La belle année

Affected by the powerful images in the pamphlet Om kriget kommer (If war comes), farmhand Karl-Göran Persson begins fortifying his house. Through years of harvesting scrap-metal, he transforms the house into a fortress, meant to protect him and his neighbors when the enemy attacks. As the task progresses, reality and the threat of future destruction become intertwined, and construction becomes an obsession for the lonely Karl-Göran.

It begins at the margins of power: a few teenagers protest outside parliament, cardboard signs in hand and an unyielding determination in their eyes. From there, Helena Molin’s long-term portrait unfolds—of a generation forced early on to confront the ruthlessness of politics. Their fight for the climate and for justice runs parallel to a life that should be about friendship, play, and future dreams, but is repeatedly interrupted by the failures of the adult world. The result is an intimate and powerful depiction of what happens when moral responsibility is placed in the hands of those still searching for their place in the world.