No Parking has created numerous events for RCT (Rehabilitation- and Research Center for Victims of Torture). In 2003 they wanted us to make a short film, that would be screened at the world famous music festival – the Roskilde Festival.
RCT wanted us to make a film that not directly showed images of torture, but gave its audience a feeling of the despair that victims of torture feel. Director Morten Ranmar came up with the idea that the film would take place in a nightmare.
The plot shows a man that is lying in a bed, dreaming. Suddenly he opens his eyes, and his surroundings transforms to a dark and humid underground location. The man desperately tries to leave this uncomfortable setting, but is every time prevented by a large glass wall. Disillusioned he finally leans his face against the glass, and closes his eyes. We cut back to the bed scene, with the man lying in bed, and see that his family is looking in through a glass window. To give the film an authentic look, we chose to shoot on 16mm film, and create a digital scan for post production, where intense color grading was conducted. The film was finally delivered on 35mm cinema format.
The perfect location was found in an old industrial cellar. The cinematographer created a dramatic lighting that enhanced the experience of remoteness. No Parking casted several actors before settling on Sevik Perl, who has participated in several Danish films. The make-up artist made the actors face look tired and exhausted – exaggerating the effect, as it would be adjusted during post production, and loose some of the color. The transition to the dream world was made using digital effects, including keying and masking.
Torture Nightmare won a Gold Medal and the Grand Prix Award at MCA Awards 2003