Heksehammeren
(The Hammer of Witches)
Producer: Una Mathiesen Gjerde
Production Company: Amfititre Produksjon AS
Director: Marin Håskjold
Script: Marin Håskjold
In the far North, a group of women are facing charges of witchcraft. If sentenced, they will be executed by the state by burning. In seeking a scapegoat for a sunken merchant fleet, the prosecuting authorities are eager to go beyond mere questioning. Based on real court documents from 17th century Norway, what at first glance might appear as absurd, turns out to not only portray historical events but also mirror our own present.
The witch hunt of early modern Europe and North America is one of the most extensive examples of systematic persecution in Western history. At the egde of Scandinavia, where the sun disappears for months and ice is covering the lands most of the year, this became especially apparent. Several fishermen’s villages were almost devoited of women. How could this happen? What led society to such a state of conflict? And, what was the agenda of the prosecutors?
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