This film will be introduced by Wouter Werner, a professor international law at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and extraordinary professor at the University of Curacao.
His research interests are in the field of international security, the sources of international law and the relation between documentary film and international law. Together with dr. Sofia Stolk (Asser Institute, the Hague), he teaches the course “documentary film, international law and world politics” as well as seminars on film and international criminal law at the Movies that Matter film festival. In the past ten years, he has published on the representation of law, crime and atrocities in documentary films. In Repetition and International Law (Cambridge University Press 2022) Werner has examined the use of re-enactments in documentary films on international crimes.
Cold Case Hammarskjöld
In 1957, Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld began a second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations. The world was in turmoil: in addition to the Cold War, there was great unrest on the African continent because of decolonisation. Hammarskjöld did what he could for Africa, but did not endear himself to many in the process. In September 1961, he was killed on an African trip; his plane crashed into a forest in northern Rhodesia (nowadays Zambia). Was it an accident or was it deliberate? The true cause has never been established.
More than 50 years later, Danish filmmaker, journalist and provocateur Mads Brügger, together with Swedish private detective Göran Bjorkdahl, is still trying to solve this cold case. They investigate remains of the plane wreckage, speak to unheard witnesses and dive into the archives. But on all sides they are thwarted. As the investigation progresses, they come across another case, bigger and more shocking than Hammarskjöld's death.
