Best Foreign Documentary 2019 Winner

Kiruna – A Brand New World

Located more than 200 km above the polar circle, the Swedish mining town Kiruna is built on the world’s largest and most modern iron ore mining tunnel, which created a significant income for the Swedish government. However, due to the mining the city has started to collapse and in order to save the industry, the city council together with the mining company LKAB have decided to move the town and its citizens 3 kilometres to the east. In doing so, the town has turned a potential disaster into a great opportunity. The new Kiruna will be an even more progressive, even better society for the future. But is it even possible to plan an ideal world? On the backdrop of a moving city, the citizens of the New Kiruna are fighting their own battles. We follow the teacher Timo, a local activist against the moving, the teenage Sami girl Maja who is discovering her family roots and cultural heritage as well as Abdalrahman, a teenage boy from Yemen, who came to the town as a refugee and slowly realizes that it takes more than just a paper to become a Swede. The seemingly very different characters are facing the same questions as the city is looking for its place. They are starting their personal search for identity, values and a greater future. KIRUNA - A BRAND NEW WORLD is a portrait of a utopian and dystopian town as well as a hard-hitting reflection of today’s society.