Masters of Dox

Dreaming Arizona

Jon B. Carlsen
Screening time  
27.03. / Monday, 19:00 - 21:00 Theatre 4  
01.04. / Saturday, 15:00 - 17:00 Theatre 5  

Once upon a time, in a small town deep in the Arizona desert, there was a group of brave teenagers who decided to put on a play about their own lives. They all had emotional baggage and big dreams for the future but feared deep down that they would remain just that: fantasies. Playing themselves, they found the courage to confront traumatic events from their childhood and ask questions they would otherwise not have dared to ask. Faced with the challenges standing in the way of their freedom, the teenagers began to invent an alternative reality for themselves. This unconventional documentary fantasy depicts the transition from childhood to  adulthood, seeking and finding one’s own new identity, and getting over traumas in the process.

Jonbangcarlsen

Jon B. Carlsen

Jon Bang Carlsen was born in 1950 and he graduated from The Danish Film School in 1976. From 1971 to 1978, he has worked with the theatre group Solvognen. He has written and directed more than thirty films. His signature hybrid style combines documentary and fictional interpretations, and many of his documentaries are visually and symbolically powerful, often staged portraits of marginal figures and milieus. Some of his most important films are Jenny, A Rich Man, Hotel of the Stars, Phoenix Bird, Before the Guests Arrive, and Just the Right Amount of Violence. He won the My Generation Award at ZagrebDox 2017 with his film Déjà Vu. He has also published poetry, essays and novels.

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Dreaming Arizona

Denmark, Estonia, Norway
2022, 76'

Directed by:
Jon B. Carlsen

Screenplay by:
Jon Bang Carlsen

Cinematography:
Erik Pollumaa

Edited by:
Francesc Sitges-Sardà, Nicolas Nørgaard Staffolani

Music:
Sten Sheripov

Producers:
Heidi Elise Christensen, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Ivo Felt, Tore Buvarp, Jon Bang Carlsen

Produced by:
Final Cut for Real

Festivals & Awards:

IDFA (2022), CPH:DOX (2023)