WALLS

 

Feature documentary

 

What started out as a film about Greenland’s prison system, has turned into a larger-than-life story about an unlikely friendship, and about how two women on different sides of the prison walls eventually set each other free…

Back in 2017, directors Sofie Rørdam (Denmark) and Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg (Greenland) were given unique access to film behind the walls of the correctional facilities in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. Their idea was to document life behind the walls, by giving the inmates small cameras so that they could film their daily lives and routines. One inmate, however, stood out. At the time, Ruth had served 13 years of an indefinite prison sentence for murder and had abandoned all hopes of ever coming out. Her façade was as hard as the walls that surrounded her, but in meeting director Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg, life suddenly started to change for both of them.

Ruth and Nina discovered a shared history: As children, they were both sexually abused. But while Nina had many times fantasized about killing her abuser, Ruth actually killed hers. Through their many conversations, Ruth and Nina draws the fine lines that has changed the course of their destinies. And gradually Nina also starts to see the hidden walls that she herself has been locked behind since childhood.

Suddenly, Ruth's case is reopened. If the court finds sufficient progress in her mental state and behavior, she could be released. The climax and end of the film is the trial in the summer of 2021. The friendship with Nina turns out to be crucial, and through Nina's help in finding an apartment for Ruth, setting up bank accounts, communicating with the Prison Service, the municipality and Ruth's Danish-speaking lawyer, Ruth and Nina manage to convince the court that Ruth is ready for a life outside the walls. And both women can finally be free.

 

Directors: Sofie Rørdam & Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg

Editor: Nanna Frank Møller

Cinematographer: Inuk Silis Høegh

Produced by Emile Peronard Hertling 

 

Expected Spring 2024