Empire

St. Croix, Danish West Indies, 1848. Anna (played by Anna Neye, also the writer of this film) and Petrine are friends, against all odds. Although they are both women of colour, their lifes are very different - Anna is free and owns the enslaved Petrine. Tempers flare in Anna's mansion when there are rumours going around about a rebellion. Which side are Anna and Petrine really on?

This film about Denmark's colonialism and history of slavery deals with a sensitive subject for Scanidinavians. It is therefore not surprising that director Frederikke Aspöck puts a slightly satirical spin on it; sometimes you need some air to touch on heavy things. "Empire challenges Denmark's highly romanticised view of its own colonial past," Aspöck says. She does so by presenting to us this beauty of a film: the rich use of colour makes the scenes pop off the screen, and the sound track is truly sublime.