Feature Documentary

Project: Feature documentary film
Role: Director/DP
Producer: Anders Lind
Format: TV2 / Broadcast
Camera: Canon C300 / Sony F3
Lighting: Kinflow Tubes

Twenty-two young people arrive on a remote Danish island to take part in a radical social and educational experiment governed by just three rules:

1. No violence.

2. No drugs.

3. No technology.

Drawn from six different cultural backgrounds, the participants leave their everyday lives behind and enter an isolated world with no external guidance. Among them are Marc, a self-proclaimed “lion” from Mallorca; Anders, a spirited Danish teenager with a history of pushing boundaries; and Bianca, an unpredictable Austrian who’s lost her sense of direction.

The island—once a forest, now a sparse, almost surreal landscape—sits in the middle of the Kattegat Sea, only six kilometres across and home to fewer than 100 residents. Over time, this barren, unfamiliar setting becomes the backdrop for an intense exploration of identity, power, vulnerability, and connection.

This is not a holiday. For the young people, the absence of adult intervention forces them to construct a society from scratch. Emotions surface, rules are tested, and bonds are forged—or broken. The film captures the highs and lows of the group’s experience, as they navigate unfamiliar terrain both physically and emotionally.

While the adult facilitators observe from a distance, strictly forbidden from stepping in, the entire process is closely monitored by two major European universities, with the aim of influencing future EU educational policy. But some youth workers question the wisdom of total autonomy. Could this social experiment collapse into a Lord of the Flies-style descent into chaos?

Behind the Scenes

Like The Last Fisherman, this film was built on trust, long-term access, and a deeply immersive approach. Over the course of production, we travelled by car across three countries to film with key participants before, during, and after their time on the island. The result is a layered, longitudinal story that captures not only what happened during the experiment, but also how it affected the individuals involved long after the immediate experience had ended.

Filming spanned from the sun-bleached terrain of the island itself to the everyday environments of the young participants—their tents, makeshift bedrooms, local convenience stores, and deserted landscapes—creating a vivid contrast between the world they left behind and the intense, rule-bound reality they stepped into.

The film was shot using a combination of the Canon C300 and Sony F3, chosen for their versatility, reliability, and naturalistic image quality. While the island’s open, bright setting was lit primarily with available light, we shaped interviews and interior scenes using bounce, Kinoflo tubes, and negative fill. The live-action sequences were approached with a more intimate visual style—handheld, with considered framing to support the emotional weight of the journey.

Given the project's observational nature and the ethical sensitivity surrounding minors and psychological research, we kept our footprint deliberately small—often working in pairs to maintain intimacy and minimise disruption. Trust was essential, and access was earned gradually through listening, mutual respect, and time spent off-camera.

In post-production, the structure of the film was designed to reflect the participants’ emotional arc and sense of transformation. Very little music was used until the final act, reflecting the fact that the participants had no access to music during the experiment. The current edit runs longer than originally intended—it was initially conceived to be cut down into regional versions for each of the three key partner countries. However, the final extended cut was approved in full, allowing space for moments to breathe and shifts in tone to unfold organically. The result is a nuanced portrait of youth in transition, balancing personal reflection with group dynamics.