2014 Swedish film
| Concerning Violence |
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 Sundance film poster |
| Directed by | Göran Olsson |
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| Written by | Göran Olsson |
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| Produced by | Tobias Janson
Annika Rogell |
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| Narrated by | Swedish release:
Kati Outinen
English release:
Lauryn Hill |
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| Cinematography | Lis Asklund
Bo Bjelfvenstam
Ingrid Dahlberg
Lars Hjelm
Roland Hjelte
Stig Holmqvist
Per Källberg
Lennart Malmer
Ingela Romare
Leyla Assaf Tengroth |
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| Edited by | Göran Olsson
Michael Aaglund
Dino Jonsäter
Sophie Vukovic |
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Production
companies | |
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| Distributed by | Films Boutique |
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Release dates |
- 17 January 2014 (2014-01-17) (Sundance)
- 15 August 2014 (2014-08-15) (Sweden)
- 5 December 2014 (2014-12-05) (US)
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Running time | 89 minutes[1] |
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| Countries | Sweden
Finland
Denmark
United States |
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| Languages | English
Swedish
French
Portuguese |
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Concerning Violence is a 2014 documentary film written and directed by Göran Olsson.[2][3] American singer and actress Lauryn Hill served as the narrator in the English-language release of the film[4][5], while Finnish actress Kati Outinen provides narration for the original Swedish release.
The film is an international co-production between Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the United States.
Content
The film narrates the events of African liberation struggles of the 1960s and 1970s from colonial rule.
Release
The film premiered in-competition in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.[6][7]
In May 2013, Films Boutique acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film.[8] The film also screened at 64th Berlin International Film Festival in Panorama Dokumente section, in February 2014.[9][10] It won a prize at the festival.[11] The film also premiered in competition at 2014 Göteborg International Film Festival on 30 January 2014.[12]
Reception
Concerning Violence received positive reviews upon its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 100% rating based on reviews from 5 critics, with an average score of 9/10.[13]
Kevin Jagernauth of Indiewire praised the film and said that "Concerning Violence suggests that the lesson has yet to be learned, and it's only a matter a time until history repeats itself again, and action is taken."[14] Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out gave the film four star out of five and said that "A pulsing, echoing trumpet blast-repeated throughout-and some in-your-face political carnage identify Concerning Violence for what it is: a prickly, passionate call to arms."[15] Boyd van Hoeij in his review for The Hollywood Reporter called the film "A tough and cerebral but finally illuminating documentary about the decolonization of Africa."[16] Dan Schindel of Movie Mezzanine gave the film a positive review and said that "Concerning Violence is one of the best documentaries to hit this year’s Sundance. It also acts as an excellent companion piece to We Come As Friends, another great doc about imperialism in Africa that’s been playing the fest. It stands alone both as a work of history, sociology, psychology, and philosophy" and adds that the film is "A poetic, thought-provoking visual essay."[17]
