Reconstructing Utøya

White lines on a dark stage evoke the scene of the 2011 attack that plunged Norway's open and democratic society into a state of shock. Together with a group of young people, four survivors reconstruct their recollections of the massacre that took place at a youth camp on the island of Utøya. Carl Javér's film quietly observes a space in which scenes are re-enacted and means of processing trauma and communicating personal experience are made visible. Fleeing from gunshots, hiding in fear, not knowing what is coming next – these are experiences that straddle the borderline between life and death. But within the supportive environment of the group, the participants also manage to reclaim their laughter. (Berlinale)