stjæles fra det Danske Export Museum, det gælder angiveligt Rigets sikkerhed og gode omdømme. Men Hallandsen har igen taget røven på Egon.Der er intet mindre end den danske nationalfølelse, Egons ære og 30 millioner på spil. Men Egon har en plan - han skal bruge en boremaskine, et glas honning, en flaske økologisk sveskejuice og en god bunke døde rotter.Christiansborg sættes på den anden ende, metroen forsinkes mere end sædvanligt og Dronningens gardere danser pludselig cancan.

In a quirky, small town, situated in the outskirts of everything, 14-year-old Martin is getting ready for one of the most formal transitions from boy to man; the communion. It's 1976, music's in the air and hormones are blossoming. But in the midst of it all Martin's mother suddenly passes away and her tragic death trickers a series of events that not only changes Martin's life forever, but also affects everyone else in the local community. Overwhelmed with grief neither Martin's dad, nor his older brother, is capable to comfort Martin. He enters adulthood in a mixture of drunken happiness and immense sadness over the loss of his mother, and his relationship to both his friend Kim and girlfriend Kristine comes to its natural conclusion.

When Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to fill in as a portrait model, Einar discovers the person she's meant to be and begins living her life as Lili Elbe. Having realized her true self and with Gerda's love and support, Lili embarks on a groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

Jonathan, 11, usually spends his vacations alone with his grandfather who lives on the edge of a vast forest populated by mythical animals. This year his kid sister Sophie joins him. But it's not cool to be stuck with a little sister, so he does what he can to avoid her. He succeeds entirely too well: Sophie is kidnapped by a giant, 1000-year-old bear. Now, Jonathan has to venture into the heart of the forest to confront the strange beings that dwell there and rescue his sister.

The two tradesmen Ib and Edward are tired of their lifeless marriages and dream of living the good life from the stash of money they've earned moonlighting for years. After a huge fight with their wives the two men get drunk and hire a Russian contract killer to do a hit on their spouses. But they have badly underestimated their wives, and this becomes the start of an absurd journey where Ib and Edward to their own horror end at the top of a kill list.

Nationwide quietness. The streets are empty. Everyone’s glued to their screens at home, watching the final game. In the outskirts of Denmark, close to the German border, a small gas station needs to be open for service, even on this special night. Two young women have the shift. Ambitious Agnes is in the backroom putting finishing touches on her thesis, while free-spirited Belinda is on her phone, hoping to get the attention of her boyfriend. Unfortunately, the shift is not going to be as uneventful as they think, because no customers also means no witnesses, and the girls have been spotted to play a special part in a very different sort of game.

A family lives in the Mexican countryside raising fighting bulls. Esther is in charge of running the ranch, while her husband Juan, a world-renowned poet, raises and selects the beasts. Although in an open marriage, their relationship begins to crumble when Esther falls in love with an American horsebreaker and Juan is unable to control his jealousy.

The town of Westbrick is a rough place to live in. It is here that the young rookie cop Matthew lives with his wife. Meanwhile, notorious serial killers Billy and Barbara embark on a killing spree in order to get notoriety. Matthew gets his first assignment with his much older partner William when he unfortunately crosses paths with Billy and Barbara.

Former Danish servicemen Lars and Jimmy are thrown together while training in a neo-Nazi group. Moving from hostility through grudging admiration to friendship and finally passion, events take a darker turn when their illicit relationship is uncovered.

During Nazi occupation, red-headed Bent Faurschou-Hviid ("Flame") and Jørgen Haagen Schmith ("Citron"), assassins in the Danish resistance, take orders from Winther, who's in direct contact with Allied leaders. One shoots, the other drives. Until 1944, they kill only Danes; then Winther gives orders to kill Germans. When a target tells Bent that Winther's using them to settle private scores, doubt sets in, complicated by Bent's relationship with the mysterious Kitty Selmer, who may be a double agent. Also, someone in their circle is a traitor. Can Bent and Jørgen kill an über-target, evade capture, and survive the war? And is this heroism, naiveté, or mere hatred?

A family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.

Sixteen year-old Nisha lives a double life. At home with her family she is the perfect Pakistani daughter, but when out with her friends, she is a normal Norwegian teenager. When her father catches her in bed with her boyfriend, Nisha's two worlds brutally collide. To set an example, Nisha's parents decide to kidnap her and place her with relatives in Pakistan. Here, in a country she has never been to before, Nisha is forced to adapt to her parents' culture.

Right outside of Moscow – home to the highest number of billionaires pr. capita – you’ll find the largest junkyard in the world: The Svalka. It’s a hard place run by the Russian mafia. And it's where Yula lives with her mother, her friends and many other people. Life is tough in the Svalka, but it’s also a place where beauty and humanity can arise from the most unlikely conditions. It is from this place that Yula dreams of escaping and changing her life, even if it seems impossible. Oscar-nominated director Hanna Polak followed Yula for 14 years, bringing us along on Yula's journey to achieve this dream.

