GROWING UP

Norway is under wartime occupation by the German army and little Ida lives with her mother and brother in the shadow of a prison camp located in a small northern town on the coast. Relations with the local community are strained, and Ida's mother, poverty-stricken and lonely, has found assurance in the arms of a German officer. For this she is ostracized by the townspeople, and Ida similarly suffers for the low regard in which her mother is held. Even at Sunday school, no one will sit beside her. Her mother sends Ida away to a farm where a kind, black-clad peasant woman cares for her. The woman's warmth and understanding helps to restore much of Ida's dignity. When the long-awaited peace arrives and Ida prepares to be sent back to her home, she remains uncertain whether she will be welcomed back or face the continued wrath of the townspeople. Laila Mikkelsen is a young director who has worked her way up through the Norwegian film industry. This is her first feature film.