Thomas Vinterberg on Avoiding “Disaster Film Cliches” in Climate Change Miniseries ‘Families Like Ours’

In any of the news series that the director of the movie ‘Another Round’ will present, the whole of Denmark is starting to be flooded, and therefore, people of Denmark are refugees. 
 
When Syrian War started in 2011 and refugees started pouring into Europe, Thomas Vinterberg was compelled to personally relate to millions of families that were displaced due to conflicts and needed asylum in other countries. But when the Oscar-winning director of Another Round, The Hunt, and The Celebration saw the response of many Europeans — often hostile, sometimes violent — he began thinking: But what would happen if the disaster were to happen locally and “we were the refugees”? 
 
Over a decade later, that “thought experiment” resulted in Families Like Ours. It is a miniseries, which will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and then goes to TIFF, which describes the process of how the government of Denmark had to flee due to evenmentual rise of sea levels. The entire country. Effecting its six million inhabitants in becoming refugees who have no choice but to flee to whichever countries shall be willing to accepts them. 
 
Even the cast list reads like a roster of Denmark It has Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Thomas Bo Larsen, David Dencik, Paprika Steen, and Magnus Millang in the leading roles. TV2 will air the 6-part series in October; the series is from StudioCanal and Zentropa. StudioCanal is selling worldwide. 
 
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter asked Vinterberg why he purposefully steered clear of ‘disaster film cliches’ to concentrate on the human element of climate change and refugee crisis and how he developed ‘a dystopia in slow motion’ and how a tactless French waiter shaped the show. 
 
This is one of those ‘future is dark’ tales that are a bit sci-fi, and yet, I am quite sure, contain much of the author’s own reality. What was the origin then of the idea of Families Like Ours? 
 
This concept was mentioned at least about six years ago when there was no COVID, and there was no Ukraine war. That came from how though we treated people from Syria arriving in Copenhagen. But of course I wanted to think about the human beings from Western society, how would it be if we were the refugees, what would we do if we had to say farewell to all we cherish? How much of ourselves were we capable of shielding as the slice became smaller? How many are there coping strategies one is able to think of? It’s like: If you are allowed to put four people in a life boat who do you settle for, in a real life situation? It is the psychological questions that concern me most, they are the core of this series, and that is why I do not need to show any flooding and natural catastrophe scenes. 
 
But the reason that made me want to write this show ignited when I was in Paris on business. We met them and shook hands; they looked me like, ‘Oh, you people!’ and I was living in the place for a year, one year and a half at most, and I felt so unwelcome. I used to go to the same cafe everyday n still they were so nasty to me as if I was a tourist. One Sunday, I just wanted to go home to my family: I was missing my daughters, and I became occupied with what it would be like if we were to be separated (like in the movie Brooklyn: the biggest wave of immigration from Europe to the US that had occurred in the fifties). And about my daughters, I was thinking how they are worried about conditions of the planet and the climate. 
 
You are right, in this case there are no scenes of natural catastrophe . There’s no disaster porn. So, you did not take your time and research on the scientific aspect of climate change or even in other aspects of the story? 
 
We were doing much research, but not related to climate change, we were researching of another type. We presented a background on the Denmark-country research that we had carried out. Whatever type of a calamity of this sort occurred here, what would our Foreign Ministry do? Well, obviously, it is impossible to do research on what will happen in the future because it has not happened yet but we interviewed a lot of people, not to find out how this country, this Shire that I come from will act. And we said okay, we will respond early as early as the water started flooding the country. We would attempt to take care of all our citizens instead of spending a lot of funds attempting to save some areas of the country; we would attempt to save as many as possible, in the best way possible. I also went around consulting people who are conversant with climate change aspects and we discussed aspects like dams and water draining systems, the source of the water and how it would be managed in the state. But it is still all guess work, although the guess work is done by its experts. They are aware, something will take place, but what, how, even the specialists still have no idea. 
 
This is a method that makes the story appeal to all person since every one of us is related to a family. It is also very Danish and I do not know if, politically , Denmark is not an interesting country to focus on with this story of migration. Since Denmark was one of the few earliest countries in Europe that began to actually restrict migration and immiganten, almost speak for the rest of Europe. 
 
