Virtual Cinema: A Writer Named Tove

From April 15 through 24, see an animated documentary based on the life of acclaimed Danish author Tove Ditlevsen, A Writer Named Tove /Tove i stykke, screening virtually from Scandinavia House Online! The film will include a virtual introduction by author and translator Michael Favala.

“I am a poor human. A miserable human. A completely depraved human. I am sleepless as an owl, ugly as a witch, and white wine runs through my veins instead of blood. Furthermore, I am about to sh** myself to death,” author Tove Ditlevsen wrote following a break-up with her last husband in 1973. Translated and published in over 20 countries, and the recipient of several literary prizes including the Golden Laurels in 1956, Tove lived a sort of double life: while Tove Ditlevsen the human was falling apart, Tove Ditlevsen the writer would sit in “The Oval Room” to analyze and describe her life. A Writer Named Tove asks the question: did Tove live her life to actually live it, or to write about it? Directed by Sami Saif; recipient of awards including Best Short Film, Robert Award 2020 (Denmark, 2020. 38 min. In Danish with English subtitles)

Screenings are in support of The Trouble with Happiness and The Faces by Tove Ditlevsen, which are out in English translation from Farrar, Straus and Giroux on April 19.