THE CROSSING (Johanne Helgeland, Norway), collecting plenty festival awards, now received its second ECFA Award nomination at the Oulu Int’l Children’s & Youth Film Festival.
When their parents get arrested by German troupes, Gerda and Otto discover two Jewish children hidden in the basement. It is up to the two siblings to finish what their parents have started and to help Sarah and Daniel escape, over the border to neutral Sweden. They embark on an adventurous trip through the snowy landscape. “The excellent script and sensitive directing help to tell an exciting story. The child actors are outstanding, and the storyline is audacious. The heart and world of Astrid Lindgren meets the dark and cruel reality of war.”
Director Johanne Helgeland was excited: ”This means a lot to all of us who made the film. We hope that THE CROSSING can launch conversations between children and grown-ups. Still there are 17 million refugees in the world, half of them under the age of 18, so unfortunately this is still a very topical film.” And there were words of praise for all courageous festivals: “Thank you to all of you guys organising film festivals in these challenging times. It’s so important that we get our films out there. We really appreciate your work.”
The ECFA Jury were Jo-Anne Blouin (Canada), Norbert Lechner (Germany) and Veera Degerholm (Finland).