It is when she leads a team of aid workers at a makeshift field hospital in Bangui in the Central African Republic on Christmas Eve 2013 that the film “The Stranger” takes place.
The civil war rages, and suddenly a desperate man runs into the field hospital. He is a Muslim, and it is clear that he is persecuted and in danger, says the plot:
“On the outside, the mob and the Christian militia that want the Muslim extradited and killed are growing. Linn is responsible for security. Now she must act quickly. Despite the risk she poses to herself and the rest of the team, Linn decides to follow her own conscience, while brutally having to decide how much a human life is worth.
– Not my story
The character Linn is thus based on Lindis Hurum and is played by Kristine Kujath Thorp. The two met, but Lindis Hurum from Hole in Buskerud is clear in her speech:
– This is not primarily my story, I am not important here: Yes, it is a film based on something that I and my team experienced, but it represents dilemmas that everyone who works in war and crises faces, she says in a statement.
Lindis Hurum described the episode – which unfolded over 15 hours on Christmas Eve in 2013 – in the book “There are no others – there are only us”, which was published three years later. In interviews, she has told how she experienced the situation in violence-prone Bangui as “dramatic and chaotic”.
Kristine Kujath Thorp as Linn in “The Stranger” – a character based on the real Lindis Hurum.
Photo: Graham Bartholomew / NTB
– Meaningful
The screenplay was written by Harald Rosenløw Eeg and Lars Gudmestad (“The North Sea”, “The Biggest Crime”, “Convoy”), and Eirik Svensson is the director. In the press release, Sveinsson calls the film “an incredibly strong project to be part of”.
– In the middle of a time when we can quickly wonder if all decency, dignity and humanity are about to be completely erased, this feels all the more meaningful. This strong story is dense, concentrated and complex at the same time, says Sveinsson.
International cast list
The suspense drama premieres in February 2025 and has “Safe House” as its international title. Other central roles include Bibi Tanga, French musician and actor with Central African background, Swedish-Ugandan Alexander Karim, French Tracy Gotoas, Finnish Alma Pöysti and Mattis Herman Nyquist.
– Thank you for showing the world the truth and the nuances of important stories, wrote Gotoas in a greeting to director Sveinsson on Instagram when the filming wrapped up in South Africa in April.
Lindis Hurum says that Doctors Without Borders is concerned with the forgotten crises. Now she hopes that the film can highlight the Central African Republic, which she calls “a beautiful country where a strong but hard-pressed people live”.
– I am excited about the result, but after many good conversations and close collaboration, I have faith that they will manage the story in a respectful way. I am particularly happy that they have chosen an international cast with several leading roles occupied by Central African actors, says Hurum.
You need javascript to play the audio clip “Morfar was a real hero – with Lindis Hurum”.
– Exciting
Kristine Kujath Torp got Amanda for her efforts in “Ninjababy”, and last year was seen in the lead role as the attention-seeking Signe in Kristoffer Borgli’s Cannes-shown “Sick Girl”.
– Although I have created an independent role, it is built on a real person. It was both exciting and challenging to find that balance, between fiction and reality, says Torp in the press release from Norsk Film Distribusjon.
(© NTB)
