Armadillo

Armadillo is an upfront account of growing cynicism and adrenaline addiction for young soldiers at war. It is a journey into the soldier’s mind and a unique film on the mythological story of man and war, staged in its contemporary version in Afghanistan.

Mads and Daniel are on their first mission in Helmand, Afghanistan. Their platoon is stationed in Camp Armadillo, right on the Helmand frontline, fighting tough battles against the Taliban. The soldiers are there to help the Afghan people, but as fighting gets tougher and operations increasingly hairy, Mads, Daniel and their friends become cynical, widening the gap between themselves and the Afghan civilisation. Mistrust and paranoia set in causing alienation and disillusion.

Armadillo generated a brief political controversy in Denmark when the Danish Socialist People's Party accused the soldiers of deliberately breaking the rules of engagement during one of the engagements, and demanded an investigation. Following the procedure, the Danish military Legal Corps conducted an independent investigation, and the soldiers were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Director: Janus Metz Pedersen
Writer: Kasper Torsting
Runtime: 101 min
Genre: Documentary, War
Language: Danish
Subtitles: English
Production Year: 2010

The screening is part of the Danish Documentary Week