Norwegian director Ingvild Søderlind says that the 2001 killing of Benjamin Hermansen was a “wake-up call for the whole nation.” Hermansen, a teenager born to a Norwegian mother and a Ghanaian father, was stabbed to death by neo-Nazis. But it also resulted in a large anti-racism movement,” she recalls. Still, for the longest time, people were too scared of the film she wanted to make.
Unfortunately, as we were making the film, we experienced that its theme was becoming increasingly relevant. They are rising again.” The team has already experienced hate following the release of the trailer. But I also hope these debates will raise awareness of microaggressions and racism.” In “The Murder of Benjamin,” Søderlind follows multiple points of view: Those of Benjamin himself, his killers, and his mother, fighting for a fair trial.
Marit Hermansen, who passed away in 2019, became an activist after the tragedy. She became a known figure in Norway and a woman who spoke out against racism. She initiated several initiatives to encourage schools to prevent racist behavior.” “At first, she wasn’t supposed to play such a big part in this story.
But the more I developed it, the more interested I became in her. I’m also white, so to take on a film that talks about these issues, I had to take on her perspective. In the film, she says to Benjamin: ‘I don’t know how it feels.’ And neither do I.” She’s played by Laila Goody alongside Elikem Leon Akpan, cast as Benjamin, and Magnús Blöndal Jóhannson as the boy responsible for his death.
He’s well-known in Norway – he talked about his background in an interview with the national news,” says Søderlind. These three people all look for belonging.” She wanted to be “honest with the audience” about the story – starting from that unflinchingly direct title. It was important to say this clearly and show him as a normal teenage Norwegian boy.
We didn’t want to turn him into a saint. We wanted to show a normal life that has suddenly came to an end.” The film, sold by TrustNordisk, is finished. But Søderlind’s job isn’t quite done.
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