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Without Perfection

‘Without Perfection’ is an experimental short film about existing as a young woman in today’s world, where pressure to meet expectations and the pursuit of perfection take center stage.

Through five scenes and an accompanying voiceover, the film portrays a sense of inadequacy across five arenas: friendships, career, social media, body, and dating.
We encounter, among others, the career woman’s relentless chase on the hamster wheel, the eating-disordered woman’s need to strike a balance between admiration and concern with her weight, and the single woman’s struggle to have just enough experience; but not so much that she’s labeled as cheap.

The film touches on themes and emotions such as insecurity, gender norms, and unrealistic beauty standards that shape young women's self-perception and their relationship with the world around them.

  • Vega Moltke-Leth
    Director
    Dance With Me
  • Vega Moltke-Leth
    Writer
  • Clara Baerentsen
    Writer
  • Andreas Grove Vejlstrup
    Producer
  • Clara Baerentsen
    Producer
  • Mathilde Wedell-Wedellsborg
    Key Cast
  • Krista Milman
    Key Cast
  • Sara Rothschild
    Key Cast
  • Astrid Birkebæk Rahbæk
    Key Cast
  • Boy Ewald
    Key Cast
  • Linnea Belfrage
    Key Cast
  • Albert Valdemar Stenum
    DOP
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Hvis ikke jeg er perfekt
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Artfilm, Perfectionism
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 16, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    28,000 DKK
  • Country of Origin:
    Denmark
  • Country of Filming:
    Denmark
  • Language:
    Danish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Copenhagen
  • Odense Film Festival
    Copenhagen
    Denmark
    August 26, 2025
    Danish Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Vega Moltke-Leth

Vega Moltke-Leth is a danish director, screenwriter and editor. She first started making short films during her high school exchange year in California, and later went on to refine her craft at the European Film College. She is currently finishing up her undergraduate film degree at Columbia University in New York, where she has focused her studies on screenwriting and directing. Vega is intrigued by how people get shaped by their environment, and how we are all a result of our cultures; This fascination with the anthropological aspect of filmmaking comes to show in all of her films, which are almost all centered around characters navigating or breaking free of their environment.

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Director Statement

‘Without Perfection’ is based on a series of poems I wrote between August 2016, when I was 14 years old, and April 2024, when I was 22. This film is not just an account of the racing thoughts and insecurities young women experience under the pressure of a performance-driven society; it is a time capsule, and a testament to how long I’ve let myself be controlled by the expectations of the world around me - and by my own expectations of myself.
That feeling that if I didn’t perform at my absolute best in every aspect of my life, I might as well bury myself and not try at all; that if I can’t be perfect, I’d rather be nothing.

It gives voice to some of the struggles young women face in relation to the modern-day pressure to look, speak, act, work, and strive a certain way; to chase ideals shaped by patriarchal, materialistic, and unrealistic extremes.
The film explores the female experience, both in terms of external and internal pressure to be perfect - the pressure we feel from the world around us, and the pressure we place on ourselves as a result of the media and impressions we consume every day.

‘Without Perfection’ doesn’t attempt to bring order to chaos or provide answers to the problems it addresses; instead, my hope is that it will serve as a manifestation of the difficult conversations that don’t fit into the polished image of everyday life; and that it will allow other women to see they are not alone in their insecurities.
I haven’t learned how to push them away completely yet, but I’ve learned how to speak about them; and maybe that’s the first step?