Karen Blixen: Behind Her Mask

Director Morten Henriksen's biographical portrait of author Karen Blixen (author of Out of Africa) and the possessively intimate relationship she had with his father, literary scholar Aage Henriksen.

"In 1952, the young literature professor Hendrixen met the 66-year-old writer Karen Blixen. At that moment, a complicated friendship began... Blixen refers to herself as a storyteller in public. For more intimate friends, however, she's the "devil's mistress." Her life is packed with sinister aspects, and they fascinate Aage to such a degree that he also gets absorbed in the supernatural world. While taking walks together, he told his 10-year-old son Morten all about Blixen, including the occult details... After years of estrangement, Morton goes back to his now elderly father to get information. What possessed him to saddle his son with this intense history, and what of it is actually true? The film not only shed light on the eccentric personality of Blixen, but it's also a crucial self-investigation. Morten has to know who his father is so he can know who he is himself." (Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival).

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