Out of the Darkness

International Premiere

An epic and beautifully shot family saga set in Denmark during World War II and directed by one of Scandinavia’s preeminent living filmmakers, Out of the Darkness centers on the Skov family as they try to balance their country’s failing economy, political differences, and the brutality of the German occupation forces. Unfolding from the spring of 1943 to the summer of 1945, the story follows the family’s eldest son Aksel, who has become a hard-boiled partisan after leaving his family to join the resistance movement. As the Danish coalition government collapses, the patriarch Karl (Jesper Christensen, from James Bond’s Casino Royale) is forced to take drastic action to protect his family assets by further collaborating with the Germans, while at the same trying to save his Jewish secretary and her grandson. Each member of the family represents different ways the German occupation inspired non-Jews to resist or collaborate (and sometimes do both simultaneously), with no one able to escape the consequences of their choices unscathed.

Accompanying the film premiere is a discussion with director Anders Refn and moderator Rabbi Efrat Zarren Zohar, Executive Director of CAJE. To view the conversation please click here.