Ghetto Blasters
SHORTA I A ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that shreds the nerves…
Shorta is an Arabic word for ‘police’, and this explosive action-drama by Danish writer-directors Frederik Louis Hviid and Anders Ølholm starts with a Muslim teen hospitalised by a cop. Tensions run high, and Copenhagen’s Svalegården ghetto erupts when the teen later dies… just as two white police officers, Jens (Simon Sears) and Mike (Jacob Lohmann), enter the area. What follows owes a debt to gritty ’70s thrillers The Warriors and Assault On Precinct 13 as the duo of cops, their cruiser smashed, try to make it out.
“We’d shot the film, edited it, and were in sound mixing when George Floyd was killed,” says Hviid on Zoom, with posters of Man Bites Dog, Sorcerer and Heat on the wall behind him. “We had some serious conversations about how to proceed because we didn’t want to come across as opportunistic or cynical. But we agreed it should still be a big point in the film as it’s something we should talk about.”
“I think institutionalised racism is everywhere,” adds Ølholm. “Denmark has become more and more right wing as the last years have gone by. But it was very important to us not to paint a picture of the Danish police force being full of villains, because it’s not. There are many similarities between the cops and these angry young men. They feel misunderstood. They feel demonised. They have an us-versus-the-world mentality.”
One of the joys of this confident debut feature is that the characters reveal new layers throughout and dynamics shift. There are prejudices and misjudgments on both sides, and no easy answers. Another joy is that it grafts any social commentary onto a muscular genre movie the like of which is rare in Denmark.
“The public is wanting to see these types of films,” stresses Ølholm. “It’s just that the tastemakers – the institutions you have to go through to get funding in Denmark – turn up their noses. There’s not a lot of prestige involved in making these types of films.”
Budget, says Hviid, is another reason why Danish films are more often “kitchen sink dramas, or Dogme-type films”, though they got round that one by looking at Saving Private Ryan and Son Of Saul. ‘Immersive’ is the keyword, with much of the film’s spectacle and power achieved through fleeting glimpses and pin-sharp sound design.
Shorta is a strong calling card. So has Hollywood been in touch? “That phone call with the perfect script hasn’t arrived yet, but I’d love to go there,” Hviid says, and Ølholm is in agreement. “It would be a dream come true. But it has to be something where it feels like it matters.” JG
ETA | 13 AUGUST / SHORTA OPENS IN CINEMAS THIS SUMMER.