Kumu Documentary: Christiania
Dir Karl Friis Forchhammer
Denmark 2026, 94 min
In Danish and English, with English subtitles
In 1971, hundreds of young people occupied some abandoned army barracks in Copenhagen, and Christiania was born.
The film-maker Karl Friis Forchhammer tells the story of the self-declared free town with love and a twinkle in his eye. It is a story told from the inside about radical democracy and free creativity, but also about violence, drugs and pressure from the outside world. It reveals the idealism of the new settlers, the hippies, a religious doomsday sect, an alcoholic bear and consensus democracy, showing how gangs entered the hash market, the battle for Pusher Street and the Christianites’ attempts to once again set limits on what the community would accommodate.
Christiania is a compelling piece of Danish cultural history, full of the colourful and serious stories that have shaped a community for over 50 years. A special place that is entirely unique and still fighting to remain so.
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