Private Project

Congo 1961

During the Congo Crisis (1960-1964), several hundred Norwegian and Swedish soldiers were sent to the Congo as UN peacekeepers. They were pioneers of the UN peacekeeping forces, were sent on dangerous missions, but knew little or nothing about what they were sent to. For the first time the veterans talk about their experiences. They tell about dramatic rescue operations and captivity that has never been told before. Then UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld had great ambitions for the UN, and the UN Congo operation was far ahead of its time. At a time when the world is once again characterized by Great Power Politics, the film is a warm defense of international cooperation and present exclusive, never seen archive material from the Congo crisis.

  • Erik Martiniussen
    Director
  • Erik Martiniussen
    Writer
  • Erik Martiniussen
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 34 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    24,500 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Norway
  • Country of Filming:
    Norway
  • Language:
    Norwegian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Swedish International Film Festival
    Arvika
    Sweden
    October 25, 2021
    Finalist - Best Documentary (Feature Length)
  • Boden International Film Festival
    Boden
    Sweden
    Winner Best Feature Documentary
  • Luleå International Film Festival
    Luleå
    Sweden
    December 4, 2021
    Winner Best Feature Documentary
  • Stockholm City Film Festival
    Stockholm
    Sweden
    Winner Best Feature Documentary
  • Madrid Indie Film Festival • MADRIFF
    Madrid
    Spain
    Selected for Best feature documentary.
  • Falcon International Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    Honerable mention
  • Montreal Independent Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    January 22, 2022
    Selected, semi-finalist: Best feature documentary
  • Moving Pictures Festival
    Antwerpen
    Belgium
    February 27, 2022
  • Toronto Film and Script Awards Toronto Film and Script Awards
    Toronto
    Canada
    April 1, 2022
    Official selection
  • SCANDINAVIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
    Helsinki
    Finland
    October 9, 2022
    Finland
    Official selection
Distribution Information
  • Erik Martiniussen Media og Produksjon
    Distributor
    Country: Norway
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Erik Martiniussen

Erik Martiniussen (born 1975) has a degree in documentary film making from Volda University Collage and has studied film production at the Norwegian Film School at Lillehammer. He has his background as a feature writer, and is the author of several, critically acclaimed non-fiction books.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

To find answers to my questions I embarked on a journey to meet all the Congo veterans I could seek up. They told me the shocking truth about one of the biggest UN operations of all time, the human cost of it and, how the veterans were treated when they returned home to Norway and Sweden. I then decided that this untold story had to be known, and that the veterans deserved their redress.