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RECONSTRUCTING UTØYA
by Carl Javér
SYNOPSIS
A feature documentary where four survivors from the Utøya terrorist attack in 2011 reconstruct their memories in a black box studio together with twelve young participants to share and remember their experiences.
On July 22, 2011, a Norwegian right-wing terrorist detonated a bomb in the government quarters in Oslo, destroying several government office buildings. He then continued to the island of Utøya about 40 miles from the city where the annual Labour party youth camp took place. Dressed as a police officer, he killed 69 teenagers and wounded over a hundred in 72 minutes.
How do we talk about the unspeakable?
Six years after the attack Rakel, Mohammed, Jenny and Torje, all survivors of Utøya, gather in northern Norway to remember and to reconstruct what happened. To their help, they have a group of twelve participating young adults. The aim is to reconstruct and to remember how they managed to survive at Utøya during that massacre. With the help of the participants and white tape markings that depict the different locations relevant for each survivor, the 10,000 square feet black box studio becomes a memory room for the event at the island. When they start all the memories comes back.
DETAILS
98 mins
2019
Norway, Sweden, Denmark
Norwegian, Swedish
TRAILER
CREDITS
Director: Carl Javér
Produced by Vilda Bomben
Producer: Fredrik Lange
Co-producer: Svein Andersen, John Arvid Berger, Ami Ekström, Helle Faber, Kjetil Jensberg
Co-production company: Polarfox AS, FilmCamp as, Made in Copenhagen, Film i Väst
Script: Carl Javér, Fredrik Lange
Director of Photography: Henrik Ipsen
Editor: Carl Javér , Peter Winter
Composer: Kjetil Schjander-Luhr
Sound Design: Rune Hansen, Aurora Filmlyd
BIOGRAPHY
DIRECTOR - CARL JAVÉR
Born 1972. Director, writer, editor. Educated at Biskops Arnö and Dramatiska Institutet. He have directed seven documentaries including three major documentary series. His latest documentary Reconstructing Utøya made its international Premiere at Berlinale 2019 and was nominated for two Guldbagge, the Swedish Academy Awards, for best documentary and for best director. His previous documentary Freak Out was shown in theatres in Sweden, broadcasted on ARTE and have won 10 film festival awards. He has been a member of the board of Swedish Independent Filmmakers Association and also a jury member in the film section at the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. He is co-owner of Vilda Bomben Film AB.
SELECT FESTIVALS
BERGEN IFF 2018〡BERLINALE 2019〡THESSALONIKI 2019〡BIOGRAFILM 2019〡ONE WORLD PRAGUE 2019 - SPECIAL JURY PRIZE〡SHEFFIELD DOC FEST 2019〡DOK FEST MUNICH 2019〡NORWEGIAN IFF 2019〡IT'S ALL TRUE 2019〡HELSINKI LOVE & ANARCHY 2019〡NORDISCHE FILMTAGE 2019
PRESS
"If you can only bear to watch one film about Utøya, I strongly recommend watching this one... This documentary is a success."
- Ellen Lande, Modern Times Review
"Puts a new spin on a tragedy that has never quite gone away."
- Marta Bałaga, Cineuropa
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