I don't think I'll participate in the debate, but I'll follow it. There are so many important existential questions being raised, says Vinterberg to TT.
"A Family Like Ours", which premiered at the film festival in Venice, is a dystopia where Denmark must be evacuated because the country will soon be covered in water.
The Family is Evacuated
Newcomer Amaryllis August (daughter of director Bille August) plays Laura, whose parents are divorced. When the final evacuation order comes, the plot leads to the family being split up and it becomes dangerous, not least for Laura who ends up in the hands of human traffickers.
I toyed with the idea of making the story into a film, but I thought this material needed the length that a TV series provides. I see it as a very long film, inspired by "The Emigrants" and "Brooklyn", says Thomas Vinterberg.
What he hopes will spark debate is the theme of environmental destruction and refugees. In the series, it's now the Danes who are forced to emigrate, stopped at borders and becoming victims of human traffickers.
The political aspect is very important. We wanted it to be as naturalistic as possible.
A Monument to His Daughter
There are a couple of cliffhangers in the seven-part series, but Thomas Vinterberg didn't want more – some series have a cliffhanger at the end of each episode.
I don't think the audience needs that, I think cliffhangers are annoying. I want to see a story.
A few years ago, Vinterberg's film "Another Round" conquered the world and won, among other things, an Oscar for Best International Film. But it was a dark period for him – just before filming was about to begin, his 19-year-old daughter Ida died in a car accident.
It was necessary that it became a success. The film is a monument to my deceased daughter.
Age: 55 years.
Family: Wife Helene Reingard-Neumann.
Lives: In Copenhagen.
Occupation: Screenwriter, director.
Previous works, selected: "The Celebration", "It's all about love", "Dear Wendy", "Submarino", "The Hunt", "The Commune", "Kursk", "Another Round".
Currently working on: "A Family Like Ours" which is being shown on TV4. Thomas Vinterberg is currently working on writing the script for a TV series based on Astrid Lindgren's "The Brothers Lionheart".
