CPH:DOX 2025 – Witch / Heks

Author Andrea Hejlskov is what is known in the old Nordic belief systems as a völva – a woman with magical powers and spiritual ties to nature. Hejlskov made headlines in Danish media when she left the rat race of everyday life and moved deep into the Swedish forests with her husband and children in the hope of living more sustainably and in close contact with nature. She wrote the book ‘The Great Escape’ about the process. Ten years later, she has left the wilderness and returned to the city and the life that comes with it. Now she finds herself divorced with grown children, unable to write, and in the midst of an intense struggle with her inner life that makes it difficult for her to distinguish between magical omens and psychiatric symptoms. But the desire to create social change still burns strong within her. Emil Nørgaard Munk has created a compelling story in the spirit of his protagonist: a film about magic, menopause, mental health, and all the pieces that make up an identity.