King Of Devil's Island

King Of Devil's Island

Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner, Benjamin Helstad, Trond Nilssen
Director: Marius Holst
Rated: M
Running Time: 116 minutes

Synopsis: Based on remarkable true events in Norway in 1915, King Of Devil's Island tells an extraordinary story of friendship, loyalty and rebellion, set on a remote ice-bound island reform school.

At Bastøy (located in the fjord of Oslo), life is tough, the manual labour arduous, and the young wards are underdressed and underfed for the freezing winter. Hard work, discipline and rough-handed punishment are what the guards believe will convert these youths into well-adjusted Christian citizens.

So when enigmatic, headstrong 17-year-old Erling (Benjamin Helstad) arrives at Bastøy, his defiant attitude makes an immediate impression on the other boys, and rattles the authority of the stern governor (Stellan Skarsgård). Erling quickly determines the only means of survival is escape, but this unwittingly transforms him from the role of fugitive into the leader of a rebellion, provoking an astonishing series of events that remain unparalleled in Norwegian history.

After premiering to strong audience and critical acclaim at the 2011 Rotterdam Film Festival, the film achieved record-breaking success at the local box office, fuelling an intense public debate by a nation forced to reexamine part of its secret history.

Release Date: May 3rd, 2012


Comments from Director, Marius Holst
14 years ago, I met a man who was once himself one of the boys on the island. This encounter drove me to pursue the story further, and it feels good that time has finally come to do that story justice. Based on a true story, in a not too distant past, "King of Devil's Island" is a timeless tale of injustice, repression and revolt. Moreover, it's a story about the evil that grows in institutions sealed off from the rest of the world, and how powerful regimes may spiral out of control. This is a dark, and not widely known, chapter in Norwegian history. Military force used against young civilians, has the potential of an epic and thrilling European drama, with both the tough, physical action of the story and its intimate portraits of the group of boys. The legend of the Bastøy Island, and what happened there, has haunted me through the years. From the first encounter I felt this was a story that begged to be made into film, thus exposing these unwanted boys' destinies.