Christiania: Our Heart in in Your Hands November 11, 2008

Christiania: Our Heart is in Your Hands tells the story of the “free state” of Christiania, a 36-year-old anarchist squatter community occupying an abandoned military base in the heart of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen.

Christiania was born in 1971 when youthful idealism and a severe housing shortage incited hundreds of young people to “storm the gates” and claim 85 acres of deserted brick buildings, woods, ramparts and canals as their home. Finding it politically unpopular to evict the young settlers, the Danish government declared Christiania a short-term “social experiment.”

With the freedom to experiment, the Christianites built a distinct culture based on group consensus, and a thriving economy of restaurants, bars, cottage industries, and an open hashish trade. In every respect, Christiania became an alternative that challenged, inspired, and frightened the society outside.

36 years later, Christiania is still alive, despite increasingly uneasy relations with the Danish government, which plans to “normalize” Christiania. After years of struggle and compromise, many say that the end is near for this famous “social experiment”.

Christiania: Our Heart is in Your Hands explores this crisis from varied perspectives; longtime Christiania residents, government and police officials who argue the legality of Christiania’s occupation, and the Danish people, who view Christiania as a symbol of freedom that they both cherish and fear.

Official Website: http://busno8.com/CA.html