Screening of "Benediction" (2021)

SCREENING EUROPE Film Club presents a screening of Terence Davies' Benediction. The screening will be introduced by Jakob Freudendal, PhD candidate at Aarhus University and film critic.

About the film

A poet, a soldier, a lover - a man torn between duty, desire, and the burden of silence. Benediction tells the story of Siegfried Sassoon, the famed WWI poet whose verse condemned the war even as he wrestled with his own inner battles.

This moving and visually stunning biopic by Terence Davies explores the repression of queer love, the emotional cost of war and the search for meaning through art and literature. It’s a film for lovers of English literature - and for anyone drawn to what Oscar Wilde once called “the love that dare not speak its name.”

Expect exquisite cinematography, sharp wit, and aching beauty - and join us for a discussion afterward.

About the director

Terence Davies (1945-2023) was a celebrated British filmmaker and screenwriter known for his deeply personal, poetic style. Born into a working-class Catholic family in Liverpool, Davies often drew on his own experiences of poverty, repression, and isolation. As a gay man growing up in postwar Britain, his work frequently explores themes of identity, memory, and unspoken desire. From his autobiographical trilogy to Distant Voices, Still Lives and The Long Day Closes, Davies carved out a unique place in cinema, blending emotional honesty with lyrical visual storytelling. Benediction is his last film.

Registration

Entrance is free but you need to register via email to petar@hum.ku.dk.