With her husband missing in action, Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne), a young seamstress, struggles to survive in post-WWI Copenhagen. An affair with the owner of the clothing factory she works at brings temporary relief from her poverty, but leads to still worse complications. Left with few other options, she turns to a charismatic candy shop owner, Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), who offers special services to women in need. But as it turns out, the woman’s placid façade hides deeper layers of disquiet.
Inspired by the real-life story of one of Denmark’s most infamous serial killers, The Girl with the Needle renders this true-crime story as an expressionist fairytale, with a nightmarish atmosphere reminiscent of Tod Browning and Carl Theodor Dreyer. Featuring lustrous black-and-white cinematography, an ominous soundscape, and bolstered by fearless performances by Sonne and Dryholm, it is a chilling, unforgettable look at the horrors that people are capable of—as well as the social conditions that make them possible.
Vic Carmen Sonne, Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri, Avo Knox Martin, Joachim Fjelstrup
Denmark/Poland/Sweden
2024
In Danish with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Credits
Producer
Malene Blenkov, Mariusz Włodarski
Screenwriter
Magnus von Horn, Line Langebek
Cinematography
Michał Dymek
Editor
Agnieszka Glińska
Production Design
Jagna Dobesz
Magnus von Horn
Magnus von Horn was born in 1983 in Göteborg, Sweden but has lived for almost 20 years in Poland. A graduate of the Polish National Film School in Lodz where he is also currently a teacher. With his short films, he established himself internationally as a promising director presenting at festivals such as Sundance and Locarno. Finding it inspiring to work in different languages his feature film debut, The Here After, was in Swedish and premiered at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes 2015. His second feature film, Sweat, was in Polish and part of the Cannes official selection in 2020. His third film, The Girl With the Needle, is a Nordisk Film Production and is in Danish.
Filmography: The Here After (2015); Sweat (2020)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Montreal, ma belle
In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Mixing documentary and reenactment, this film powerfully evokes the desperate attempts of the Red Crescent to rescue a six year old child trapped in a car under Israeli military fire. Oscar nominee: Best International Film
Spring After Spring
Three daughters strive to live up to the standards set by their mother Marie Mimi Ho, and keep Vancouver Chinatown's Spring Parade going through thick and thin, in this enormously affectionate local documentary by Jon Chiang.
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes
A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.