Starting a new job as a political journalist at a leading newspaper, Ulrik Torp witnesses a brutal struggle for power in the Midparty's ranks -- a struggle that coincides with the charismatic party leader's involvement in a near fatal car accident. A flurry of lies and media speculation surrounds the incident. Gradually, Ulrik unearths a ruthless conspiracy involving the incumbent prime minister.

After realizing that his 6-year-old son thinks he is working as a police officer punishing villains, a burdened parking attendant feels inspired to use his infamous profession to turn vigilante.

Four small gangsters from Copenhagen trick a gangster boss: they take over 4,000,000 kroner which they were supposed to bring him. Trying to escape to Barcelona they are forced to stop in the countryside, in an old, wrecked house, hiding there for several weeks. Slowly, one after another, they realize, that they would like to stay there, start a new life.

A young man spurs romance and helps his friend and himself go through the struggles of their ordinary life in Denmark.

Five new stories of grueling horror: A Christmas Haunting, Zombie Office, Undone, Unchangeable and The Psychomanteum - ghosts, zombies and bloody revenge.

Susan is a scientist searching for answers to important questions. So important that she has given up on other things, like love - until she meets Micheal. Susan and Michael find themselves embarking on a sensual adventure while the world around them seems to be falling apart. A life-affirming look at what it means to love and be loved in turbulent times.

Nordvest is a gangsterfilm set in the suburbs of Copenhagen. Casper (18), the oldest of 3 siblings, survives life on the streets by committing burglaries for the neighbourhood boss, Jamal. When Casper gets an offer to work for Jamal’s rival Björn, he jumps at the chance for a better life, making his way into a world of drugs and prostitution. As things escalate between Björn and Jamal, Casper finds himself and his family dead center of a conflict, that threatens to destroy them.

When a viking mercenary finds himself in the middle of a battle between the old gods and the new, he decides that neither side deserves to win. And so begins an epic battle between good and evil that will decide the fate of a nation.

Welcome to the Village, an apartment building in Brooklyn that appears like any other from the outside but is quite unique inside. The people who reside here have built a bonded family of friends and neighbors.

A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son’s custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.

The young woman, Marie, is an outsider in the small coastal community where she has grown up. The townspeople live in fear of her and not least her mother, who is wheelchair bound, suffering from a mysterious illness. When Marie discovers her body changing – long hair growing on her chest and back – she begins searching for answers concerning her family’s hidden past. Something that will have great consequences for herself and her family – and the choices she has to make.

Backwater is doomed by the regular visits of the undertaker and its dwellers blame a tramp.

Marian, a middle aged nurse, devotes herself to her patients like a saint. Sometimes she even takes on the role of a redeemer, by helping the gravely ill to the soothing order of ultimate silence. When she gets linked to a neighbor in an act of common voyeurism, she becomes fascinated by him. Faced with the fragility of these newfound emotions, Marian surrenders to her human needs

One day in the life of Anders, a young recovering drug addict, who takes a brief leave from his treatment center to interview for a job and catch up with old friends in Oslo.

Just as David and Freja arrive at their newly bought country house close to the Cliffs of Møn the harmony is disturbed by an inexplicably suicide. When David realizes that their new craftsman Roar is linked to the person who fell of the cliff he starts being suspicious. David is also certain that Roar is hitting on Freja. She denies this and all Davids theories. David joins forces with the widow Veronica to solve the case and prove to Freja that he is right. But the closer he gets the truth the further away he gets from Freja. David has to risk everything to unveil circumstances that go far beyond his imagination...

In Cairo, weeks before the 2011 revolution, Police Detective Noredin is working in the infamous Kasr el-Nil Police Station when he is handed the case of a murdered singer. He soon realizes that the investigation concerns the power elite, close to the President’s inner circle.

Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band -- despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead.

Police officer Asger Holm, demoted to desk work as an alarm dispatcher, answers a call from a panicked woman who claims to have been kidnapped. Confined to the police station and with the phone as his only tool, Asger races against time to get help and find her.

Upstanding community leader Nils has just won an award for "Citizen of the Year" when he learns the news that his son has died of a heroin overdose. Suspecting foul play, Nils begins to investigate, and soon finds himself at the center of an escalating underworld gang war between Serbian drug dealers and a sociopathic criminal mastermind known only as “The Count.”

A poignant story, told with sincerity and humor, about a young woman´s dramatic childhood and about her grief and the struggle to move on. Noomi Rapace plays the main character in her first feature after the success with the Millennium trilogy and she plays opposite her husband, actor Ola Rapace.Award winning actress Pernilla August makes her directorial debut with her take on the bestselling novel Svinalängorna by Susanna Alakoski.In other main roles we see rising star Tehilla Blad and the Finnish acclaimed actors, Ville Virtanen and Outi Mäenpää.A morning just before Christmas, Leena, 34, receives a phone call from a hospital in her childhood hometown telling her that her mother is dying. This news takes her on a journey to face her mother for the first time in her adult life. Leena has fought all her life to let go of her grief over her lost and dark childhood. She is now forced to deal with her past to be able to move on.