Utøya 22. juli

U - July 22
Directed by
2018

On 22 July 2011 five hundred young people attending a summer camp on the island of Utøya were attacked by a heavily armed right-wing extremist. The murderous attack claimed the lives of 69 victims. It was a trauma that rocked Norway to the core, and still does to this day. Director Erik Poppe has dared to attempt to turn the events of that summer into a film. (Festival information, Berlinale 2018)

The Ecumenical Jury commends Utøya 22. juli.  In a single take, with a hand held camera, the filmmaker creates a claustrophobic engagement with tragedy of the shocking attack that took the 69 lives of young people outside Oslo. The film plunges the audience into the anxiety and despair of the participants, and suggests the possibility of compassion and hope in the face of tragedy. 

Festivals

The German competition entry "In the Aisles" by Thomas Stuber has won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The film also received the Gilde Film Award from the German Arthouse Cinemas.

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