Uffe's Rum
Uffe was for many years a well-known part of the city of Copenhagen. You could see him every day pushing his heavy shopping cart around the center of Copenhagen collecting empty beer bottles which he then used to exchange for money in a local supermarket so that he could pay for his small needs. Tinned food, a bit of sausage and beers. Uffe slept on park benches near the center of the city.
I began to wonder who he was. How he got himself into this sort of life.
I decided I wanted to make a documentary about him.
I made some vain attempts in getting in contact with him. The very first time I spoke to him he was sitting on one of the benches in one of the squares. I asked him if I might sit down. He said, you are welcome. I sat down. He rose and slowly pushed his trolley off.
Well I did not give up and slowly we made up a kind of friendship. I never pushed him. Instead I let him make the moves. Very slowly I followed him through a whole year, day and night, when he would allow me. Gradually I began to show him bits of film footage which he found amusing.
When the film was finished it was used in a panel discussion about homeless people and mental illness. The film made an outcry in the national papers and a lot of focus was put on vagrancy.
Later the film was used in the global conference "Exclusion" held here in Copenhagen 2000.