When their son Esben moves away from home, middle-aged Danish couple Kjeld and Vibeke are left with a sense of uncertainty and lack of purpose. In an attempt to reignite the magic of their younger days, they move into the old student apartment where they first fell in love. The experience changes them in strange and unexpected ways. Literally recapturing their youth, they wake up one morning to find themselves 30 years younger – and they are forced to recognise that the past they once knew might no longer exist.
National Jury's motivation: Danish film seldom acknowledges its roots in Nordic mythology and Hans Christian Andersen, and rarely explores the supernatural. Christian Tafdrup remedies this in his debut feature, Parents, in which a middle-aged couple wake up to find themselves young again. It sounds crazy, silly and far out – but like all good fantasy, it strikes a familiar chord. Bodil Jørgensen and Søren Malling are unforgettable as the rejuvenated couple.
National Jury members: Per Juul Carlsen, Jacob Wendt Jensen, Eva Novrup Redvall
For full press release, production notes and high res photos of director, producer and poster see Press kit. The information is available in the Nordic languages and English.