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A Word For Human

paints a portrait of The Danish Royal Library, a place where the love for literature and culture is no longer bound to a book’s spine.

watch for free on the Royal Library's website

SYNOPSIS

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Welcome to the halls of the Royal Danish Library where the echoes of knowledge long ring true. Hover alongside producer Christina Back as she curates an exhibition about the colonial gaze and Denmark’s history of slavery. Lie in silence experiencing the calm emanating from a chamber of treasures curated by Marina Abramovic. Shadow producer Lise Bach Hansen backstage to the Queen’s Hall auditorium, reverberating with the booming words and images of Olafur Eliasson, Henrik Saxgren, and Kim Leine about the fate of the arctic. Peer over the shoulder of senior researcher Anders Toftgaard, buried in his readings, as he tries to understand the motivations of a book collector obsessed with Michel de Montaigne. Listen to the emotions that stem directly from knowledge and literature as the seasons come and go beyond the prismatic walls of the Black Diamond in the heart of Copenhagen.

DETAILS

Director: Mauricio González-Aranda
Producers: Mauricio González-Aranda and Signe Byrge Sørensen

Production Company: Final Cut for Real
Duration: 59 mins
Language: English, Danish
Subtitles: English
World Premiere: 21st of March, 2019 at CPH:DOX
With support from: Koda’s Cultural Funds

“An aesthetically consistent, loving portrait of the library as institution, meeting place, and temple of knowledge.”

— CPH:DOX

“Mauricio González-Aranda’s observational film paints a portrait of the inner life of library staff and users, revealing the day-to-day workings that bring conversation and culture to Copenhagen and beyond.”

— FULL FRAME

FESTIVALS

2019

CPH:DOX – Copenhagen, Denmark

NORDISK PANORAMA – Malmö, Sweden

OAXACA FILM FEST – Oaxaca, Mexico
CINETEKTON! FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE Y ARQUITECTURA – Mexico City, Mexico
CABO VERDE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL – Sal Island, Cape Verde

 

2020

FULL FRAME DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL – Durham, North Carolina
MASTER OF ART FILM FESTIVAL – Sofia, Bulgaria
ARCHITECTURE+DESIGN FILM FESTIVAL – Winnipeg, Canada

US NATIONAL GALLERY OF ARTS – Washington, DC

DOCU.TEXT FILM FESTIVAL in collaboration with DOCAVIV - Jerusalem, Israel

AWARDS

2019

Winner of Best Breakout Documentary at Oaxaca Film Fest
Nominated for New Nordic Voice at Nordisk Panorama

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