Norsk filminstitutt

In Exit the director Karen Winther goes sourcing for answers to the question: Why did she and a group of previous violent extremists from Germany, France, USA and Denmark leave violence and extremism behind?

In Exit, the director Karen Winther goes sourcing for answers to the question: What was the ‘wake-up call – that made her and a group of previous violent extremists leave violence and extremism behind?    

Through intimate conversations with former violent extremists from Germany, France, Denmark, and the US she asks: What was it that made us alter the course of our lives? Karen, living in Norway, will meet Angela in the US and Manuel and Ingo in Germany, all of whom are living in hiding due to their dangerous pasts. She will also meet with Søren, who has a violent leftwing-extremist background. And she will meet David, a former jihadist, who participated in one of the first homegrown Islamist terrorist attacks in France.   

Throughout this journey, Karen moves closer to remember her own wake-up call. Reflections on her extremist past and way she managed to go out of extremism will form an emotional and psychological counterpoint with the stories of the people she meets in her travels.   

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2018
Production country:
Norway
Co production country:
Germany
Sweden
Release date (international):
2018-03-20
Production company:
Sant & Usant AS
Co production company:
Ma.ja.de Filmproduktions GmbH
AMP Film
Financing company:
Norwegian Film Institute
Viken Filmsenter
Nordisk Film & TV Fond
The Freedom of Expression Fund
Creative Europe
Executive producer:
Tone Grøttjord-Glenne
Anita Rehoff Larsen
Producer:
Eirin Gjørv
Co producer:
Heino Deckert
Dylan Williams
Film consultant:
KriStine Ann Skaret
Lars Løge
Karolina Lidin
Kalle Løchen
Sales agent:
Deckert Distribution GmbH

Director

  • Karen Winther

    Karen Winther (b. 1978) Graduated from the NFTS – National Film and Television School, UK in 2012. Her graduation film The Betrayal, premiered at IDFA and received Best Student Film Award, Best Student Film at Sheffield DocFest, the Royal Television Society award, a Grierson British Documentary award and the New Nordic Talent Award at Nordisk Panorama. Exit is Karen´s first documentary feature.  

    Karen Winther

Awards

2018:
Nordic/Docs
Honorable Mention
2018:
DOK Leipzig - International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Prize
Young Eyes Film Award
Gedanken Aufschluss Award
2019:
Festival des Libertés
Centre d'Action Laïque (CAL) Award
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Award

Festivals

2018:
CPH:DOX
2018:
Nordic/Docs
2018:
Oslo Pix
2018:
DokuFest - International Documentary and Short Film Festival Kosovo
2018:
International Documentary Festival Visioni dal mondo, Immagini dalla realtà
2018:
Nordisk Panorama
2018:
Love & Anarchy - Helsinki International Film Festival
2018:
BIFF - Bergen International Film Festival
2018:
UNAFF - United Nations Association Film Festival
2018:
DOK Leipzig - International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
2018:
DOC NYC
2018:
Movies on War
2019:
Tempo Documentary Festival
2019:
One World - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Prague
2019:
Movies That Matter
2019:
Bolzano Film Festival
2019:
Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival
2019:
Human Rights Nights Film Festival
2019:
Icedocs - Iceland Documentary Film Festival
2019:
SANFIC - Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine
2019:
Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival Hong Kong
2019:
Festival des Libertés
2019:
Festival de Cine MÁS
2019:
Filmfestival Radstadt
2019:
Watch Docs - Human Rights in Film Warsaw
2019:
Watch Docs - Human Rights in Film Minsk
2020:
Liburnia Film Festival
2021:
Krakow Film Festival

Crew

Director:
Karen Winther
Screenplay:
Karen Winther
Cinematographer:
Peter Ask
Editor:
Robert Stengård
Composer:
Michel Wenzer
Sound Design:
Yvonne Stenberg
Gisle Tveito
Narrator:
Karen Winther

Technical information

Format:
DCP 4k
Screen ratio:
1:2,39
Colour:
Colour
Sound format:
Stereo 5.1
Length in min's:
85'
Language:
English
Norwegian
French
German
Danish
Subtitles:
English

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