LAND OF MINE World Cinema

After World War II, Denmark faced the problem of how to defuse thousands of mines left buried in the country’s beaches by German soldiers. The fair solution at the time seemed to be defeating the enemy to clear them. However, after seven years of war, the only enemies left were adolescent Wehrmacht conscripts. This film is their story, seen through the eyes of Sgt. Rasmussen (Roland Moeller, AFI FEST 2012’s A HIJACKING), ordered to oversee the operation. Tense and thrilling like THE HURT LOCKER but with a humanistic focus, director Martin Zandvliet’s LAND OF MINE has had festivalgoers gripping their seats worldwide, taking home the Audience Award in Rotterdam earlier this year. Working with his wife as cinematographer, Zandvliet filmed on a beach that still contained mines, and even uncovered one during shooting. –Gillian Horvat