AS IN HEAVEN (F/F) (2023) 

Synopsis

Will a dream dictate life or death? On a farm in the late 1800s an intense waiting begins when a mother goes into a complicated labour, and 14-year-old Lise must prepare herself for a test of faith that may change her life forever. The beauty of the surrounding countryside veils the fact that life here can also be fragile. In this coming-of-age drama, inspired by Marie Bregendahl’s 1912 novel En dødsnat, we observe a dramatic, emotional event from Lise’s perspective. Confronting the disastrous impact of superstition and ignorance head on, the film poignantly lays out the personal and social costs of exclusionist dogma, and how it poses a threat to individual lives and social progress in general. Winner of the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the Göteborg Film Festival, As in Heaven is both about woman-centred experience and how the growing-up process for children can be bewildering as well as joyful.