Bravehearts

The Joannahuset in Copenhagen provides children and teenagers with a temporary refuge when they have no other place where they want to be, where they can be, or where they feel protected. Here, they can spend the night, get something to eat, and find counselling and information about their rights. One resident is Aziz, who suffers under his parents' violence and feels abandoned by the authorities. And then there's Kayla, who has not had a permanent home for six months and lives on the street. Director Mette Korsgaard takes time with her sensitive observations, which were made over several years. In her portrayal of an unusual institution – the only one of its kind in Denmark – she lets the young people describe their situations themselves. What emerges is a forceful picture of vulnerable yet strong adolescents who are at risk of getting lost between violent home situations and bureaucratic sluggishness.