Reviews

Human Race by Danish director Simon Lec covers both the scientific research by his compatriot, evolutionary geneticist Eske Willerslev, into the ancient human genome, and the scientist’s ‘race’ for international recognition – specifically the Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, in the CPH world-premiere doc, the latter tends to overshadow the former.

The familiar story of attempting to overcome a traumatic injury is given additional resonance with this story of a Norwegian MMA fighter whose personality is tied to his physicality. But Geir Kåre Nyland has to try and deal with a frightening new existence, while also attempting to face up to family and personal traumas long unaddressed that have impacted on the way he deals with life.

Sounding like they come from a novel by George Orwell or Franz Kafka, the rather niche section of the Stockholm Police evocatively named The Dialogue Police are actually a special unit whose well-intentioned mission is to strengthen democracy and ensure the right of all citizens to say what they want. Susanna Edwards’ fascinating and immersive fly-on-the-wall feature doc receives its international premiere at CPH:DOX.

CPH:DOX’s opening film Facing War, about Jens Stoltenberg’s final years as NATO Secretary General, is instructive in defining a current moment in our global geo-politics, but it already feels like ancient history – or history in the unmaking. Regrettably, Stoltenberg’s promise that NATO will stand by Ukraine “for as long as it takes” has lost much of its lustre since Trump’s re-election.

There is a gentle whimsy to Nora Nivedita Tvedt’s film Small Dogs Bark Loud as it tackles the challenging subject of childhood loss and trauma with both warmth and compassion, and while the bond between a fluffy small white dog and a 12-year-old Norwegian girl forms the spine of the film, at heart it aims to dwell on how we all process love, grief and fear.

Accompanied by a literary, autobiographical voice-over, Berlin-based Lesotho filmmaker Lemohang Mosese blends observational documentary and mythical re-enactments to create a highly poetic, highly personal film that transcends the boundaries between reality and dream, showing how, instead of concrete memories, it’s the dream of a mythicised home that sustains the emigrant.

With its intriguing combination of tranquility and urgency, Kateryna Gornostai’s feature documentary - the only non-fiction film selected for Berlinale Competition – captures a year in the lives of teachers and pupils within multiple Ukrainian schools as the Russian invasion unfolds, sometimes just a stone's throw from the classroom.

The darkest moments in Poland’s recent history hang heavily in this gently chilling psychological journey, which takes the viewer to various landscapes where Holocaust sites remain part of everyday life and where the business of how best to tackle memory and responsibility remain a vital part of modern reality.

In 2024 (2023) painter Stefan Hayn takes us on a journey inside his head. Through his paintings and through his cell phone recordings/musings he shows us how he sees the world. The film is a study in patience and attention, and even though Hayn's own comments or reflections are rare, it also offers a genuine sense of intimacy.

A delightful feel-good movie about a circus family, filmed over the course of a year, as seen through the eyes of 11-year-old Santino, a boy who is yet to discover his special talent. Throughout, Circusboy manages to strike a delicate balance between reality and enchantment, and just like the circus itself it is an immersive and fun experience that makes you feel like you are part of a beautiful, different reality.