ONE LAST TRIP. A life-affirming drama about a small family in crisis.

New short film about assisted suicide, dementia and family unity

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕡 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥?

"THE PROMISE is about a family's love for each other. A father, a son and a daughter - and a promise about a choice that will have consequences. The trip goes to Lalandia - the family's traditional holiday paradise - even though the siblings ANDREAS (33) and GRY (25) are probably getting a little too old for it - but father JENS (63) has insisted. What the siblings and daughter-in-law CAMILLA (26) don't know, however, is that Jens - who is beginning to suffer from dementia - has made a decision that will break their hearts. He wants active euthanasia and he needs their help to make it happen."

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕡 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪?

"I am the idea writer for our upcoming short film THE PROMISE. The story stems from my own family history, and a special wish my father has, which I was casually told over a family dinner. Because my father wants help to die one day. And he wants that help from my little brother and I. It came as a huge shock and put me in a huge dilemma. I am not ready to lose my father, but I always want to help my father. I have always known that he would die one day, but I never imagined that he would actively choose death. And then I got to thinking - who do we really live for; ourselves or those around us? That is why I decided that I wanted to write a film about it. I reached out to screenwriter Bo Dalum, and began development on a feature film. But initially we wanted to test the story as a short film, and focus on the moment when the family is presented with the father's choice."

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕡?

"You have to be aware that you are dealing with a very sensitive topic. Euthanasia is extremely taboo and it's not so black and white. It is difficult not to take a stand on what you yourself think should be right and wrong, but it is dangerous as a filmmaker to tell others what is right and wrong - because there is no right and wrong when it comes to euthanasia.

At the same time, there are a lot of emotions, thoughts and decisions in each character, so it is about keeping your tongue straight and keeping your eye on the ball so that it does not become an octopus story with too many angles. It is a huge challenge, but an important one - it just tells you that it is an important story that we are about to make, and which will hopefully lead to a conversation.

In addition, we use dementia. I have worked in nursing homes myself, my great-grandfather was severely affected by dementia, and it is a very complex disease. It is extremely difficult to give a 1:1 insight into the disease, because it is so unique from person to person. That is why we have also talked to various dementia counselors, as well as drawn from our own experiences and lessons learned."

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕡 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖?

"We're still in pre-production, but I think the hardest thing - which has also ended up being one of the weirdest - is having talked about this 'conflict' in so much depth with my family. We've turned over every stone that needs to be turned.

In addition, I find it incredibly anxiety-provoking to touch on this topic and think about how it will be received."

📷: HEIN photography

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕡?

"I hope the audience will cry and laugh. That they will feel the love we've put into it and the love that's between the characters, and will want to go home and give their loved ones a hug. I hope they'll remember to appreciate each other and to appreciate life, while we're here.

But most importantly, I hope it makes people reflect on what they themselves think about assisted suicide? That it leads to a debate - both for the relatives and for those who want assisted suicide."

𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕞 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕡 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕕𝕠 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟, 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕞?

"One Last Trip is intended to later become a feature film, which will be called THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN The subject is too big to be just a short film. THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN will be a really beautiful and important blockbuster film, which will hopefully draw people into the delicious new cinema seats across the country - you know, the new soft seats where you can press a button, almost lie down, and there's both a cup holder for your 0.75 l soda AND a small table for your popcorn? And maybe a small bag of sweets? If you're feeling a little (Friday) cheeky 🍿 THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN is definitely a film where I would want to go to the steak - and I would take my family with me."

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕞 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕡?

"I have always loved my work as a SOSU employee. But I know that in connection with this short film and this topic, I will probably never get a job in the nursing home sector again - because there would be a perception that I had made a decision that active euthanasia should be legal. I find that extremely unfortunate - but I also deeply understand it. As I said, active euthanasia is not black and white - that is why I look very much towards Switzerland and their approach.

There are a lot of conversations with doctors before you get the approval, and you have to press the button yourself when the time comes for you to receive active euthanasia. Not everyone can get it - if you are depressed, have dementia, or are otherwise ill, where you may have doubts about whether it is your actual wish, then you will be rejected. But what if you only want active euthanasia the day you are no longer yourself? How can you say in advance that it is your wish, and emphasize it enough "To others, it's still there, on the day you're not at your best? I could go on. There are so many considerations, and they're impossible to answer. That's why we're not going to answer them in the film. But we're leading up to a debate so that the audience can reflect on it - alone and with each other."

Read more about One Last Trip here.

Read Sara and her family's interview in Kristeligt Dagblad here (it's in Danish).

📸: Wix

Read Sara and her family's interview in Kristeligt Dagblad here.