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BATTLE

By Katarina LAUNING

Drama - Completed 2017

Amalie, a young talented dancer is forced to move to a poor Oslo suburb. Amalie starts leading a double life in a desperate attempt to keep up her image and finds herself stuck in a web of secrets and lies. Then she meets hip hop dancer, who opens her eyes.

- Year of production
- 2017
- Genres
- Drama, Children's, Art - Culture
- Countries
- NORWAY, DENMARK, NETHERLANDS, SWEDEN
- Languages
- NORWEGIAN
- Budget
- 1 - 3 M$
- Duration
- 95 mn
- Director(s)
- Katarina LAUNING
- Writer(s)
- Maja LUNDE
- ISAN
- 0000-0004-7C83-0000-2-0000-0000-V
- Producer(s)
- Pål RØED (Friland AS), Katja ANDOMEIT (Andomeit Film), Harro VAN STAVERDEN (Phanta Basta!), Michiel BARTELS (PHANTA BASTA!)
- Synopsis
- Amalie is the west end girl who has it all: good looks, money, a handsome boyfriend, and an extraordinary talent for dance. She and her father live in a villa with a swimming pool, and she has never missed anything. Except for her mother, who has a dancing career abroad and whom Amalie rarely sees. More than anything, Amalie wants to be like her mother, but she doesn’t perform as well on the dance floor. Lately, her teacher Birgitta has been demanding more of her, wanting Amalie to express more of herself, to give more, through dance. This frustrates Amalie, and she tries not to think about it. Just like she tries not to think about the fact that she is not really in love with her boyfriend Aksel, but just holds on to him because he is ”right.” But then her world collapses. The enforcement officer is at the door. Amalie and her father are evicted, as he has gone bankrupt. They check in at a hotel, while her father tries to sort things out and get the house back, but to no avail. When he fails in his attempts, they have to move. Her father finds an apartment in the suburb Stovner, and Amalie finds herself in a part of town, in a world, which she has never before visited.
  As long as she can, Amalie tries to pretend nothing has happened, even though her life has been turned upside down. But in Stovner she meets Mikael. Mikael, who dances hip hop. Mikael, who is the best in battle. Mikael, who is completely different from anyone she has ever known. They dance, he teaches her hip hop, she teaches him jazz and modern. They go to battle together, and Amalie is fascinated by all the amazing dancers. Deep inside, she wishes she could dance like them. And they fall in love. But Amalie does not dare to acknowledge love, the same way she is not honest towards her friends about her father’s bankruptcy.
  Her friend Ida is the only one who knows, and she urges her to tell the truth, but Amalie does not dare to. Her boyfriend Aksel understands that something is wrong, and decides to break up with Amalie because she gives so little of herself. Slowly the net is closing in on Amalie, a web she herself has spun through her lies and her fear of being honest to herself and towards the world, about who she really is. She quarrels with her father, she quarrels with Mikael, and goes to a party where she gets drunk. She ends up in bed with Aksel, but then Mikael turns up and wants to apologize. Everything falls to pieces. Ida breaks her loyalty, and everyone gets to know Amalie’s secret.
  For the first time in her life, Amalie must dare to come to terms with who she really is, dare to trust her own feelings and to break the rules. She is up against the wall, and realizes she has no other choice, but also that she has nothing to lose. She must show the world who she is. She must battle.
- Beginning of shooting
- Jul 01, 2017
- End of shooting
- Aug 31, 2017