NIMBUS FILM PRESENTS

A FILM BY

OLE CHRISTIAN MADSEN

SYNOPSIS It’s 1962. Across Europe there is a new generation of young people feeling restless, directionless... An anti-nuclear protest in Copenhagen lands 19-year-old Eik in jail where he meets beautiful 17-year-old Iben. It’s love at first sight. Eik and Iben move into a romantic garden cottage, spending their days writing poetry. But Iben refuses to commit to only one man, and jealous Eik must compete for her love in a series of triangles.

In the soul-searching psychedelic 60s, a rebellious young man desperately tries to win a beautiful woman‘s love by transforming from poet to writer, nomad to junkie and eventually rock star... The new film by Ole Christian Madsen, acclaimed director of SUPERCLÁSICO, FLAME & CITRON and PRAGUE.

Eik and Iben embark on a nomadic journey in search of foreign lands and exotic adventures, acutely sensing that the world is now theirs for the taking. From Denmark to Paris to Spain, eventually arriving in Athens via the deserts of North Africa, the young lovers join beatniks from across Europe, camping out on a rooftop in the Plaka quarter. The charismatic Christian introduces Eik to the cult of hashish and psychedelic drugs. Doors to new dimensions are thrown wide open.

But carefree, mind-altering recreational use evolves into the harsh reality of drug addiction. Eik and Iben must separate. Eik journeys on to Baghdad, wondering if there is any future with Iben. She hits rock bottom before joining a disciplinary theatrical group to clean up her act. In a bold attempt to win Iben back, Eik decides to form a band. Steppeulvene becomes Denmark’s first rock band, notorious for drug use and the smash hit album HIP, full of poetic declarations of love for “Itsi Bitsi”, Eik’s nickname for Iben. But Eik is destined for more heartache and he leaves on a soul-searching trip to Nepal. Nothing has turned out as he had dreamed…

COMMENTS FROM DIRECTOR OLE CHRISTIAN MADSEN

“What a story!” These were Eik Skaløe’s last words to the young love of his life, Iben Nagel Rasmussen. And what a story, indeed.

ITSI BITSI IS A LOVE STORY of epic and heart-wrenching proportions; a story based on true events about the desperate love of two young people. Eik and Iben share an all consuming passion for each other, a passion they attempt to relinquish but which never relinquishes them. Since hearing about it for the first time many years ago, I have never been able to forget it. I believe that the story of Eik and Iben is universal and genuine in a way that ought to touch audiences not only in Denmark and Europe, but around the world.

1962 was the times of a budding beatnik scene in Europe, a scene that inspired and paved the way for the future hippie movement. Many hippie related films have been made but few are concerned with the beatnik origins of the period. But this is exactly where my interest lies. Beatniks were engaged in a kind of freedom project, which originated from political views, but soon became far more personal. More than being mere spokesmen for peace, love and harmony, beatniks and hipsters concerned themselves with

TRAVELLING, FREEDOM, DRUGS, inspired frequently by role models such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Bob Dylan.

Although deeply in love, Eik is stuck in the rut of the new, free moral of their group. Iben simply refuses to share her life with one man only. Thus, Eik finds himself relegated to being third leg in a series of love triangles where Iben shares her favours with men more masculine, wise or handsome than Eik. Constantly they are

3 IN BED at the same time, and the polygamous games often lead to battles for Iben’s favours.

Through Eik’s eyes the age is perceived as profoundly existentialistic with important references being Camus, Sartre and Herman

STEPPENWOLF

Hesse whose novel was to haunt Eik for years and eventually give name to the band

STEPPEULVENE he founded in 1966 in a vain attempt to win Iben over.

ITSI BITSI is as much a chamber play as it is a full blown, epic drama. It follows Eik from his first encounter with Iben

soul-searching journey from Denmark to Paris, Spain, North Africa, Athens and Baghdad and to his tragic suicide on the border of

in 1962, then on their

India and Pakistan in 1968. Along the way Eik changes from political activist to existentialistic writer, poet, junkie, band leader and nomad. Always in pursuit of Iben, always a stranger in his own life.

HIP,

STEPPEULVENE’s first and only album, was a revolution in its own right and is still considered

A MILESTONE IN DANISH ROCK HISTORY. First of all, the album was sung entirely in Danish during times when most self-respecting musicians sang in English; and secondly Eik Skaløe’s lyrics were unique and still hold their own both poetically as unfiltered declarations of love to the woman in his life which he affectionately nicknamed

ITSI BITSI.

In a way, Eik Skaløe did succeed with his life project. He lived out an

ultimate freedom and realised his idea that any uniform state of being is the enemy: that you have to be conscious and in charge of every step of your way through life. Thus, the film is a tale of two young lovers and the freedom they tried so desperately to achieve – a tale of the love of two young people and their plunge into an escalating consumption of drugs.

Seemingly, Eik found it easy to step back and forth into drug abuse. He seemed to never get addicted, while Iben paid a far higher price for their experiments. You might say that there is

no price higher than one’s life, but Eik did not kill himself because of drugs. He killed himself because his push for freedom had drained him and left him empty. And because he realised that Iben would never be his.

