Archive of films This Life - Some Must Die, So Others Can Live / Hvidstengruppen - Nogel må dø for at andre kan leve

Denmark
2012, 122 min

Section: Variety's Ten Euro Directors to Watch
Year: 2012

Germany occupies Denmark on April 9, 1940. Although the Danish government decides to cooperate, some citizens resist. Based on fact, This Life - Some Must Die, So Others Can Live tells the story of the Hvidsten group, ordinary men and women from a village in eastern Jutland who concealed agents and supplies dropped by British aircraft.

Synopsis

Germany occupies Denmark on April 9, 1940. Although the Danish government decides to cooperate, some citizens actively resist. Based on fact, This Life tells the story of the Hvidsten group, ordinary men and women from a village in eastern Jutland who received and hid agents and supplies dropped by British aircrafts. Rivaling the big budget resistance epic Flame & Citron as a Danish box office phenomenon, this intimate, affecting historical drama maintains a tone of simple dignity and national pride. When innkeeper Marius Fiil first organizes a local network to pick up and conceal the men and materiel parachuted in, the risk seems negligible and the work a thrilling adventure. His son, son-in-law and daughters all participate, along with the vet, the miller, a mechanic, and some farmers. But events eventually take a grimmer turn.

About the director

Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis (b. 1965, Herning, Denmark) is a versatile actress of television, theater, and film (e.g. Lars von Trier’s Idiots). She is a regular debater on the TV programs "Good Morning Denmark” and "Good Evening Denmark,” where she puts her interest in the political and social life of her country to good use. In 1992 she graduated from the Danish National School of Theater in Copenhagen, and is now a teacher of acting. In addition to writing articles for newspapers and magazines she has also tried her hand at fiction and composing music. This Life – Some Must Die, So Others Can Live, based on the actual drama of a family arrested for helping resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation, is her directorial debut. With receipts totaling $9.4 million in the first 11 weeks after its premiere, it became Denmark’s second biggest box office success in 35 years.

Contacts

Danish Film Institute
Gothersgade 55, 1123, Copenhagen
Denmark
Tel: +45 337 434 00
Fax: +45 337 434 01
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.dfi.dk

Stealth Media Group
14 Regent Hill, BN1 3ED, Brighton
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 127 373 918 2
Fax: +44 127 374 912 2
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.stealthmediagroup.com

This Life - Some Must Die, So Others Can Live

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About the film

Color, 35 mm
International premiere

Section:	Variety's Ten Euro Directors to Watch

Director:	Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis
Screenplay:	Jørgen Kastrup, Ib Kastrup, Torval Lervad
Dir. of Photography:	Morten Bruus, Claus Sisseck
Music:	Simon Ravn
Editor:	Jacob Thorndal
Producer:	Regner Grasten
Production:	Regner Grasten Filmproduktion
Cast:	Jens Jørn Spottag, Bodil Jørgensen, Marie Bach Hansen, Thomas Ernst, Laura Winther Møller, Mia Vadmand Ejlerskov
Contact:	Danish Film Institute, Stealth Media Group

Guests

Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis

Film Director

Christian Juhl Lemche

Film Institution Rep.