This fall at Scandinavia House, experience Nordic comedy at its darkest with “Svart Humor”! “If there’s a dead body in Denmark, someone is going to make a joke about it,” director Anders Jensen once said; Nordic comedies are as known for their deadpan, dry wit as for their occasionally noir subject matter, celebrating the “svart/sort” (dark) side of life’s hilarities.
The series concludes November 9 with “an uncompromisingly brilliant comedy about unwanted pregnancy,” Ninjababy (dir. Yngvild Sve Flikke, Norway, 2021)! Rakel (Kristine Kujath Thorp) discovers she is six months pregnant after a not-so-romantic one-night stand. At age 23, she is absolutely not ready to be a mother, but since abortion is no longer an option, adoption is the only answer.
Out of the drawings in her notebook, the Ninjababy — “who thinks it can just hide in there, have a good time and sneak out nine months later” — appears as an animated character, putting up a fight for his own future. Rakel has to navigate between what she thinks is best for herself and what’s best for the baby — but could it be the same thing?
Based on the comic novel “Fallteknikk” by Inga Sætre (who has also created the animation in the film) and winner of Best European Comedy at the 2021 European Film Awards and a Crystal Bear at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival, Ninjababy is a moving and fun film about growing up and the paradox of how unprepared one can be for pregnancy — even at one’s most fertile age.
“[A] hilarious and sneakily brilliant comedy…a film that really offers an honest look at a woman’s life” (The Guardian)
“Ninjababy offers a fresh take on a familiar situation through its unhesitant embrace of a protagonist who makes no apologies…a kicker with heart” (The Hollywood Reporter)
“A fearless comedy that’ll have you screaming with laughter” (Pajiba)
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Born in 1974, Yngvild Sve Flikke wrote and directed dramas and documentaries for NRK for 17 years before making her debut as a feature film director with WOMEN IN OVERSIZED MEN’S SHIRTS in 2015. The film was well received by both critics and the public. It premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival and was nominated for The Dragon Award, and was also nominated for four Amandas and three Kanon Awards (Anne Krigsvoll won Best Supporting Actress in both).
The short film EPLE (Apple) won Timeglasset for best script at the Norwegian Short Film Festival in 2017. The film was also nominated for best short film at Nordic Panorama, was shown at several festivals, and was a ‘Staff Pick’ at Vimeo in 2018. Flikke directed several episodes of the drama series HOME GROUND, in both season 1 and 2, which was in Official Selection at the Berlinale in 2018 and won Gullruten for best Norwegian drama series and best female and male actor in 2018.