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COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD
Was this the most mysterious murder or the most idiotic conspiracy theory of all time? In 1961, UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash. For a long time, rumors circulated that the crash had been deliberately orchestrated because the secretary had advocated Congolese independence. More than 50 years later, investigative journalist Mads Brügger goes in search of the truth, using his signature mix of humor, provocation, and audacity, and finds clues to a crime of unfathomable proportions. Brügger finds evidence that Hammarskjöld was in fact assassinated — and that's not the only shocking discovery he makes.
Meet the director
Mads Brügger
Danish journalist, moderator, and filmmaker Mads Brügger was born in 1972. He worked in print media and radio and was the occasional host of THE 11TH HOUR (2007), a late-night talk show. Brügger's career in film and television began in 2001 as the author of several episodes of the Danish television series KLEINROCKS KABINET. Three years later, he directed the satirical documentary series DANES FOR BUSH. His documentary film THE RED CHAPEL (2009), in which he exposed the absurdity of the totalitarian North Korean regime, received the jury's award for best foreign documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. In THE AMBASSADOR (2011), Brügger posed as a diplomat in order to investigate Africa's trade in blood diamonds and received a Robert, Denmark's most prestigious film award, for best documentary. Since 2011, he has also been the head of programming at radio station Radio24syv. His first feature film, THE SAINT BERNARD SYNDICATE (2018), was, like THE RED CHAPEL and THE AMBASSADOR in previous years, screened at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN. His latest film, COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD (2019), was also honored at the Sundance Film Festival; this time, Brügger received the award for best director of a foreign documentary.