Lasse Lau

The relationship between Greenland and Denmark is full of fantasy and myths. And these are exactly what Danish artist Lasse Lau reflects upon – and in turn documents – in his first feature-length film. But how do you give a form to the Greenlandic experience when you are an outsider yourself? Lau has created a sensitive film about authenticity and recreation by letting both elements become a part of the work, together with his performers. But also by watching and listening intently. The colonial history is entrenched in both Greenland's infinitely beautiful landscapes and in the collective consciousness. But so is the willingness to break with it and look ahead with a new political self-awareness. 'Lykkelænder' is the result of a long-term research project, but talks about its extremely complex topics in a way that grounds the postcolonial perspective in a recognisable life experience. It does so with both a sense of humour and with emphasis.

In 1955, a confrontation between police and thousands of revelers erupted in New Orleans' French Quarter during Mardi Gras. Newspapers confirm three thousand people rioted between two bars popular with gay men, though Mardi Gras mixed everyone together. Most members of the LGBTQ+ community have never heard of the event. Instead, they speak of the repressive times—and of places like Dixie's Bar of Music, where they could come together and feel safe, thanks to proprietor Yvonne Fasnacht and her sister. BACHELORS ONLY follows historian Roberts Batson and a community of witnesses through the gaps, asking what it takes to remember.

The relationship between Greenland and Denmark is full of fantasy and myths. And these are exactly what Danish artist Lasse Lau reflects upon – and in turn documents – in his first feature-length film. But how do you give a form to the Greenlandic experience when you are an outsider yourself? Lau has created a sensitive film about authenticity and recreation by letting both elements become a part of the work, together with his performers. But also by watching and listening intently. The colonial history is entrenched in both Greenland's infinitely beautiful landscapes and in the collective consciousness. But so is the willingness to break with it and look ahead with a new political self-awareness. 'Lykkelænder' is the result of a long-term research project, but talks about its extremely complex topics in a way that grounds the postcolonial perspective in a recognisable life experience. It does so with both a sense of humour and with emphasis.

In 1955, a confrontation between police and thousands of revelers erupted in New Orleans' French Quarter during Mardi Gras. Newspapers confirm three thousand people rioted between two bars popular with gay men, though Mardi Gras mixed everyone together. Most members of the LGBTQ+ community have never heard of the event. Instead, they speak of the repressive times—and of places like Dixie's Bar of Music, where they could come together and feel safe, thanks to proprietor Yvonne Fasnacht and her sister. BACHELORS ONLY follows historian Roberts Batson and a community of witnesses through the gaps, asking what it takes to remember.