Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-Common of the United Nations and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, died in 1961. However questions surrounding his tragic passing in a airplane crash, and his sexuality, refuse to die down.

“We all know who he’s, however we don’t know that a lot about him,” says director Per Fly, now bringing “Hammarskjöld – Combat for Peace” to the Worldwide Movie Competition Rotterdam. His journals “Markings,” printed posthumously, offered a manner in.

“There he was, this highly effective man, and but his writings take care of loneliness and sacrifice. There was a fragile poet inside a politician.”

With Beta Cinema on board, the movie was produced by Patrick Ryborn for Limitless Tales. Selection premieres the trailer right here.

In accordance with Fly, Hammarskjöld was additionally a person who couldn’t afford to like.

“Dag mentioned: ‘I’m not a gay.’ After all he did – in any other case, he would go to jail. One time, he mentioned he beloved a girl who left. The extra I studied him, the much less I believed it. But it surely’s necessary to underline that it’s our perspective.”

His lead, “The Hobbit” and Intercourse Training” star Mikael Persbrandt, provides: “Whenever you take care of such formidable figures, you need to search for some darkness. This fashion you possibly can present a human being, not some robotic attempting to avoid wasting the world. Whether or not it’s true or not, we don’t know. However we do have some clues.”

Within the movie – that includes Francis Chouler, Cian Barry, Colin Salmon, Sara Soulié, Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Thure Lindhardt – Hammarskjöld finds himself underneath great strain. Regardless of his efforts in the direction of the decolonization of Africa, the Congo Disaster intensifies.

“He had some radical concepts, however when he died – whether or not it was an accident or not – activist politics ended within the U.N. He needed to take motion with out the Safety Council’s approval and arguably went too far, however he believed a greater society was potential. I respect that,” says Fly.

“The entire fact about Dag is in his poems. His mom was very non secular and so was he, and he talked about making this ‘large sacrifice.’ Why he needed that, I don’t know. Perhaps he didn’t need peculiar life or perhaps he knew he wouldn’t have it.”

“Attempting to finish colonialism and apartheid in Africa was, again then, an apparent battle to combat for a person with a consciousness and a mind. Congo fitted him like a glove and he actually thought he may win,” provides Persbrandt.

After the homicide of Congo’s Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, many referred to as for his resignation. As an alternative, he went to Africa and by no means got here again, prompting quite a few conspiracy theories.

“This final journey was loopy. There was zero probability of it resulting in one thing good, however he insisted on it. It’s not my intention to say who’s responsible, however if you attempt to give folks again their energy, the capitalist machine will attempt to hold its cash. I present what I believe has occurred,” notes Fly.

“It nonetheless occurs. It’s sufficient to take a look at Ukraine,” underlines Persbrandt.

“He was good, however he wasn’t all the time following the democratic order. Sartre mentioned that to exist, you need to make selections. You may’t be pals with all people and perhaps he realized it, or perhaps he didn’t give a shit. He was on a mission and the mission was to make the world a greater place.”

Alienated, he would cover away in his condo, accompanied solely by his pet monkey.

“Once I first heard about it, I assumed it was so bizarre. ‘Come on, we will’t have a monkey within the movie!’ However Mikael advised me to place it again,” says Fly.

“Per requested me to come back per week earlier to bond with a monkey and I went: ‘What the fuck?!’ But it surely was an excellent factor, as a result of the monkey was shy and so was I,” laughs Persbrandt.

“As a younger actor, I used to brag – reasonably stupidly – that I solely stay on stage or in entrance of the digital camera. Dag felt alive because the Secretary-Common and when he went residence, there was this black gap. I acknowledged it for positive.”

Hammarskjöld’s legacy, whereas sophisticated, continues to be an necessary one, they argue.

“God is aware of we want folks like him, however they don’t seem to be straightforward to search out. At this time, it’s all about profession and cash. Human beings are so silly it’s terrifying,” observes Persbrandt, whereas Fly provides: “At this time, he wouldn’t be a politician. He could be somebody like Greta Thunberg, working outdoors of the system. Our democracy is gradual and harmful now, which implies it could actually simply break. We’ve to search for the likes of him elsewhere.”