First of all, let me state that my series herein is the chronicle of human beings – individuals who all have unique behaviors and this is about those specific people. Like Rilke says: ”there is not a united way of responding to it as humans” In other words: everyone may respond in millions of different manners. What worries me is bravery of refugees and things like that though. All the same your question hurts me more and as you said it is putting a finger in a wound. Because when I was growing up in Denmark we use to have a very different reputation. When I received my first awards back with The Celebration, one was in Los Angeles to receive a Jewish award for the help Denmark gave to Jewish refugees during the second world war. What is more Denmark used a clandestine method to evacuate people to safety in Sweden as the country was occupied by the Germans. That was our society. and then it was 2016 and our government broke that and turned this country into one I was no longer proud to be part of. We made a law to confiscate refugees’ precious items at the border which we will state is a security measure. I said that was so far from humane , I couldn’t believe it. I said publicly I was embarrassed by my country, I got into a public fight with a Danish journalist because of this. ” This was very painful time. That there’s a similar sentiment to this in Families Like Ours. Well, I believe that our country has grown past that period of time and one day our identity will heal too. But there’s definitely an echo of that in my story, in trying to reverse this situation and say: “Okay fine, what if we are the refugees?” There is even some pleasure in that realization too.

Other parts of Europe they have this thing of a fortress of Europe. In virtually all countries, political processes appear bent on erecting walls to lock out people out. While this concept of a borderless Europe which to a considerable extent still prevails is increasingly being transformed as to who and from where you are. 
 
But if we try to reason with the bastions then this will be beyond a local European or even a Danish matter. It’s even broader than that. Take a look at the fortaleza of America men building walls, rather than pulling them down. It is the agenda all around the global. That is why it is rather entertaining to turn the tables and place the Westerners into the refugee status. 
 
I do remember that as what you mentioned, you did not use those stereotyped images of disasters. So what in your opinion do you think was very difficult for you in shooting this? 
 
Well, it is a problem nowadays to place this series in such a manner that people comprehend that it is a human story. This definitely is a disaster series but disaster in slow motion. And the show happens in seven different countries that I wasn’t familiar with For example Sovig had a show in seven different countries We had to research so that all that is shown is believable. That was the biggest challenge that he received. We did a lot of test screenings with audiences, and they kept asking questions like: things like ‘why are they migrating out of the country when there is no water in the street’ kind of questions. So we had to look for other ways of getting the message to the audience that such a thing is possible in a functioning Western country like Denmark. This means while preparing we would know that water is coming and will not wait for it to start flooding before moving out. We don’t believe that is how it will pan out at all. We found that unrealistic. But having this agreement with the audience, through months and months of research to find out how to explain this was very difficult. 
 
Was this implicated down to how various countries would respond to a flood of refugee Danes? 
 
Yes, but you can never tell how a country acts, because the only thing one can predict about people is when you are cornered look out, you regress. They dance off screen, you retreat, you seek out your loved ones, you begin shielding yourself. That creates aggression. It can still be seen that Poland was very hospitable and liberal and warmhearted in welcoming Ukrainian refugees. But if Poland was flooded by foreigners, as it is in our future world, then a crisis and regression and aggression would result. [However] there is indeed much that is positive one can find in this series, generosity included. I think the main concept of the series is a girl, who gives her own life, her own career and all that for her mother. Then there is this man known as Elias [Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt], a man who travels a continent in a bid to find a lady who dumped him. 
 
To what extent are you more hopeful or less, concerning the future, due to making this series? 
 
Well, it’s like the question why do we keep flying? Why do I continue to fly and to keep on buying clothes and all those things that harm our planet yet I am aware that they harm our planet? But I guess it’s because it’s the best we can do-cliché but apt when you think about it. They imply this [climate change] to be something which humanity cannot handle; it is just too catastrophic. Thus we get back to concentration with our own small self and world. That is something that I come across as rather fascinating. And there is a forgiven element in that because this is the best we can do. Of course it is not that we do not really bother, however this is the most that we can offer. 
 
Have you returned to that café in France and walk up to that rude waiter to say thank you? 
 
I haven’t, and he would go, he’d probably just say: Why the fuck are you here?’ and start swearing at me in French. 
 
Watch Families Like Ours trailer below.