World premiere

The Penultimate

Local title
Tagantpoolt teine
Original title
Den næstsidste
Director
Jonas Kærup Hjort 1
Country
Denmark
Year
2020
Programme
First Feature Competition

In fulfilling his everyday duties, the most common of common communal clerks ends up in a huge building to check the water meter. That task turns out to be the last fragment of the man’s everyday routine – he is imprisoned in a house to escape from which he must chew his way through the toughest knots of human existence. In the search for a way out, the audience is guided by the knowledge that the house stands for a system cast in concrete, the dramaturgic room layout of which adheres to the theory of psychoanalysis on the grassroot level.

A truly remarkable piece for those who have the courage to roam Kafkaesque labyrinths in the name of a cultural experience and who are not afraid of grotesquely pitch-black absurd humour. The latter of course, if every aspect of the film is perfected to the finest detail and its elements are in their clearly defined and poignant place. "The Penultimate" has all of that and offers us an impressive example of an author who has fully evolved by the time of his debut film and whose work is driven by strong-handed vision and style.

The new talent support provided by the Danish Film Institute was an inspiring stepping stone in the making of this film, offering a longer preproduction period for developing the visual expressiveness of the film through sketches and drawings. That has also created the film language of “The Penultimate”, which shows the audience a captivatingly cryptic pre-conscious and subconscious world.

Elise Eimre

Director
Jonas Kærup Hjort 1
Screenwriter
Jonas Kærup Hjort 1
Cast
Joen Højerslev, Joen Bille, Malene Melsen
Producer
Rikke Tambo Andersen
DoP
Jacob Sofussen
Editor
Jonas Kærup Hjort 1
Music
Sven Dam Meinild, Thomas Dybdahl
Production
Tambo Film IVS
Runtime
Language
Danish
Subtitles
Estonian, English
Director
Jonas Kærup Hjort

Jonas Kærup Hjort (snd 1983) on lõpetanud filmirežii eriala Taani Rahvuslikus Filmikoolis 2017 aastal. Tema lõputöö, lühifilm „In a Month“ võitis kolm auhinda (Danish Ekko Shortlist Award). 2018. PÖFFil esilinastunud „Tagantpoolt teine“ on Hjorti esimene täispikk filmilavastus.

Best Film Award, grant of 5000 euros from National Geographic

Trailer
Q&A with the filmmaker