OLE CHRISTIAN MADSEN Ole Christian Madsen is one of Scandinavia’s top directors. ITSI BITSI being his 7th feature film his previous body of work includes the World War II thriller FLAME & CITRON (2008), which set box office records in Denmark and was eventually distributed in more than 60 countries. Debuting in 1999 with PIZZA KING, Ole Christian became part of the Dogme-wave in 2001 with KIRA’S REASON – A LOVE STORY, had a local smash hit with ANGELS IN FAST MOTION in 2005, followed up the year after with the break-up drama PRAGUE starring Mads Mikkelsen and Stine Stengade, and most recently in 2012 landed his hilarious cultureclash comedy SUPERCLÁSICO on the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language shortlist of final nine nominees. Ole Christian has also left a strong mark in television, helming the acclaimed series THE SPIDER (2000) and having directed installments on series such as TAXA (1997) and UNIT ONE (2002-04) and the US series BANSHEE (2013-14). Ole Christian’s work mixes critical success with commercial clout, making him one of Denmark’s most consistently successful film directors.

FEATURE FILMS 2014 ITSI BITSI 2011 SUPERCLÁSICO 2008 FLAME & CITRON 2006 PRAGUE 2005 ANGELS IN FAST MOTION 2001 KIRA‘S REASON – A LOVE STORY 1999 PIZZA KING

Christian Gade Bjerrum (as Christian)

MAIN CAST

Christian Gade Bjerrum studied acting at The Danish National School of Theatre in Aarhus, Denmark and is considered a fresh and new face in Danish film. Having appeared in Lars von Trier’s film “Nymphomaniac” (2013) he has also done numerous plays and short films.

Joachim Fjelstrup (as Eik Skaløe) Having recently graduated from The Danish National School of Theatre, Joachim Fjelstrup’s debut and breakthrough performance in “Itsi Bitsi” is expected to create a stir catapulting him towards stardom. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the real Eik Skaløe, Joachim has a great singing voice allowing him to sing and perform live in the film’s crucial song and concert sequences.

Marie Tourell Søderberg (as Iben) Marie Tourell Søderberg graduated from The Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Odense, Denmark in 2012 and is considered a rising star of Danish film. She has previously appeared in “Sex, Drugs & Taxation” (2013) and will feature prominently this autumn in Ole Bornedal’s grandiose TV-series “1864”.

Johannes Nymark (as Henrik) Having studied at the William Esper Studio in New York Johannes Nymark graduated from the Danish Musical Academy in 2009. He has appeared in the feature films such as “This Life” (2012) and “Over the Edge” (2012) but is best known from musicals and theatre. He has appeared in major roles in “Les Miserables” and “Singin‘ in the Rain” at the New Theatre in Copenhagen as well as in “Disney‘s Alladin” at the Opera House in Copenhagen.

Ola Rapace (as Vincent) Ola Rapace grew up in Stockholm, Sweden graduating from The Academy of Music and Drama at Gothenburg University in 1999. He has appeared in TV-series such as “Anna Pihl” (2007-08) and “Wallander” (2005-06) as well as in numerous feature films. He has lived in France for years and speaks French fluently. In 2012 he played the assassin Patrice in the James Bond film “Skyfall”.

MAIN CAST

MAIN CREW

EIK Joachim Fjelstrup IBEN Marie Tourell Søderberg CHRISTIAN Christian Gade Bjerrum HENRIK Johannes Nymark STIG Jakob Randrup VINCENT Ola Rapace EIK‘S MOTHER Anette Støvelbæk MAJBRITT Julia Ragnarsson EIK‘S FATHER Thure Lindhardt

Director: Ole Christian Madsen Screenplay: Bo hr. Hansen & Ole Christian Madsen Producer: Lars Bredo Rahbek Cinematographer: Jørgen Johansson Editor: Søren B. Ebbe Sound Designer: Hans Møller Production Designer: Søren Schwarzberg Costume Designer: Manon Rasmussen Make-up: Tina Jesenkovic Music Composer: Henrik Lindstrand Line Producer: Kristina Kornum Co-producers: Mikkel Jersin, Igor A. Nola & Anna Croneman Executive producers: Bo Ehrhardt & Birgitte Hald Produced by: Nimbus Film (Denmark) in co-production with MP Film Production (Croatia) and Bleck Film & TV AB (Sweden)

Produced by NIMBUS FILM with support from THE DANISH FILM INSTITUTE - Steen Bille / NORDIC FILM & TV FUND - Hanne Palmquist / THE SWEDISH FILM INSTITUTE - Suzanne Glansborg / Croatian audiovisual centre - Hrvoje Hribar In association with TV 2 DENMARK - Katrine Vogelsang / FILM I SKÅNE - Lena Hansson / SVT In co-production with MP FILM PRODUCTION / BLECK FILM & TV AB / BEOFILM POST PRODUCTION / MAINSTREAM APS International sales THE MATCH FACTORY © NIMBUS FILM APS 2015 Developed with the support of the MEDIA programme

TECHNICAL DETAILS Year of production: 2014 Nationality of production: Denmark-Croatia-Sweden Length: 107 minutes Sound: 5.1  Colour Original language: Danish  Available subtitles: English Screening ratio: Scope

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