notes (eng)

NIMBUS FILM
PRESENTS
A FILM BY
OLE CHRISTIAN
MADSEN
SYNOPSIS
It’s 1962. Across Europe there is a new generation of young people
feeling restless, directionless...
An anti-nuclear protest in Copenhagen lands 19-year-old Eik in jail
where he meets beautiful 17-year-old Iben. It’s love at first sight.
Eik and Iben move into a romantic garden cottage, spending their
days writing poetry. But Iben refuses to commit to only one man,
and jealous Eik must compete for her love in a series of triangles.
In the soul-searching psychedelic 60s,
a rebellious young man desperately tries to win
a beautiful woman‘s love by transforming from poet to
writer, nomad to junkie and eventually rock star...
The new film by Ole Christian Madsen, acclaimed director of
SUPERCLÁSICO, FLAME & CITRON and PRAGUE.
Eik and Iben embark on a nomadic journey in search of foreign
lands and exotic adventures, acutely sensing that the world is now
theirs for the taking. From Denmark to Paris to Spain, eventually
arriving in Athens via the deserts of North Africa, the young lovers
join beatniks from across Europe, camping out on a rooftop in the
Plaka quarter. The charismatic Christian introduces Eik to the cult
of hashish and psychedelic drugs. Doors to new dimensions are
thrown wide open.
But carefree, mind-altering recreational use evolves into the harsh
reality of drug addiction. Eik and Iben must separate. Eik journeys
on to Baghdad, wondering if there is any future with Iben. She hits
rock bottom before joining a disciplinary theatrical group to clean
up her act.
In a bold attempt to win Iben back, Eik decides to form a band.
Steppeulvene becomes Denmark’s first rock band, notorious for
drug use and the smash hit album HIP, full of poetic declarations of
love for “Itsi Bitsi”, Eik’s nickname for Iben. But Eik is destined for
more heartache and he leaves on a soul-searching trip to Nepal.
Nothing has turned out as he had dreamed…
COMMENTS FROM
DIRECTOR
OLE CHRISTIAN
MADSEN
“What a story!” These were Eik Skaløe’s last words to the young
love of his life, Iben Nagel Rasmussen. And what a story, indeed.
ITSI BITSI
IS A LOVE STORY
of epic and heart-wrenching proportions; a story based on true
events about the desperate love of two young people. Eik and
Iben share an all consuming passion for each other, a passion they
attempt to relinquish but which never relinquishes them. Since hearing about it for the first time many years ago, I have never been
able to forget it. I believe that the story of Eik and Iben is universal
and genuine in a way that ought to touch audiences not only in
Denmark and Europe, but around the world.
1962 was the times of a budding beatnik scene in Europe,
a scene that inspired and paved the way for the future hippie
movement. Many hippie related films have been made but few are
concerned with the beatnik origins of the period. But this is exactly
where my interest lies. Beatniks were engaged in a kind of freedom
project, which originated from political views, but soon became far
more personal. More than being mere spokesmen for peace, love
and harmony, beatniks and hipsters concerned themselves with
TRAVELLING, FREEDOM,
DRUGS, inspired frequently by role models such as Jack
Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Bob Dylan.
Although deeply in love, Eik is stuck in the rut of the new, free
moral of their group. Iben simply refuses to share her life with one
man only. Thus, Eik finds himself relegated to being third leg in a
series of love triangles where Iben shares her favours with men
more masculine, wise or handsome than Eik. Constantly they are
3 IN BED
at the same time, and the polygamous games often lead to battles
for Iben’s favours.
Through Eik’s eyes the age is perceived as profoundly existentialistic with important references being Camus, Sartre and Herman
STEPPENWOLF
Hesse whose novel
was to
haunt Eik for years and eventually give name to the band
STEPPEULVENE he founded in 1966 in a
vain attempt to win Iben over.
ITSI BITSI is as much a chamber play as it is a full
blown, epic drama. It follows Eik from his first encounter with Iben
soul-searching
journey from Denmark
to Paris, Spain, North
Africa, Athens and
Baghdad and to his tragic suicide on the border of
in 1962, then on their
India and Pakistan in 1968. Along the way Eik changes from political
activist to existentialistic writer, poet, junkie, band leader and nomad. Always in pursuit of Iben, always a stranger in his own life.
HIP,
STEPPEULVENE’s first and only album,
was a revolution in its own right and is still considered
A MILESTONE IN
DANISH ROCK HISTORY.
First of all, the album was sung entirely in Danish during times
when most self-respecting musicians sang in English; and secondly
Eik Skaløe’s lyrics were unique and still hold their own both
poetically as unfiltered declarations of love to the woman in his
life which he affectionately nicknamed
ITSI BITSI.
In a way, Eik Skaløe did succeed with his life project. He lived out an
ultimate freedom
and realised his idea that any uniform state of being is the enemy:
that you have to be conscious and in charge of every step of
your way through life. Thus, the film is a tale of two young lovers
and the freedom they tried so desperately to achieve – a tale of
the love of two young people and their plunge into an escalating
consumption of drugs.
Seemingly, Eik found it easy to step back and forth into drug abuse.
He seemed to never get addicted, while Iben paid a far higher
price for their experiments. You might say that there is
no price higher than one’s life,
but Eik did not kill himself because of drugs. He killed himself
because his push for freedom had drained him and left him empty.
And because he realised that Iben would never be his.
