2006/85 MIN, 52 MIN/DIRECTOR: MORVARY SAMARÉ GOZAL, ASTRID SCHAU LARSEN/PRODUCER: RAMZ MEDIA, SMIH/PHOTO AND EDIT: ASTRID SCHAU LARSEN/MUSIC: JOSÉ GONZALEZ/THE RIEBER FOUNDATION, VISJON VEST FOUNDATION, ANNA JEBSENS MINNEFOND, GRIEG FOUNDATION, UKOS/FORMAT: 16:9
Remains was our first film at Ramz and we are very proud of it. We were very young and straight out of film school and we were quite lucky to get the opportunity to work with the wonderful organizations and participants that ended up making up for two years of our lives in Bergen, Norway. The result of those years is a documentary about the memories and trauma of sexual abuse. It portrays the life of three siblings who claim that their father abused them as children. Trym, now 24 years old, has been hospitalized several times because of depression and suicide attempts. His younger brother, Ståle, has moved to Denmark to get away from the past. Their 30-year-old sister, Camilla, also living in Denmark, feels that after years of self-destructive behavior she may finally have found some sort of peace.
With great honesty and openness, the three siblings share their memories of sexual abuse. Their mother, Bente, share her suffering and feelings of guilt for not having been able to protect her children. The siblings did not succeed in getting legal justice, primarily because their case was based on memories rather than physical evidence. The father agreed to the making of this documentary, but did not wish to participate in the film.
Sexual abuse is one of the greatest social taboos in Norway and the aim of this documentary is to try to break the silence. The main focus is the damage that childhood sexual abuse inflicts on its victims, and the consequences of such abuse on their daily lives. The story of Camilla, Trym and Ståle is representative of many victims who lack the courage to go to court and who, like the three siblings, have to struggle with the consequences of their abuse on a daily basis.
Central questions are: Can memories of a painful past and broken trust be remedied through years of medication? Why is sexual abuse against children such a great taboo in many societies? Can one ever really be free from the past, and how much can a human heart forgive?
- Vienna International Human Rights Film Festival / December 2008 (Austria)
- WT Os International Film Festival / November 2008 (Norway)
- Seoul Human Rights Film Festival / May 2008 (South-Korea)
- Our Island, Our World Film Festival / March 2008 (Canada)
- Zagreb International Documentary Festival / February 2008 (Croatia)
- Dhaka 10th International Short & Independent Film Festival /February 2008(Bangladesh)
- Ourense International Independent Film Festival / November 2007 (Spain)
- Nürnberg Human Rights Film Festival / October 2007 (Germany)
- Bergen Filmklubb / 2007 (Norway)
- Krakow International Film Festival / 2007 (Poland)
- DOXA Documentary Film Festival / 2007 (Canada)
- Verdensteateret TIFF Tromsø / 2007 (Norway)
- Bergen International Film Festival / 2006 (Norway)
Awards
The Jury Award for “Best Documentary Film”, Ourense Independent Film Festival 2007, Spain
“Young Talent Award”, Bergen International Film Festival 2006, Norway
Seminars
Innoncece En Danger, The 3rd International Conference of Psychotraumatology and Mediation / February 2008 (Neuchâtel Switzerland)
KRIS, 3 screenings / November 2007 (Torshavn, Klagsvig/ Faroe Islands)
Notes: Available “Remains”(50 min). Thanks to the GC Rieber Fondene and Visjon Vest, we can now offer a 50 min version of Remains. We recommend this shorter version for school screenings and seminars.