Movies of War

Mar 9, 2026 4:08am PT ‘Christiania’ Filmmaker on the Anarchic Commune That Battled With Drug Pushers, Biker Gangs and an Alcoholic Bear (EXCLUSIVE) Verità Films has come on board to handle international sales ahead of the world premiere at Copenhagen documentary festival CPH:DOX By Leo Barraclough Plus Icon Leo Barraclough International Features Editor LeoBarraclough Latest CPH:DOX Chiefs Discuss Festival’s Role as Denmark Approaches Elections: The Aim Is ‘to Be an Open Platform for the Democratic Dialogue’ 4 hours ago Banijay Boss Hails ‘Monumental Week’ Following All3Media Merger as Results Reveal Revenue Up 3.4% to Almost €4.9 Billion 4 days ago Moroccan Artist Meriem Bennani to Be in Spotlight at Visions du Réel as Hybrid Documentary ‘Bouchra’ Screens 4 days ago See All Courtesy of Tambo Film Danish filmmaker Karl Friis Forchhammer’s “Christiania” is a tale of anarchy, violent biker gangs, drug pushers and an alcoholic black bear, but also one of peace-loving hippies in search of a better world. The film, which has its world premiere on Friday at Copenhagen documentary festival CPH:DOX, is an insider’s take on the titular self-governing commune in the Danish capital. Verità Films has come on board to handle international sales. The director describes Christiania, which was established in 1971 when a former military base was squatted, as “one of the world’s biggest democratic social experiments, where one thousand people made a parallel society with their own rules.” The freetown “became a place where they tolerated everything,” Friis Forchhammer tells Variety, speaking from his apartment in Christiania. The central question he poses is, “How do you tolerate everything and remain a nice place to live?” Related Stories Top French and American Producers Unpack Financing Divide Between French and U.S. Indie Films Despite Political Tensions, Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous Returns With Packed Slate of French Cinema in New York The issue of drug dealing and the violence of the biker gangs associated with the narcotics business became an existential threat for Christiania. This illegal trade centered on Pusher Street, which Friis Forchhammer calls “Denmark’s most violent street.” Two years ago, the residents opted to dig the street up in order to displace the dealers after two fatal shootings. Popular on Variety “Christiania” Courtesy of Tambo Film There have been myriad media portrayals of Christiania, but it is a crucial difference that this film was shot by an insider. Friis Forchhammer’s personal connection to the neighborhood dates back to his childhood. “My parents met each other because of Christiania. My father was wearing a rainbow pattern sweater at the central station, and my mom saw him and thought, ‘I want to marry this guy,’” he explains. When his mom spoke to friends about the young man at the station, it was explained to her that the rainbow sweater was associated with the “Christiania defense army” — residents of the commune who were battling against the government’s attempts to shut it down. His mom went to Christiania, found her mystery man, married him, and they had two children there. When they had their third child, Karl, they moved out the very same day. “So, I was cheated of my childhood here, but they were telling me these stories about this crazy place: About an alcoholic black bear that lived downstairs, and then about a guy who escaped the police by staying underwater breathing through a straw. All these fantastical tales,” he says. When Christiania met with government opposition it resorted to agitprop Courtesy of Tambo Film “And when I started coming out here when I was a teenager, I thought, ‘This would make a great film,’ and I started collecting all the stories. And when all the old Christianites started dying, I thought, ‘I have to make this film now.’ And that’s why I started making it.” Thirty-five years after his parents left the neighborhood, Friis Forchhammer moved to Christiania himself and now takes part in the community meetings where the residents decide on issues that affect the area, with the central principle being that a consensus has to be reached, rather than deciding matters by a majority vote. “It’s not always a bad thing having to make a decision with someone you disagree with, and someone who you don’t share fundamental values with,” he says. One of the decisions the residents had to agree on was whether to cooperate with Friis Forchhammer when he told them he was making a film about them. “They are predisposed to having a lot of doubts about people coming from the outside. But the biggest currency in Christiania is time. Are you spending your time here? So, when I kept on coming out here, they saw that I took it seriously. “Christiania” Courtesy of Tambo Film He adds, “The other factor in my favor is that my father was the doctor of Christiania. He started a health clinic here, and when he moved out, he kept on being the doctor in the local area. Half of Christiania had my father as their doctor. And I look like him, so when I started coming out here, they saw it was the doctor’s son, and that helped. “So, I had one foot out of Christiania, and one foot in, and that was essential, because to get to the heart of Christiania like I did, and film the community meetings, demanded a lot of trust.” Three weeks ago, Friis Forchhammer screened the film for the residents. “There was a very good reaction, although some of them were crying,” he says. “They were seeing their old life, when they were young, and they really took it all in. It became the kind of thing that people gathered around. It had a really profound, good reaction, which I’m really, really happy about, because I’m not showing it in an overly flattering way, and I’m not showing it in an overly negative way. I’m trying to find a balance. So, I was very curious how they would take it, but they took it in a good way. They’re very happy.” “Christiania” Courtesy of Tambo Film One former resident of Christiania was absent from the screening: a black bear called Rikke. He was owned by a guy called Jakob, who lived downstairs from Friis Forchhammer’s parents. How Jakob came to own the bear is unclear, and there are different versions of the tale, the filmmaker explains: “One says that he swapped it for a case of beer. Another that it was a guy who was tired of the bear messing up his love life, so he gave it to Jakob. Another says that it was won in a game of poker. But he got this bear, and he started bringing it with him when he was delivering beer in an old cart pulled by horses. And then he started bringing the bear into the bars, and as a party trick, he taught it to drink beer, but the bear got really fond of beer, and it started drinking a lot. “My father recounted — and I don’t know if this is true — that he was once at a party, and he was standing with a beer in his hand, and a bear’s paw just grabbed the beer. It sounds too stupid to be true, but there are other things that sound too stupid to be true that have been correct.” Rikke, an alcoholic black bear, lived downstairs from Christiania’s doctor Courtesy of Tambo Film When the bear got bigger and more violent — it killed a cat, according to the filmmaker — it had to be put in a cage, but after it broke out the decision was made to remove it from Christiania. “A guy called Ole lured the bear out with eggs, and he dropped the eggs, and the bear attacked him, and his skin was flayed, and from that time on, he was known as Ole the Bear Fighter. But they got the bear out to a car and drove it to a place in the countryside where it lived until 2016, so it was almost 50 years old when it died.” “Christiania” is produced by Rikke Tambo Andersen for Tambo Film. Jump to Comments Jesse Plemons on ‘Bugonia,’ Conspiracy Theories and Why Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Feels Like a ‘Modern-Day Dr. Strangelove’ After AI Video of ‘Tom Cruise’ Fighting ‘Brad Pitt’ Goes Viral, Motion Picture Association Denounces ‘Massive’ Infringement on Seedance 2.0 Tom Cruise Visited ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ Set and Ended Up Filming a Lightsaber Duel Scene: ‘Part of It Was Shot by Tom. How Cool Is That?’ JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...