''Eksperimentet'' ( en, The Experiment) is a 2010 Danish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by Louise Friedberg, and starring

Ellen Hillingsø Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø (born 9 March 1967) is a Danish actress who is known primarily for her work in films. She is also a voice actress, narrating audio books. Early life Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø was born on 9 March 1967 in Copenhagen to Kje ...

. The film premiered on 28 August 2010 in the

Katuaq Culture Centre Katuaq ( da, Grønlands Kulturhus) is a cultural centre in Nuuk, Greenland. It is used for concerts, exhibitions, conferences, and as a cinema. Designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen, it was constructed as a joint project of the Greenland Home Rule ...

Nuuk Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other co ...

, the capital of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. The release date of the film in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

was 9 September 2010.

Background

The film deals with the Little Danes experiment, a 1950s

social experiment A social experiment is a type of Psychology, psychological or Sociology, sociological research for testing people's reactions to certain situations or events. The experiment depends on a particular social approach where the main source of inform ...

and the problem of

cultural genocide Cultural genocide or cultural cleansing is a concept which was proposed by lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944 as a component of genocide. Though the precise definition of ''cultural genocide'' remains contested, the Armenian Genocide Museum defines ...

in Greenland. In 1951 the Danish colonial authorities removed 22 Greenlandic

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

children (9 girls and 13 boys), with dubious consent from their parents or guardians, from their homes, relocating them to Denmark for adoption and education. The selected children, aged between 6 and 8, came from disadvantaged families; the government planned for their adoption to integrate into the 'modern' Danish society with the aim of transforming the children into 'small Danes'. The surviving children lost their

native language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

and culture, and suffered from the

psychological trauma Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical. ...

of being separated from their families most of their lives. Some of the children were returned to Greenland after a year, where they were placed into an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

in Nuuk, rather than being returned to their families. Others stayed in Denmark for the remainder of their lives. More than half died before reaching adulthood. In 2009, on behalf of the

Government of Greenland Naalakkersuisut ( en, Cabinet of Greenland, da, Grønlands Regering), is the chief executive body and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. An "autonomous territory" ( da, land) of the Kingdom of Denmark, ta ...

( kl, Naalakkersuisut), the prime minister

Kuupik Kleist Jakob Edvard Kuupik Kleist (born 31 March 1958) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Greenland between 2009 and 2013. A member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, he was the first Prime Minister not affiliated with S ...

demanded an official apology from Denmark for the failed social experiment.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the lead ...

, the prime minister of Denmark, refused, while admitting that the event was "unfortunate". His refusal leaves the issue of apology and compensation contentious between Greenland and Denmark. In December 2020, the prime minister of Denmark,

Mette Frederiksen Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime ...

gave an apology.
The film's

lead actress A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typic ...

, Ellen Hillingsø, urged Rasmussen to apologize to the victims. In September 2010, Mimi Jakobsen, the general secretary of ''Save the Children'' ( da, Red Barnet), the organization involved in the repatriations of 1951, issued a formal apology on behalf of the organization.

Production

Director Louise Friedberg was inspired by reading ''I den bedste mening'' (2006) (With the Best Intentions), a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

by Tine Bryld. A summary of the interview with Bryld was also released in 2006 as a 28-minute video under the same title. It was shown as part of ''Rethinking Nordic Colonialism, a Postcolonial Exhibition Project'' in the summer of 2006. Between 13 and 21 July 2009, Friedberg shot scenes for the film in

Kangeq Kangeq or Kangek (Kalaallisut: "Promontory") is a former settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It is located on the same island that formed the first Danish colony on Greenland between 1721 and 1728. History As a ...

, a former settlement on the coast of

Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea (French: ''mer du Labrador'', Danish: ''Labradorhavet'') is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, ...

in southwestern Greenland, located approximately west-south-west of Nuuk, at the mouth of

Nuup Kangerlua Nuup Kangerlua is a long fjord in the Sermersooq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southwestern Greenland. It was formerly known by its colonial name as Godthaab Fjord ( da, Godthåbsfjorden), Gilbert Sound and Baal's River.Nicoll, Ja ...

, the longest

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

in southwestern Greenland. The old houses of Kangeq were used as a backdrop, as the settlement was to represent Nuuk in 1952. The city center had many communal apartment blocks developed in the 1960s, which changed its character. The film was produced by

Nimbus Film Nimbus Film is Denmark's third largest film production company. Nimbus Film has to date produced more than 30 feature films and many shorts and documentaries. Of their more known feature films are the Dogme 95 movies ''The Celebration'' (1998, ...

. It was one of six films in 2009 receiving government grants because of their importance for the culture of Greenland.

Cast

The cast has both Danish and Greenlandic members:

Reception

Premiere

The premiere of the film in Greenland was attended by the prime minister and

Maliina Abelsen Maliina Abelsen was the General Manager for Arctic Winter Games 2016 and is a former Greenlandic politician and MP for the party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), holding the position of the Minister for Finance in the Government of Greenland ( kl, Naala ...

, the minister for social affairs. It was an emotional event, both because of the topic and because the issue of the official apology still unresolved. Several of the survivors are still alive. ''Eksperimentet'' is the first film dealing with the dark episodes from Greenland's history as a former colony. Others are likely to follow, stimulating more discussion and debate in the country, as well as in Denmark. The film was praised for its emotional appeal and acting. Critics thought the release dates in the summer may have limited the size of initial audiences.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 1525830, Eksperimentet 2010 films 2010 drama films Danish drama films 2010s Danish-language films Films shot in Greenland Greenlandic-language films Films set in Greenland Nimbus Film films