OLE CHRISTIAN
MADSEN
Ole Christian Madsen is one of Scandinavia’s top directors. ITSI
BITSI being his 7th feature film his previous body of work includes
the World War II thriller FLAME & CITRON (2008), which set
box office records in Denmark and was eventually distributed in
more than 60 countries. Debuting in 1999 with PIZZA KING, Ole
Christian became part of the Dogme-wave in 2001 with KIRA’S
REASON – A LOVE STORY, had a local smash hit with ANGELS
IN FAST MOTION in 2005, followed up the year after with the
break-up drama PRAGUE starring Mads Mikkelsen and Stine
Stengade, and most recently in 2012 landed his hilarious cultureclash comedy SUPERCLÁSICO on the Academy Awards’ Best
Foreign Language shortlist of final nine nominees. Ole Christian has
also left a strong mark in television, helming the acclaimed series
THE SPIDER (2000) and having directed installments on series
such as TAXA (1997) and UNIT ONE (2002-04) and the US series
BANSHEE (2013-14). Ole Christian’s work mixes critical success
with commercial clout, making him one of Denmark’s most consistently successful film directors.
FEATURE FILMS
2014
ITSI BITSI 2011 SUPERCLÁSICO
2008 FLAME & CITRON
2006 PRAGUE
2005 ANGELS IN FAST MOTION
2001 KIRA‘S REASON – A LOVE STORY
1999 PIZZA KING
Christian Gade
Bjerrum (as Christian)
MAIN CAST
Christian Gade Bjerrum studied acting at The Danish National
School of Theatre in Aarhus, Denmark and is considered a fresh
and new face in Danish film. Having appeared in Lars von Trier’s
film “Nymphomaniac” (2013) he has also done numerous plays and
short films.
Joachim Fjelstrup (as Eik Skaløe)
Having recently graduated from The Danish National School of
Theatre, Joachim Fjelstrup’s debut and breakthrough performance in
“Itsi Bitsi” is expected to create a stir catapulting him towards stardom.
Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the real Eik Skaløe, Joachim has a
great singing voice allowing him to sing and perform live in the film’s
crucial song and concert sequences.
Marie Tourell
Søderberg (as Iben)
Marie Tourell Søderberg graduated from The Academy of Music
and Dramatic Arts in Odense, Denmark in 2012 and is considered
a rising star of Danish film. She has previously appeared in “Sex,
Drugs & Taxation” (2013) and will feature prominently this autumn
in Ole Bornedal’s grandiose TV-series “1864”.
Johannes Nymark (as Henrik)
Having studied at the William Esper Studio in New York Johannes
Nymark graduated from the Danish Musical Academy in 2009.
He has appeared in the feature films such as “This Life” (2012)
and “Over the Edge” (2012) but is best known from musicals and
theatre. He has appeared in major roles in “Les Miserables” and
“Singin‘ in the Rain” at the New Theatre in Copenhagen as well as
in “Disney‘s Alladin” at the Opera House in Copenhagen.
Ola Rapace (as Vincent)
Ola Rapace grew up in Stockholm, Sweden graduating from The
Academy of Music and Drama at Gothenburg University in 1999.
He has appeared in TV-series such as “Anna Pihl” (2007-08) and
“Wallander” (2005-06) as well as in numerous feature films. He
has lived in France for years and speaks French fluently. In 2012 he
played the assassin Patrice in the James Bond film “Skyfall”.
MAIN CAST
MAIN CREW
EIK
Joachim Fjelstrup
IBEN
Marie Tourell Søderberg
CHRISTIAN
Christian Gade Bjerrum
HENRIK
Johannes Nymark
STIG
Jakob Randrup
VINCENT
Ola Rapace
EIK‘S MOTHER Anette Støvelbæk
MAJBRITT
Julia Ragnarsson
EIK‘S FATHER Thure Lindhardt
Director: Ole Christian Madsen
Screenplay: Bo hr. Hansen & Ole Christian Madsen
Producer: Lars Bredo Rahbek
Cinematographer: Jørgen Johansson
Editor: Søren B. Ebbe
Sound Designer: Hans Møller
Production Designer: Søren Schwarzberg
Costume Designer: Manon Rasmussen
Make-up: Tina Jesenkovic
Music Composer: Henrik Lindstrand
Line Producer: Kristina Kornum
Co-producers: Mikkel Jersin, Igor A. Nola & Anna Croneman
Executive producers: Bo Ehrhardt & Birgitte Hald
Produced by: Nimbus Film (Denmark) in co-production with
MP Film Production (Croatia) and Bleck Film &
TV AB (Sweden)
Produced by NIMBUS FILM with support from THE DANISH FILM INSTITUTE - Steen Bille / NORDIC FILM & TV FUND - Hanne Palmquist / THE SWEDISH FILM INSTITUTE - Suzanne Glansborg / Croatian audiovisual centre - Hrvoje Hribar
In association with TV 2 DENMARK - Katrine Vogelsang / FILM I SKÅNE - Lena Hansson / SVT In co-production with MP FILM PRODUCTION / BLECK FILM & TV AB / BEOFILM POST PRODUCTION / MAINSTREAM APS
International sales THE MATCH FACTORY © NIMBUS FILM APS 2015 Developed with the support of the MEDIA programme
TECHNICAL
DETAILS
Year of production: 2014
Nationality of production: Denmark-Croatia-Sweden
Length: 107 minutes
Sound: 5.1 Colour
Original language: Danish Available subtitles: English
Screening ratio: Scope
WORLD SALES
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fax +49 221 539 709-10
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www.the-match-factory.com
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