Everyone is a “Prisoner” in a new DR Drama series created byKim Fupz Aakeson,in collaboration withFrederik Louis Hviid and Michael Noer,just shown atCanneseries. Not just the inmates crammed inside an old Danish prison, but the people who guard them as well.
“Twenty years ago, I wrote a Dogme film [‘In Your Hands’] that also took place in prison. I became interested in these guards, because who takes on that job? Who walks into such a hostile environment every day, unarmed?!,” he wonders.
The characters – played by “The Killing” star Sofie Gråbøl, David Dencik, Charlotte Fich and Youssef Wayne Hvidtfeldt as Sammi, an ambitious rookie – have to watch their backs. But frustrated criminals are not their biggest problem: it’s the system itself, which leaves them powerless.
“It’s an extremely hard profession, poorly paid. They are constantly understaffed,” observes Gråbøl. Taking on Miriam, who still believes in people even though she can’t trust her own son.
“To me, her home is just like a cell. Nobody comes there. Her only human interactions seem to be with these inmates, because she is in conflict with other guards. It’s a dangerous job and yet she insists on doing the right thing.”
Praising directors Hviid and Noer (“I never knew where the camera was. It really added to the show’s raw power”), Gråbøl also opened up about learning to follow the inside rules.
“You learn how to walk behind a prisoner, how to handle your keys, which is harder than handling a gun,” she admits, with Aakeson adding: “One guard actually said to us: ‘When I watch stories set in prison and a guard is looking at his keys, I know it’s shit.’”
The cast and crew quickly picked up on such details, surrounded by former inmates and guards serving as their guides.
“This authenticity was so important to us,” observes Hvidtfeldt. As well as shooting in an actual prison.
“The way people talk about prisons in Denmark, you would think it’s some fancy hotel. But as soon as this door closes, you go: ‘How do I get out of here?’ It really helped us.”
“They were going to tear it down. I thought: ‘Oh, an empty prison! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!’ Everything was already there, waiting for us,” recalls Aakeson. But for his protagonists, life outside of these walls isn’t exactly easier.
“When we were still developing the show, some people said: ‘A bit more prison, please.’ But I wanted to show they struggle with freedom all the time. You are never truly free, whether it’s because you are a parent or you fell for the wrong person.”
While he describes the show as “pretty dark” (“It would feel wrong to try to be funny”), the characters still try to be human.
“I spoke to a female guard who used to do this for 20 years. Once, she ran into a former inmate, who said: ‘I was in prison, and we made a blanket together. You saw some potential in me, and it made me change my course.’ It can happen,” says Gråbøl.
“When they train real prison guards, they use actors to stage various scenarios, like telling someone he is not going to his daughter’s birthday. A big part of this work is about dealing with human beings who are under extreme pressure. In Denmark, women account for 40% of prison guards. They are better at solving conflicts instead of making them worse.”
Still, as pointed out by Aakeson, a sense of loyalty would sometimes take precedence over helping out a person in need.
“There are all these gangs, battling it out. We saw prison guards as ‘the blue gang.’ They also have their own code of honor. I talked to one of them who disagreed with the way an inmate was treated, and she was immediately ousted. She had to quit.”
“One of our extras said: ‘I hope this will encourage people [to apply].’ I don’t think any of our viewers will go: ‘I am going to be a prison guard now.’ But it might spark a discussion about what is happening in these places and what should be changed,” says Hvidtfeldt.
“We are not doing it just to start a debate, but I wouldn’t mind having one,” adds Aakeson, admitting the story could possibly continue in the future.
“We are discussing it. It’s always interesting to talk about ‘secret’ places in our society. In the past, these guys used to play badminton with the inmates. Now, nobody has time for that anymore.”
“Prisoner” is produced by Rikke Tørholm Kofoed and will air on DR1 in September.
