{"id":35833,"date":"2026-03-09T07:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T07:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/35833\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T07:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T07:11:10","slug":"cphdox-chiefs-discuss-festivals-role-as-denmark-approaches-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/35833\/","title":{"rendered":"CPH:DOX Chiefs Discuss Festival’s Role as Denmark Approaches Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAs elections approach in Denmark, the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, also known as CPH:DOX<\/a>, has a role in the national debate during its 23rd edition, running March 11-22.<\/p>\n

\n\tKatrine Kiilgaard<\/a>, the festival\u2019s managing director, says: \u201cI do think that\u2019s our prime aim: to be an open platform for the democratic dialogue that needs to happen. And we hope to make our mark: making people a little bit wiser before they vote two days after the festival.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cThe Sandbox\u201d <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Kenya-Jade Pinto<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the festival\u2019s declared core values is the importance of employing curiosity and challenging the status quo. Niklas Engstr\u00f8m<\/a>, the festival\u2019s artistic director, points to Kenya-Jade Pinto\u2019s \u201cThe Sandbox\u201d as an example of a film that does that. The film, which plays in the main competition, \u201cis asking difficult questions about how borders are being secured using surveillance technology, and how that has the potential to spill over to being used to surveil all of us in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe adds that this topic is relevant in Denmark as immigration will be one of the key issues in the elections.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother hot button issue in the Danish elections will be the status of Greenland, given President Donald Trump\u2019s stated intention to annex the vast arctic island \u2014 a semi-autonomous Danish territory. Although the issue won\u2019t play a major role in the festival, Engstr\u00f8m says, CPH:DOX will host Greenlandic filmmaker Johannes Ujo M\u00fcller\u2019s \u201cOur Flag,\u201d which centers on the creation of Greenland\u2019s flag in 1985 by local artist Thue Christiansen. Unlike other Nordic flags, it does not incorporate a Christian cross but instead draws its inspiration from the sun rising above the sea. \u201cIt says a lot about the long-standing wish of Greenlandic people to have their own nationality and their own perspective represented,\u201d Engstr\u00f8m says.<\/p>\n

\n\tEngstr\u00f8m underscores the importance of making the festival \u201ca public space for dialogue.\u201d He says: \u201cFor us, it\u2019s super important that we stand up for every filmmaker and their right to speak and their position as artists to present documentary cinema in a way that will inspire and engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, he offers a caveat: \u201cBut we also want to curate a program that is not a safe space in the way that these films are in a sort of echo chamber. I think the most important thing for festivals today is to curate a space where we can have the very difficult conversations about things that we disagree on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cPalestinian Unwanted\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of CPH:DOX<\/p>\n

\n\tHe adds that the festival \u201cwill build bridges between people of different opinions, coming from different viewpoints and perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother film asking tough questions, Engstr\u00f8m says, is Omar Shargawi\u2019s \u201cPalestinian Unwanted,\u201d about his experiences as a Danish-Palestinian during the war in Gaza and \u201chow he perceives the media landscape in Denmark and how the media has treated the war in Gaza,\u201d Engstr\u00f8m says.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn particular, Shargawi criticizes the Danish media\u2019s refusal to describe what has happened in Gaza as a genocide.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is not a film that tries to be objective or put in a lot of nuances. It\u2019s an angry activist film, and it could definitely provoke some conversations,\u201d Engstr\u00f8m says. \u201cAnd then what we do is we invite the Danish media for a conversation with the filmmaker. So, the film won\u2019t be screened in an echo chamber where the audiences are only people that already agree with Omar Shargawi, because that won\u2019t make anyone wiser.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cIf Luck Will Come\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of CPH:DOX<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the festival\u2019s other core values is diversity, in the broadest sense of the word. It is more than \u201cwhat in the U.S. would be included in DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion]. It is geographical diversity, diversity of political opinion, and perspectives on reality,\u201d Engstr\u00f8m says. \u201cDiversity\u201d also applies to \u201cthe broad genre of documentary and how you can expand what it is and what it could be,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis all feeds into the curation of the program so \u201cyou have all these voices in your head, somehow, and it ends up creating a program where you feel the enormous complexity of reality is being treated in a fair way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe cites two films about Afghanistan to illustrate the point, \u201cIf Luck Will Come\u201d and \u201cKabul Between Prayers.\u201d The first looks at \u201cthe horrible conditions that young girls are living under after the takeover of the Taliban,\u201d Engstr\u00f8m says, while the second follows members of the Taliban. \u201cIt is not to say that this thing is just as good as the other, it is just to say that in order to get wiser you constantly need to challenge yourself and get new perspectives,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cKabul Between Prayers\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Silk Road Film Salon<\/p>\n

\n\tThe need to show different perspectives also applies to the Israel-Palestine conflict, showing both what happened to the hostages taken by Hamas, and the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza. \u201cWe, as a festival, have a huge responsibility of not narrowing reality but expanding it,\u201d Engstr\u00f8m says.<\/p>\n

\n\tSome festivals, such as IDFA, have excluded Israeli films that have been backed by government funding. CPH:DOX has a different position. Kiilgaard says, \u201cIt is important for us to say that the festival is built on freedom of expression, independence, impartiality, that we are this open platform that Niklas described for different voices to be presented and discussed in an open, democratic way, as a part of an open dialogue, and in that perspective, we do not really impose any political boycotts, exclude filmmakers based on nationality or anything else for that matter. And, it\u2019s really important for us to keep this position in place to be that exact open space, and not exclude beforehand anyone who could side with one side or the other, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEngstr\u00f8m adds, \u201cI think it\u2019s important to add that it doesn\u2019t mean that we are not horrified about what has been going on in Gaza over the last few years, and all of us in the festival have really deeply felt how terrible that war is, and the huge amount of human rights violations and atrocities that the Israeli army has been committing, but we just believe that our role in this world will be very damaged if we start pointing to different countries where the filmmakers wouldn\u2019t be welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tVariety contacted the Israeli embassy in London for a response to Engstr\u00f8m\u2019s comments about the Israeli army, but at the time of publication no reply had been received.<\/p>\n

\n\tReferring to the relationship with politicians, with respect to the recent situation at the Berlinale, Kiilgaard says, \u201cThere\u2019s an arm\u2019s length policy, which is very nicely in place, I would say. So, I don\u2019t think we have any political pressure from any of our funders or supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLooking at the broader political climate, Engstr\u00f8m says, \u201cWe are approaching a new world order and a new reality where polarization is part of it, and where political pressure in many countries is being expanded upon. We are definitely prepared to take on these very difficult questions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As elections approach in Denmark, the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, also known as CPH:DOX, has a role…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[8200,27,26,20791,20792,20793],"class_list":["post-35833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denmark","tag-cphdox","tag-danmark","tag-denmark","tag-documentaries-to-watch","tag-katrine-kiilgaard","tag-niklas-engstru00f8m"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116197974571860147","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}