Set in the early 1770s, the film centers on the intriguing love triangle between the ever more insane King Christian VII of Denmark, his German physician Johann Friedrich Struensee - a man of enlightenment and idealism and the young English born Queen of Denmark Caroline Mathilda. The drama is a gripping tale of brave idealists who risk everything in their pursuit of freedom for the people. It’s the story of a passionate and forbidden romance that changed an entire nation. 

Jury motivation: Picturesque wigs. Ghastly dresses. Flowery baronesses ... Historical films have a well deserved reputation of being outdoor museum-like great yawns, but with A Royal Affair Nikolaj Arcel stretches a piece of Danish history into to a dynamic account of universal themes such as the blind eye of idealism and the corruption of power. The characters in the film are over 200 years old, but unforgettable acting and a multifaceted manuscript brings them so much into the present that you almost feel you could drink a pint and discuss football with them.

National jury: Per Juul Carlsen, Jakob Wendt Jensen, Eva Novrup Redvall