ODE

ODE is the genre-blending and deeply personal short film by Danish artist Kim Richard Adler Mejdahl. The narrative circulates around the killing of Mejdahl's abusive father. Through the language of the musical and the horror genre Mejdahl and the rest of his family document their traumatic past full of darkness and violence. As they take turns singing shocking and truth-revealing elegies about the deceased, the family creates a fictional vendetta and mimics the role of the abuser, which the father once used to solely possess. By creating a fictional revenge act, Mejdahl and his family find a way to distance themselves from their pains and suggest the act of revenge as more healing than forgiveness.

Mejdahl describes ODE as a trauma simulation because of the visceral impact it creates by the use of graphic crime images and scary music. At previous screenings back in Denmark ODE has provoked violent audience reactions - no rare sight to see people crying or feel nauseated. Mejdahl's nightmare film is a dark journey into the life of an abused family, but it also suggests a way to be liberated from trauma.

In 2020 ODE was acquired by The National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst).

All songs featured in ODE are written and composed by Kim Kim.