37th cleveland international film festival :: April 3 - april 14, 2013
ArmadilloArmadilloArmadilloArmadillo
ArmadilloArmadilloArmadillo
Director:
Janus Metz Pedersen

Run Time: 100 minutes

Country: DENMARK

Year: 2010
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Armadillo

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ARMADILLO is a sort of Scandinavian “Restrepo,” a clear-eyed documentary that accompanies a band of new Danish recruits to the war in Afghanistan. We first meet them at home, days before they deploy on their six-month tour to the Armadillo military base in Helmand province. The boys hold a raucous striptease party, then exchange farewells with their tearful loved ones at the Copenhagen airport the next morning. But soon they’re in Afghanistan, and the reality of war, with its alternating tedium and terror, sets in. The Danes go out on patrol, hand out candy to kids, and question uncooperative locals about the Taliban presence. To combat boredom during their free time, they call home, play shooter games, and watch porn. Then, one morning at dawn, civilians start fleeing the area. The patrol comes under fire and a soldier is hit. In the ensuing chaos, the Danes encounter Taliban fighters squatting in a ditch, three meters away from them. Someone tosses in a hand grenade and the enemy is “neutralized.” When the shooting stops, the congratulations begin – but so does the soul-searching. ARMADILLO caused a furor in peace-loving Denmark where viewers were outraged over the soldiers’ perceived callousness. (In Danish with subtitles) – B.B.

This film is presented by BETH STEELE RADISEK in honor of CAL RADISEK, CHLOE RADISEK (USAF), AND LINDSAY RADISEK (USMC).

Sidebars Standing Up Competition
Producer Ronnie Fridthjof, Sara Stockmann
Cinematography Lars Skree
Editing Per K. Kerkegaard
Director Bio Janus Metz Pedersen has a Master's Degree in Communication and International Development Studies from Roskilde University. He worked as a researcher on documentary film projects and lived in South Africa for a year, where he worked on a drama series.
Select Filmography “Love on Delivery” (2008), “Ticket to Paradise” (2008), ARMADILLO (2010)
Print Source Kino Lorber, Inc.
kbrokaw@kinolorber.com
www.kinolorber.com
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Past Screenings

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 2:10 PM
Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 9:10 PM

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